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Not a bad weekend to end up the
Second Series. But it
was a bit odd……the only decent winds were when the Yacht Club races were
going on. The Laser Regatta never
seemed to get any of the good stuff. By
the end of our Saturday morning race the wind had dropped to zip (just in time
for the Lasers to get started) and it pretty much stayed that way until we got
back on the race course Sunday afternoon (just in time for the Lasers to leave
town).
Saturday’s race may have been
the screwiest this year.
It started out in building breezes, leaving many skippers considering
adding crew; within a half hour it went flat, only to come up just enough to
allow all the lead boats to watch their leads evaporate, then to swing through
the entire compass by race end. Best I can tell, the only direction the wind didn’t blow
from was the northeast. Sunday
morning was actually nice and windy……….so nice that D.H. Taylor
commandeered daughter Lori’s E-Boat just to prove he could still do it (I half
expect to see Ed Hanes out there next week proving the same thing)…..and so
windy that John Vratsinas set his boat on its side and, in the process, watched
his and his crew’s keys go to the bottom (I usually hang my car keys on a hook
in the house, but each to his own).
LABOR DAY REGATTA………..is this weekend, with back-to-back races expected on Saturday.
FINAL BOARD MEETING……..is
also this weekend on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 8:00 a.m. at the Yacht Club for the
season wrap-up.
AWARDS BANQUET……….Bring your family to Camp Tanglefoot Sunday, Sept. 3 starting at 5:30 p.m. for the end-of-season awards dinner. The catered meal is $5.00 a head. See you there…..
SECOND SERIES RESULTS………Thanks to Scorer Mark Tesar’s new and improved format on our Web Site you can see the placings for the Series very easily, but I’ll repeat the top finishers here anyway:
E Fleet C Fleet Cougar Fleet
1. Tom Erickson 1. Bill Nicholas 1. Bob Krogh
2. Mike Lundberg 2. Steve Swift 2. Ken Hanus
3. Lori Zachar 3. Don Taylor, Jr. 3. Scott Curtis
MC Fleet X Fleet
1. Stu Oltrogge 1. Mike Risewick
2. Brad Oz 2. Parker Zanios
3. J.C. Risewick 3. Katie Gentry
That’s about it……..get those trailers and barns ready for another 8 months of boat storage !!!
Later, OZ
Another
reasonably decent weekend for sailing.
And we definitely needed it to offset the early part of the season when
it seemed like we couldn’t buy a race to save our souls.
Hopefully, whoever is in charge of weather can hang in there for a couple
more weekends.
LASER
REGATTA………….is this weekend.
It would be nice to see what these guys can do in heavier winds than
they’ve experienced here the past couple of years.
Should be a lot of fun……..
RACE
SCHEDULE THIS WEEKEND…………will be different than normal
because of the Laser Regatta. All
fleets will race at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning and at 2:00 Sunday afternoon. The rest of the time you can lounge on the lake and watch the
Lasers do all the work. This is
also the last weekend of the Second Series………..so don’t let your guard
down too much.
INLANDS
REGATTA REPORT………..From the sound of it, Lake Geneva runs the
wrong way. It is stretched out from
east to west, but the winds during the week of the Annual ILYA Championships
came from the north and the south, and swung back and forth like a floor fan.
And the result show it…….especially in the 93 boat C Fleet.
Consistency paid off….not wins. In
fact, in the C’s 4 of the race winners ended up 34th, 37th,
67 and 69th. And it was
not that much different in the 65 boat MC Fleet.
Bill Nicholas in his C Boat and Byron Beasley in his MC got the best of
it as far as the Clear Lake fleets were concerned, both pulling off 13th place
overall in their respective fleets. Swifty
wasn’t far behind Bill at 22nd.
And, in the MCs, Randy Kotz, Stu Oltrogge and JC Risewick finished up 20th,
21st and 36th once the dust had settled.
INTERLAKES
RESULTS………….have been posted on the Web Site.
You can’t find them anywhere else and the Clear Lake sailors and teams
did so well that we just couldn’t resist making it all very public.
YEAR
END AWARDS BANQUET…………Just a reminder that the final social
event of the CLYC 2000 season will be Sunday, September 3rd starting
at 5:30 p.m. As is our
custom, the meal will be catered and it will be $5.00 per plate. Now would be a good time to return any traveling trophies
that may be lying around your house to Jeff Nicholas so he can hand them out to
their rightful owners for the next year (even if the rightful owner just happens
to by you again).
FINAL
BOARD MEETING………….Saturday, September 2nd at 8:00
a.m.
