Bruce Empey, Commodore
My father was in the Navy sailed International 14’s with my mother, and joined SSA in the mid 1950’s while stationed in Northern Virginia. In 1961 they moved the family to Annapolis and, while I do remember something about schools, SSA and sailing are my primary childhood memories.
All of my early jobs were boating-related and for many years I was a sailmaker. I moved into the industrial sector and am with a major supplier of machinery, parts, and technical assistance to the Grain and Spice milling industries internationally.
My boating resume is fairly well rounded with dinghy racing locally and up to the international levels, Ocean Racing mostly along the US East Coast and out to Bermuda, yacht deliveries up and down from the Caribbean to New England, and cruising trans-Atlantic, the Bahamas, British Isles, Mediterranean and US East Coast. Currently I race and practice in a Laser and cruise the Chesapeake with my wife aboard our 30’ powerboat.
I am pleased and proud to follow my father as SSA’s Rear Commodore and try to view each decision facing the Board in light of SSA’s historical preference for simplicity and member inclusion, with the best interests of all members at heart, and to prepare the Club for the challenges to come in future decades in our demographic region, our Chesapeake Bay, and our sport.
William (Bill) Krafft,
Vice Commodore
I grew up sailing Penguins and Thistles on the Potomac, frequenting SSA for their invitational regattas. After a long hiatus from sailing, I moved to Eastport and joined SSA in 2016. This past year I have had the pleasure of sailing not only my own Thistle out of SSA, but also crewing on many classes of boats including a Benateau 40.7, Benateau One Ton, Sabre 38, Far 37, J30, and J22. I participated in over 30 days of racing. In addition, this past spring I received my D-Qualification in the Navy, allowing me to volunteer in the Navy’s OSTS program - a tier 1, high risk, leadership training program. In June, I sailed with a group of midshipmen to Stamford, CT and back. I graduated from Virginia Tech as a Mechanical Engineer in 1982 and started my own construction company in 1984, which I ran for 15 years. I am currently Director of Project Management for Tricon Construction. This past year I served as Fleet Captain for Thistle Fleet #34 here at SSA. I look forward to serving on the Board and will use my time and energy to ensure that our members continue to enjoy the services that make SSA a great place to race. I will strive to work with my fellow board members and the membership to maintain SSA as a model sailing club in our community.
Lisa Pline
Rear Captain
Lisa is a life-long dinghy sailor, learning to sail her 12-ft Butterfly single-handed scow out at her home lake in Missouri at the age of 6. Racing against the “adults” (including her dad, mom, and older brother) from an early age led her to college sailing at Florida State. Having fallen in love with Annapolis during a Navy Invitational, she moved to the area in 1985 and joined SSA and the Snipe Class in 1986. As is true now, SSA was the perfect small-boat dinghy club that was inclusive and accessible to sailors of all genders and backgrounds, and particularly post-college sailors. Lisa has held many positions at SSA and the Snipe Class, having chaired two Snipe Nationals (1990 and 2021), served on SSA’s and the SCIRA Board in the 90’s, as well as being the Snipe Fleet Captain on and off for a number of years. At SSA, she most recently served as Membership Chair and before that, she was a member of SSA’s JRP committee, chairing the SSA Junior Gala fundraiser in 2018 and 2019.
In the past 5 years (after a hiatus to focus on kids and PTAs), Lisa’s passion has been to re-energize SSA’s as THE place for one-design sailors, post-college and beyond, in the Chesapeake region. Innovative ideas for the Snipe Fleet such as the Under 30 regattas, Women’s Clinic-regattas, and lease-to-own programs have resulted in growth for the fleet and for SSA. She & Chris Ryan won a US Sailing Leadership award and Lisa was given SSA’s Laudeman Award in 2020 largely in recognition of those efforts.
Lisa met husband Alex Snipe sailing in 1992 in Bermuda. They have two grown children, Lexi and Ellie. Lisa is in sales and marketing for a food manufacturer and specializes in the K-12 segment.
Tom Shaw, Fleet Captain
I have been a member of SSA since 1995. Growing up, I sailed and raced out of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami and the Bay Head Yacht Club in New Jersey. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to sail everything from prams to Whitbread 60s. At SSA, I started racing a Laser, and eventually added a Day Sailer so my family could sail as well. Outside of the club, I compete in ocean races, such as the Annapolis to Newport race, Bermuda races, and the Fastnet race in 2019.