Navigating around the web site

All pages have a set of buttons just beneath the header image which point to different sections of the site's static content.  Click on each button to explore its content, or hover over each button to discover the content's subsections.

The Home Page is divided into two columns, with the rightmost column containing excerpts of the most recently published articles, most recent first.  Click on the article headline to read the full article.  Beneath the headline is the author of the article, and the category it was published in.  Also, if the article permits comments to be posted, a comment can be created as described here - or existing comments read.

The left column contains:

Upcoming Activities:  which highlight the imminent activities on the calendar (note that this is not a complete list of activities).  Click on each of the activities listed to see its full details.

Activities Calendar:  is a calendar representation of upcoming (and past) activities.  Hovering over a highlighted date will pop up a list of activities in small type scheduled on that date.  Clicking on a highlighted date will show a list of excerpts of scheduled activities for that date.  As with other article excerpts in the right column, you can click on the headline to see the complete activity article.  There is also a full page calendar available as "Big Calendar" under the "membership" button.

Categories:  lists all of the categories which articles have been published under.  You can view all of the articles in a category by clicking on it.

Archives:  permits articles to be organized for viewing by publication date, without regard to the category they are published under.

User Access:  allows registered users to login, and new users to register.  You do not need to register unless you intend to post a classified ad, or you have been pre-authorized as a content author/editor.

Posting Comments

Many of the articles on this web site are enabled for Comments.  Look for this
Comment on this Article or this Read or Add Comments
in the article header.
Where comments are enabled, your comments are welcome and appreciated.  You do not need to be a registered user in order to add a comment, but you will be asked for your name, and a valid email address (the email address will not be visible in the published comment).  Your comments may be moderated (held for review) - but, when published, will be visible to everyone.

Become a Squadron Author!

Share your sailing experience with others by writing a short (or long) article for this web site.  Articles with photos are particularly welcome.  Drop an email to the webmaster to discover how.

Posting a Classified Ad

You can post a Classified Ad related to sailing, and add pictures too, if you wish.  But first, you must Register and Login.  Once logged-in, if you are not at the Profile page, then click on "My Profile" in the USER ACCESS box on the lower left of the Home page.  Once at the Profile page, look for "Posts" in the top left corner, and click "Add New".

Create a headline for your Ad in the first box, then create the text of the Ad in the area beneath the formatting buttons.  Hovering over each of the formatting buttons will show its function.  You can upload and insert images for your Ad by clicking one of the  Upload/Insert buttons.  Or you can choose an existing image from the Media Library accessed via the "Add an Image" dialog.

You can your Ad at any time - and, when it is complete, Submit it for Review

Once your Ad has been published, you will be able to Update it - or Delete it completely by logging in again, and navigating to your Profile page.

Registration & Login

To register, look for the USER ACCESS box in the lower left of the Home page, and click "Register".  You will be prompted to create a Username, and provide your E-mail address.  Note that, once you have registered, you will be able to use either your Username or your E-mail address to login.  Usernames are not case sensitive, must be unique, up to 60 characters in length, and can contain letters, numbers, and special characters.  When you have created a Username, a temporary password will be E-mailed to you.

When you have received your temporary password, enter it into the same "USER ACCESS" box - either with the Username just created, or with your E-mail address.  Once logged in, you will be directed to your Profile page.  At the Profile page, you can scroll down to locate the "New Password" section, and enter a new password of your own choosing in both of the new password boxes.  Please note: Administrators do not have access to passwords!

Click on the "Update Profile" button to save your new password.  Return to the Home Page by clicking "Visit Site" at the top center of the Profile page.

Online Payments

Online payments are offered for certain events.  If a "Pay Now" button is encountered, and you wish to make an online payment to the Squadron, click the "Pay Now" button.  You will be directed to PayPal, which is used to process online payments.  You do not need to be a PayPal member to make a payment at the PayPal site, although it is free to join.  The financial transaction will be processed completely by PayPal.  The Sarasota Sailing Squadron neither stores nor has access to any credit card or bank information which you provide to PayPal.  Once you have completed (or canceled) payment via PayPal, you will be returned to the Squadron web site, and your payment status will be available to the Event Organizer .

Calendar Feeds

You can subscribe to the calendar on this web site from Google Calendar, or any other application which accepts the iCalendar (ICS) format.  The URL to subscribe to the calendar is http://sarasotasailingsquadron.org/ical