SAILING
SCHOOL BOARD…………As we say farewell to Charlie MacNider and
Bob Swanson who have served the Sailing School so well these past 10 years we
need to look forward to making the coming years just as rewarding.
A first step will be to revitalize the Sailing School’s Board of
Directors. If you have an interest
in helping to guide the path the Sailing School will take in the foreseeable
future, please let us know. Talk to
any Yacht Club officer, board member or other involved member of the YC so you
can become part of the solution.
SAILING
SCHOOL BUILDING FUND………….is will on its way to our goal. The
glass is about ½ full…………..but that means it’s still ½ empty.
We really, really, really want to reach 90% by end of the Labor Day
Regatta….but don’t worry…..we won’t be sitting at the finish line of the
last race passing the hat. Fish
through your stack of mail for the donation packets we sent out in July and give
the Sailing School a (monetary) hand. For
those who have already done so, a sincere thank you for getting us to where we
are. For those planning to do so, a
sincere thank you in advance for getting us over the hump so we can have a new
building come summer of 2001.
If
you never received a donor packet, yell at me on the race course or
email me and you will get one. I truly believe this “100 Year Ask” is worth
it….and hope you do, too.
CLASSIFIEDS………..It’s
that time of year when you either store it, junk it or sell it.
Dave Curtis has decided to do the latter.
He’s got a 110” extra tall (deep water) Shore Station lift for sale.
Call him at 357-7805 is you’re interested.
Later,
OZ
A
busy summer season is beginning to head into the home stretch.
Hopefully, while many of the Yacht Club’s sailors were at Lake Okoboji
this past weekend, the rest were able to take advantage of a nice weekend.
INTERLAKES
REPORT……This Interlakes Regatta has to take the cake as one of
the oddest in at least the last several decades.
But it was also the most rewarding for the Clear Lake Yacht Club sailing
teams. There must have been a
record set for late evening racing – the E’s and C’s did not finish racing
until 7:00 Friday night……….then the X’s and MC’s topped that by racing
in nearly a dead calm on Saturday night until 8:00 p.m.
And here’s another odd one………the Race Committee tried so hard to
get races in while there was wind (and no storms) that by Saturday night the
E’s and C’s already had in all 5 of their races and were done, so most of
them had already pulled their boats (and some even headed home) by the time the
X’s and MC’s came in from their late-night racing.
This was also the first Interlakes that anyone can remember a race being
thrown out (which happened to the very first MC race on Friday) or a protest
being won on the basis of unsportsmanlike conduct.
And, all I can say about the Race Committee work is (and I don’t want
our judging crews’ collective heads to get too big)…….I am so glad to be
back to Clear Lake where our race officers from top to bottom are competent,
flexible and capable of exercising good judgement (‘nuff said)!!
On
the other hand, the
Clear Lake team must like such weird goings on, because this may be the best
they’ve done at an Interlakes Regatta. In
the C Fleet, Bill Nicholas and Steve Swift finished 3rd and 4th
overall. In the X’s, the top
finishers were Mike Risewick (2nd) and Parker Zanios (7th),
and the X Team missed out on 2nd place by only 7 points.
In the MCs, the Clear Lake team took home the team trophy for the 2nd
year in a row. Jeff Nicholas was 1st overall, followed closely by
Eric Protzman in 2nd and Randy Kotz in 4th.
The entire 5 member team finished in the top 11 (and in one race were 5
of the first 6 finishers….that was pretty cool to see). But maybe even better,
6 different sailors won races – 4 from the MC team (Protzman, Kotz,
J.C.Risewick and Nicholas), 1 from the C team (Swift) and 1 from the X team (
Mike Risewick). Clear Lake team
members won all but one of the MC races. Eric Protzman actually won the first 2 races (but the first
one of those got thrown out, so he had to go and do it again);
J.C. Risewick and brother Mike both won at the same time (the late-night
no-wind race)…..and remember J.C. was an alternate (now that’s scary).
On the lighter side, Joanne Nicholas, as a result of her conduct during
Jeff’s winning race, has now entered the competition for most exits from a
sailboat during a race this season, which places here only 2 behind our Vice
Commodore.
CLYC
PARTY……….is this Saturday evening, August 12, beginning at 6:30
at Dick and Betty Winga’s home in Tanglefoot.
Officers, board members and past commodores will carry the burden of
being hors d’oeuvre and beverage servers.
X
FLEET PARTY……is this Sunday, August 13 from 4-7 p.m. at Fleet
Captain Katie Gentry’s house (109 – 5th Ave. N.).
Make sure you bring your crew, your life vest and a towel.
