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Members of the South Sound Sailing Society (S.S.S.S.) have a thirst to weigh anchor. Located at the Olympia Yacht Club in downtown Olympia the S.S.S.S. is a coalition of approximately 200 sailors, boaters, racers, crewmembers, and boat enthusiasts large enough to be considered a fleet. Sailors gather on the second Tuesday of each month (September – June) to plan and discuss group activities and boating trips, often with a guest speaker like local novelist Jim Lynch. Founded in 1971 the S.S.S.S. was originally formed primarily for racers who did not have a Puget Sound clubhouse.

chateau westportRacing is still a big part of the group. Races are organized year-round. Paul Paroff has been a S.S.S.S. member for over three years and commands the boat Cheap Thrills. “It’s a great community,” he says. “Usually the race is about a mile long, starting downwind. We race to different buoys that the committee puts out. There are two different starts, for different classes of boats. Depending on the type of boat you get additional time added to your score. A lot of the people who crew are members. Even if they don’t have a boat they can still race.”

south sound sailing society
Cruise Chair Marvin Young at the helm during a cold race day on Puget Sound. Photo courtesy: Marvin Young.

In fact, if you are curious about sailing and want to test the waters before buying a boat, volunteering to “crew” a boat is a great way to get your feet wet. Many of the racers require more than one set of hands to properly handle the boat. Crewmembers can hop aboard with minimal knowledge.

Budd Inlet Star Fleet is a smaller, faster race class that races every Monday from about Memorial Day through Labor Day. While the racers are typically streamlined sailboats with smaller cabins usually crewed by 1-6 people, Star Boats are only a few feet wide and are extremely low on the water.

S.S.S.S. may have started as a community of marine racers but in recent years larger boats, called cruisers, have started to have an increasing presence in the clubhouse. I spoke to Marvin Young who has been Cruising Co-Chair for the group since 2014. “With the other co-chair, I set the schedule for the trips,. It’s something we do as sort of a project at the start of each fall. Thera Black puts together the calendar for the society and we sell them in the clubhouse. There’s some beautiful pictures in there.”

south sound sailing society
Paul Paroff and one of his crewmates get “Cheap Thrills” ready to race. Photo credit: Robert Music.

Young says the club has “a couple hundred nominal members, most of them racers. We typically get about 60-75 people per meeting. We’ve got members as far as Everett and Portland who stay members and still receive the newsletter. Most of them have sailed the Sound before and moved away, but like to keep in touch. We’ve also got people in Portland who keep their boats here. We’ll have some come for the Oyster Fest cruise in early October with the Shelton Yacht Club.”

The cruisers usually plan one trip per month to various destinations in the Puget Sound, including the popular “Haunted Boat Cruise” that kicks off Halloween weekend. “We meet that Saturday on Hope Island and travel to Filucy Bay where we have a boat decorating contest. We also have a wine bottle decorating contest and after, we auction off the wine with all proceeds going to the Thurston County Food Bank.”

Whether you have a boat, want a boat, like boating or wonder if you might enjoy boating, contact The South Sound Sailing Society or feel free to drop by one of their meetings every second Tuesday September – June for the general meeting and join a crew.

*Featured image courtesy Kim Merriman.

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