X
BLUE CHIP REGATTA…..is this weekend.
Mike Risewick and Parker Zanios have qualified this year by virtue of
topnotch finishes in some big regattas and, last I heard, both will be traveling
to Cedar Lake, Wisconsin to race against the other X Boat hotshots.
Good luck, guys……..
X
REGATTA SERIES…..will continue through this weekend, because Mike
and Parker are at Blue Chip.
ILYA
CHAMPIONSHIPS…….are all next week at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Good luck to those who will be representing Clear Lake there.
OPTIMIST
RACES……..It looks like we will try to set a course again this
Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and hope that the winds and the motorboats will cooperate.
Later,
OZ
**********************************************************************************************************
August
1, 2000
Wasn’t
that a beautiful weekend to get back into some good ole club sailing?
The breezes were medium (but a tad switchy)…….the temperature was
tolerable (but a bit cloudy). All
in all, a fine couple of days to hold the Past Commodore’s Regatta and a good
tune-up for those heading off to the Interlakes Regatta at Lake Okoboji this
weekend.
COMMODORE’S
REGATTA RESULTS……. These are unofficial results, because for some
reason my computer couldn’t speak the same language as our Head Scorer’s
computer, leaving me to calculate the results on my fingers and toes:
E Fleet
C Fleet
1.
Tom Erickson (Z-16)
1. Steve Swift (Z-100)
2.
Lori Zachar (Z-6)
2. Bill Nicholas (Z-3)
3.
Jenny Child (Z-22)
3. Tom Birdsall (Z-2)
Thomas Zanios (Z-88) Tie
MC Fleet
Cougar Fleet
1.
Randy Kotz (1764)
1. Ken Hanus (US8)
2.
Brad Oz (1635)
2. Bob Krogh (US279)
3.
Stu Oltrogge (1591)
3. Rudy Wieck (US21)
X
INLANDS RESULTS………Five members of our vaunted X Fleet journeyed
to White Bear Lake to see how they stacked up against the rest of the X Boats in
the ILYA. What they found were some
pretty light and shifty winds and some shaky judging on the Senior Fleet course
(the Junior Fleet was under the watchful eye of our own Craig Caslavka who,
needless to say, was stellar). In
the 78 boat Senior Fleet Parker Zanios really showed his stuff with a 3rd
place overall, followed by Mike Risewick 15th, Katie Gentry 27th
and Scott Little 37th. Mike
and Katie each pulled off 2nd place finishes in a race.
Actually after 3 races of the 5 race regatta Mike and Parker were in 3rd
and 4th. That was fun to
see. In the Junior Fleet, Chris Oz
settled into 51st place in his inaugural X Regatta and started his
education in what it’s like sailing with lots of boats and lots of good
sailors. Congrats to you
all…..you represented Clear Lake very well !!
OPTI
NO TEARS RESULTS……Our Optimist Fleet may not be quite as vaunted
as our X Fleet, but Jon Oz braved the light winds and baking sun at Lake
Minnetonka’s Wayzata Yacht Club to bring back a 9th place trophy in
the 5 race event.
INTERLAKES
REGATTA RIPPLE EFFECTS………….With many of our sailors traveling
to Lake Okoboji this weekend for the Interlakes Regatta, the E, C and MC races
will not count toward series placing. X’s
will be sailing the 3rd week of the X Regatta Series.
The Cougars and the Saturday morning fleets will still be sailing races
that count.
ADVANCE
PARTY WARNING…….Saturday, August 12th the CLYC
Officers, Board Members and Past Commodores will be hosting the Yacht Club’s
August get-together at Dick and Betty Winga’s residence in Tanglefoot (3960
240th Street, to be precise).
OPTIMIST
RACES…….Well we tried this past weekend, but Murphy laid down his
law and the result was…..no Opti races. 3
boats tried their best to brave the huge motorboat chop, but only Gil DeBartolo
actually made it to the starting line without mishap. Since he wasn’t overly excited to race against himself, we
called off the race(s). And,
unfortunately, Interlakes Regatta will make it impossible for me to judge Opti
races this Sunday, Aug. 6. We will
reschedule for Sunday, August 13 at 2:00 p.m. and hope things go a lot smoother.
Later,
Oz
The
entire weekend was a shutout as far as sailing was concerned.
And there was not much question about it.
There were no “teaser breezes” that make you think twice about
abandoning your sailing plans. The
wind was just flat, flat, flat the entire weekend (except when it didn’t make
any difference late Sunday afternoon). But
since there were so many other things going on around the lake, the weekend was
certainly not a total waste.
TRASH
REGATTA RESULTS……….OR NOT……..If it makes you feel any
better, we were not alone. Several
of our X-Boaters journeyed north to Lake Minnetonka for the annual T.R.A.S.H.
Regatta only to find the same thing that they could have found here. Unfortunately they had to find it while sitting on the MYC
island and baking in the sun. It’s
not very often that a regatta gets in absolutely zero races, but that’s what
happened. My question is, did they
raffle off the trophies?
IS
IT THE TITANIC……OR NOT??
Stray reports out of Lake Oshkosh, where the A Invitational was being
held this past weekend were that (1) they were one of the few Midwest lakes to
have some wind, and (2) there was enough wind to allow Buddy Melges to sail his
A-Boat into Race Officer John Hanson’s famous “Boat 4” and either (a) sink
John’s boat after slicing it in half, or (b) slightly dent John’s boat, or
(c) do something else to John’s boat. The only thing we do know for certain is there was no loss of
life.
PAST
COMMODORES REGATTA…….is this Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30.
I would expect there to be back-to-back racing on Saturday.
X
INLANDS……..is also this weekend (Thursday, July 27- Saturday,
July 29) at White Bear Lake in Minnesota. I
know of at least 4 or 5 X-Boaters who will be representing Clear Lake.
This is the best group of Xs we’ve sent to Inlands in a heckuva long
time (maybe ever). Good luck to you
all. Bring home some hardware.
THE
CLYC X REGATTA SERIES……is now underway.
In fact it started last weekend (even though it didn’t mean much with
no races) and will run through Interlakes Regatta weekend.
OPTIMIST
DINGHY NO TEARS WEST REGATTA……is also this next Sunday and Monday
(July 30-31) at the Wayzata Yacht Club on Lake Minnetonka.
Don’t ask me how they are going to do this, but they are holding the No
Tears Regatta at the same time and in the same place as the ILYA Opti
Championships…….go figure. Anyway,
I know 1 or 2 of our Opti sailors have decided to go north and get a bit of
regatta experience. Good luck to
them, as well.
MC
FLEET PARTY……..is this Saturday evening, July 29, 6:30 p.m. at
Fleet Capt. Wilmarth’s home. We
will be trying to make as much mess as possible while wolfing down burgers,
brats, and refreshments and at the same time spreading half truths and outright
untruths.
OPTIMIST
RACES………OK we’re going to try this once again.
Sunday, July 30, 2:00 p.m. is the time.
Somewhere out in front of the Yacht Club is the place.
Will someone please distract the weather gods long enough to get a few
races in for our Opti Fleet?
INTERLAKES
UPDATE…….For those of you attending the Interlakes Regatta at
Lake Okoboji, there will be no M-16s or 420s racing this year, because as of
yesterday less than 8 boats had registered for each of those fleets.
Later,
OZ
**************************************************************************************************************
July 18, 2000
Another
weekend, another fine regatta. The
E Invitational held here last weekend brought in some 47 boats to see what kind
of winds Clear Lake could throw at them. And,
similar to MC Nationals three weeks earlier, the lake managed to treat the
sailors to just about everything…..oftentimes during a single race.
Sunday was a perfect example: the
15 knot breeze during most of the first race died, then switched 180 degrees
from the south to the north by the finish; at the beginning of the second race
the wind built up just enough for most of the boats to keep their 4th
crews, only to suffer through nearly calm conditions the last couple of legs.
Such is Mother Nature, I guess. And
what the heck……when the dust finally settled Craig Caslavka and his
extraordinarily capable and competent crew of judges managed to squeeze out 4 of
the scheduled 5 races (even after missing all of Saturday because of absolutely
no air).
Steve
and Robin Paulsen, and Linda Nerdig should be congratulated for
chairing a successful regatta……….and they were first-timers !! On the other hand, they had lots of backup from all those
Yacht Club members who untiringly volunteer when their help is needed.
Event hosts, the Ericksons on Friday night, the entire Outing Club on
Saturday night, (the Lundeens and Atkinsons both nights) and the MacNiders on
Sunday afternoon made all the visitors (and locals for that matter) feel at
home. Although the E’s are a
pretty self-sufficient bunch the taxi boat and spectator crews really filled in
before, during and after all the races. The
registration gang, including the usual suspects, made it all appear seamless.
And we couldn’t make it through the day without food and snacks, which
the morning and lunch crews do so well. Thanks
to the Fitches, the Childs and Carol Casey for the countless things they do each
regatta. Mark Tesar was ready with
scores even before the boats made it back into the dock.
The only hitch was that the final standings were held up for a couple of
hours while most of the powers-that-be in the E Fleet found themselves involved
in one way or another with a final race protest……fun, fun, fun.
Margaret Oz and Joanne Nicholas acted in consulting roles this time
around.
OPTIMIST
RACES RESUME……..this weekend…….finally.
We will be running races starting at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 23 in the
area ½ mile or so out in front of the Yacht Club. You young Opti racers will get a chance to hone the skills
you’ve learned in Sailing School…….so get out there.
INTERLAKES……is
now a couple of weeks away (Aug. 4,5, and 6).
We did receive the Notice of Race from the Interlakes Yachting
Association, which explains times, places, etc. and it’s been posted on the
CLYC Web Site. I forgot to mention
last week that, if you are a USSA member you get $5 knocked off your individual
Interlakes regatta fee. So keep
that in mind as you send your checks in to the YC.
MC
INVITATIONAL…..was held last week at Upper Minnetonka.
J.C. Risewick carried the flag for our MC Fleet.
He and 27 other boats spent the weekend dodging the huge beds of milfoil.
And the people are really great there.
It’s just that the sailing never comes close to being great…..let
alone good.
Later,
OZ
***********************************************************************
July 11,
2000
You know, we suddenly
seem to be getting in a lot of sailboat races this season, after a bit of a slow
start. Unfortunately, what looked
to be a nice 15 mph breeze on Sunday morning at about 9:40 suddenly looked to be
at not-so-nice 25 to 30 mph by 9:45. PRO
Craig Caslavka called everyone in before the carnage could get really nasty, but
there were still a few casualties.
E INVITATIONAL REGATTA……is
here this week. Registration will
be on Thursday, July 13 and races will run from Friday, July 14 through Sunday,
July 16. There could be around
50-60 E Scows racing so it should be a sight to behold……..if we can treat
them to some good ole Clear Lake breezes.
YACHT CLUB PARTY AT THE OUTING CLUB……this Saturday, July 15 starting at about 6:30 p.m. It is being held in conjunction with the E Regatta so there should be a host of people to tell sailing stories and assorted other white lies and fibs to. The E Regatta Chairperson has specifically asked that those who are hosting the party (that would be the A’s, E’s, C’s, MC’s, X Parents and Opti Parents……..pretty much everybody in the YC, except the Social Members, who did their thing the first party) be sure to bring LOTS OF HEAVY HORS D’ OEUVRES. This should be a lot of fun, and thanks to the Outing Club for having us all.
INTERLAKES REGATTA
REGISTRATIONS……will have to be sent in by the Yacht Club by next
week. So fleet captains for the E,
C, MC and X Fleets have to get team rosters in to Rich and Mary Lou Fitch ASAP.
Remember that dues for each member of the team are as follows:
E’s: $90
C’s: $70
MC’s, 420’s: $60
X’s: $55.
Please send your payment in to Rick and Mary Lou
Fitch……….preferably before you go to the Regatta.
I SHORTED THE COUGARS………last week. I have a perennial blind spot when it come to Cougar Nationals. Which means each year about this time I have to do another public apology………Anyway, at least I’ve got the results (although there is some questions just how official these are…….):
1. Scott Curtis
2. Fred Wieck
3. Bob Krogh
4. Rudy Wieck
5. Ken Hanus
6. Dave Baker
7. Vince Tomlinson
8. Dave Curtis
JULY 4TH REGATTA RESULTS…….These are a week late this year, but that’s only because we aren’t accustomed to getting in all of our races over the 4th and then actually having to score all 3 of them…
E C MC
1. Z-5 Mike Lundberg 1. Z-3 Bill Nicholas 1. 1764 Randy Kotz
2. Z-16 Tom Erickson 2. Z-100 Steve Swift 2. 1591 Stuart Oltrogge
3. Z-22 Jenny Child 3. Z-55 Don Taylor, Jr. 3. 1831 Eric Protzman
X Cougar
1. Z-84 Mike Risewick 1. US8 Ken Hanus
2. Z-22 Scott Little 2. US275 Scott Curtis
3. Z-16 Katie Gentry 3. US265 Fred Wieck, Andri Ludwig
X BOATS DO GREAT AT GENEVA REGATTA……Hot off the wire…….Mike Risewick and Parker Zanios pulled off 2nd and 7th, respectively (and respectably !) at the 72 boat Lake Geneva GLSS regatta this past Monday and Tuesday. This is a great tune-up regatta for X Inlands for all the X Boat hot shots, so great job guys.
CHARITABLE REQUEST…….If anyone has a Windsurfer or other small sailboat they would like to loan to Opportunity Village for July 26-30 to be a display at the North Iowa Fair, please give Nelda Tesar a call (at 357-3565) or an email (at tesarna@rconnect.com.
THANKS AGAIN….to
the Old Crow, Gil Bovard for filling in last week.
He only made one faux pas that I could tell.
Somehow the name of the esteemed head of the CLYC Sailing School
(initials C.M.) was left out of the list of newsletter writers the Old Crow was
recognizing. When pressed, all the
Old Crow would say was that, try as he might, he simply could not find a 5 or 6 syllable
word meaning thank you, so he finally said heck with it and just dropped Charlie
from the list. Hmmmm………..
Later, OZ
Email (office):
brad.osmundson@opuscorp.com
Email (home):
inremoz@aol.com
Fax:
612.656.4814
CLYC Web Site:
www.clyciowa.com
All
in all, that was a
pleasant long weekend for the July 4th holiday.
Actually it will probably be remembered as the July 4th
with the parade held during a live re-enactment of the “perfect
storm.” What a deluge!
And the sailing was actually very unlike your typical July 4th
where at least one floater is the norm. We
had nice breezes with 2 races on Saturday and one race on Sunday (that felt like
2 races by the time it was over and the breeze had increase to 20 knots or so).
4TH
OF JULY REGATTA RESULTS……..
aren’t in to me yet, but
as soon as I get them I’ll report them. Actually
those of you who are talented with a calculator (or with your fingers and toes)
can probably figure the results from looking on the web site.
BOARD
MEETING…….is this
Saturday morning, July 8, 8:00 a.m. at the Yacht Club building.
INTERLAKES
QUALIFIERS………will be getting notified by their respective fleet
captains, because we need to know what the actual teams will be very soon.
You can also look on the web site to see what the
calculated results are. Keep in
mind that the list on the web site may not reflect the final team, because some
sailors may not be able to attend for one reason or another even though they may
have qualified for the the team.
E
INVITATIONALS AT CLEAR LAKE………..are
only a week or so away. If you get
a call from Steve Paulsen or his minions to help in any way, please do so (or if
you want to help and haven’t heard from them, give Steve a call or an email). I understand we may have anywhere from 45 to 60 boats, so it
will be a fun (and busy) time.
YOU
CAN’T KEEP AN OLD CROW DOWN………After lengthy negotiations with
various publishers and agents and other “hangers on” I have been able to
successfully drag one of my predecessors out of hibernation.
Read on to see the unedited and unretouched result of those negotiations:
“Your
dedicated and hard working editor has decided to leave a little space in the
Newsletter this week. In
sheer desperation he dredged back into the far distant past and exhumed none
other than “The Old Crow”. What
some editors will do to fill empty column space!!
I
spent probably 15 years writing “The
Crow’s Nest” trying to give a degree of cohesiveness and camaraderie to the
CLYC scene. It was a lot of fun…but it was a lot of work.
Oz deserves a heck of a lot of credit and thanks for the wonderful job
that he does in keeping us in touch with each other and informed. [Is that what
you wanted me to say Oz?]………..ed.note.
That is absolutely what I wanted you to say, Old Crow, and now the readers can
understand why the negotiations were so lengthy!
All
kidding aside, the Newsletter is a very vital part of any successful
organization.
We have had a lot of terrific contributors.
The Original was John Cherry who back in the early ‘70’s penned
“Aeolus Speaks”. I took over
after that under the banner of “The Crows Nest”, Jeff Bergo grabbed the flag
from my collapsing hands and continued as “The Young Crow”.
There have been a series of great contributors to the tradition and I
enjoy going out to the mailbox and finding a Weekly Newsletter that tells me
what’s going on, who done it, and where I can find the next action taking
place. My congratulations and
thanks to all who have come before and after.
In my opinion the CLYC is stronger and better because of a worthwhile
Newsletter.
I
had occasion, with son Ralph,
to be in Aukland at the end of the America’s Cup last March.
That is one dedicated sailing country.
We (USA) may have had a lock on the Auld Mug for most of its history, but
watch out, because the New Zealanders live, breathe and abide by sailing.
They will be tough to beat. I
watched out over Aukland Harbour on a Sat. morning and there were at least 1000
(yup, one thousand) Optimist Prams sailing on a huge course; probably 7
different fleets all sailing at the same time.
In addition there were seven different cruiser classes racing up and down
the harbour and I have no idea of how many free-handers were sailing, just to be
sailing. The Kiwis are potent
competition.
But
back to the present:
I have been affiliated with CLYC since 1941 (just before the glaciers and
dinosaurs). It has always been a
proud club. We have had more than
our fair share of skilled sailors who have been able to offset the
techno-whizzes of the other lakes. We
have a reputation for being a fun lake to come to , a good-wind lake to sail
upon with a respected judging staff and exceptional race committee planning.
We can look back upon a proud heritage, look at a distinguished present
and look forward to a continued hallmark of success…..IF we continue to have
the co-operation, and continued participation of our membership.
They are the backbone and strength of the Club.
My traditional, “tip of the topper” therefore goes not only to the
on-the-lake, visible members who generate a successful competitive yacht club,
but also to the invisible but oh, so important people who do what must be done
in order to make things mesh.
Keep
up the enthusiasm, it
will support the excellence and the pride of being a part of CLYC.
Fair winds, Gil (The Old Crow) Bovard”
Whew……nobody
can fill space like that guy. Thanks,
Old Crow, for coming down from your perch and giving us some perspective.
I’m sure we’ll be dialing you up again.
Later,
OZ
*************************************************************************************************************************
June
27, 2000
To say that there was some
sailing going on last week and weekend would be a vast understatement.
There were sailboats and races all over the place from Wednesday’s MC
Nationals registration right through Sunday’s club races.
MC
NATIONALS REPORT…………Another fantastic performance by the
entire Clear Lake Yacht Club membership!! The
largest fleet in MC Nationals history (111 boats) came to town for a good time
and you all showed it to them. The
emails and verbal thank you’s have been streaming in with kudos for all the
effort put forth by our sailing and social members, from those who just stopped
by for a few minutes to help out and say a nice word to the out-of-towners to
those who seemingly spent all their waking hours pitching in.
The
40 mph wind gusts slamming into City Dock on registration day (1)
made it impossible to get boats into the water (but City officials were kind
enough to let us use the lakefront for a day or two as an MC parking lot), and
(2) reinforced Clear Lake’s reputation as a heavy wind lake (crew jobs went
like hotcakes after the small lake sailors got a glimpse of what it can be like
out there). Actually the winds were fine throughout the regatta, with the
exception being the last half of the last leg of the last race when they went
absolutely kaput. The only real
problem was dodging the threatening weather (which PRO Craig Caslavka and his
crew proved to be very adept at). In
the end, the racers were exposed to breezes of nearly every velocity from nearly
every direction and the results show it (Greg Gust, the 1st place
amateur and 2nd overall had to swallow a 38th).
Only Andy Burdick, the overall winner, was able to generate consistently
high finishes…..some of the rest of us were consistent……only at the lower
end of the scale.
CLYC
was well represented on the race course by 14 sailors.
And Randy Kotz definitely led the charge with finishes in the
mid-teens in 4 of the 5 races…….garnering him 4th place among the
amateurs and 7th overall. JC
Risewick walked away with the trophy for top Junior and also had the best finish
of any of the Clear Lake sailors……a 4th in the 2nd
race.
The
racing at any regatta depends on so many things, all of which we were
able to provide. J.C. Risewick’s
taxi crew got everyone off and on their boats all day long; and Diane Kotz’s
spectator and chase boats couldn’t have done a nicer job (especially when
storm clouds and lightning cancelled a race on Friday).
So many of those boats are manned (or womanned) by parents or siblings or
friends of Yacht Club members and they need to be thanked.
Thanks also to the many younger members of the Club who helped out in any
way they could……..not to mention that whenever the wind blew, it appeared
that the entire 16 and under group of the CLYC was out crewing on MCs.
There was even a Melges-sponsored boat (courtesy of Steve Schurtz) that
handed out beverages after every race…..pretty uptown.
Craig’s fleet of judges brings the most experience I know of to any
regatta; we are very lucky to have
such a dedicated group (starting lines for 111 boats ain’t easy)…….and,
heck, Craig even came back out on Sunday to put run back-to-back races for the
Club. Apparently, he was operating
on pure momentum and didn’t know when to stop.
No
racing gets done until boats are registered and weighed and measured.
Registration is always an awesome task.
The on-line registration system took a lot of pressure off on Wednesday,
but only because Harry Alcorn and Rick and Mary Lou Fitch made it work…..and
spent endless hours making it so. The
actual group manning the tables on registration day still has to deal with all
the details and Nancy Lundeen, the Fitches, Diane Kotz, Barb Nicholas and the
rest again made it look effortless. Randy
Kotz, after scrambling to get parts for the scale on Wednesday, managed somehow
to make the weighing and measuring process for over 100 boats look like sort of
official and a walk in the park. And what’s a regatta without T-Shirts?? Val LaFrenz came through with yet another fine design (people
are still calling us for more). Julie
Oltrogge made sure sailors had a place to stay; I know there were several full
houses last weekend, and also many grateful sailors who had a roof over their
heads. The MC Fleet has to be the
most difficult fleet to score because there is a category for everything (except
redheads); but here again, Mark
Tesar made it look like there was nothing to it……unfortunately, the same
cannot be said for yours truly during the trophy presentations.
A
regatta is not just about racing……it’s also about just getting
together with friends and competitors……which really means eating and
partying. Joanne Nicholas (with assistance from Margaret Oz and others)
always seems to make this a highlight. Lunches
went off without a hitch. The steel
drummer at the North Beach on Thursday night made us all limbo and hoola-hoop
(with the unofficial winners being the Protzmann siblings…..funny, they
don’t seem old enough to have been around in the 50’s).
Friday, I know, proved to be quite a challenge.
The weather forecast was awful; it was clear the evening party outdoors
at the Outing Club was not going to work; Joanne
and Margaret hit the phones at 8:30 a.m. and locked up the Surf……much to the
delight of many of the visitors who were only too happy to see the site of Buddy
Holly’s last stand.
Promotion
was the key to making this the biggest regatta in MC Fleet history. Taking a cue from last year’s E Invitational Regatta, Jeff
Nicholas coordinated an MC Raffle with proceeds ultimately going to the Sailing
School. An unbelievable
success…….almost $10,000 will hit the sailing school coffers.
960 of the 1000 tickets were sold……..and we can thank Eric Protzman
for much of that….he not only personally pushed tickets (and MC Nationals)
during the winter and early spring sailing season at regattas all over the
South, but he also auctioneered and badgered and cajoled the Surf partygoers to
loosen their purse strings (to the tune of another 250 or so tickets).
Thanks Jeff and thanks Eric; Eric, we are considering making you CLYC
Grand Viceroy of Promotions For Life. Oh,
I almost forgot……….new CLYC MC Fleet member Thom Winninger won the MC
(sail number 2000) and, get this, he thought all along he was entering the
raffle for an X Boat.
Speaking of promotions (and contributions), you may have noticed Susan
Tarter and her husband Ken, new YC members, showing off the gloves and wetgear
their company has developed….I know lots of the regatta goers were impressed
and made purchases………..20% of that was donated to the Sailing
School…thanks Sue and Ken.
Final
thanks to Stu Oltrogge for volunteering to be regatta chairperson and
holding this whole program together (with the help of Margaret Oz and her newly
created regatta booklet). I know I
will fail to recognize many who deserve to be……….but a few more names come
to mind……Carole Casey and Anita Paulsen who seemed to take up residence at
the Yacht Club all last week; Steve Ashland who helped make Thursday morning’s
rush to the water at least tolerable; Bob
Swanson who never seemed to leave whatever motorboat he happened to be in.
THANK YOU CLYC; BE PROUD OF YOURSELVES.
4TH
OF JULY REGATTA IS THIS WEEKEND……..so expect back-to-back races
on Saturday. Go to the parade, get a carnie to smile, watch the fireworks………
Later,
OZ
We
still haven’t achieved a normal weekend of racing, but Mother Nature is
bound to come around sometime. Saturday
dawned calm enough to cancel all the morning races, but some teaser breezes
brought many out for the afternoon event, only to drop again.
Boat 4, John Hanson offered to set a short course for the MCs anyway,
after he saw how desperate they were to get some tiller time (no matter what the
conditions) before MC Nationals this week.
He even tried to get in a second race, but clearly tempted fate a bit
much, as all the MCs finally limped home in the calm and the waves.
Sunday
was an entirely different story.
A nice mid-teens breeze out of the southwest made for some great sailing
in the morning and the fleets took full advantage of it. I did notice Bill
Casey’s mast imitating an iceboat spar right near the finish line, so the wind
didn’t leave the fleets completely unscathed (Bill, how does your mast NOT
fall down when the forestay breaks??). Then,
it continued to build just enough to make the Dad/Mom/Lad/Lass a real challenge.
I
TOLD YOU………there would be comedy at the annual Dad/Mom/Lad/Lass
race, and there was some of that. But
there was also some drama, at least for the top 2 boats.
If we aren’t careful, we may have to name this the Crayke Windsor Cup
after his back-to-back wins the past 2 years with Scott Little on board.
However, Catherine Martin and Marcus Lundberg figured out how to get some
boat speed in the wind and chop, just in time to make it a close race at the
finish. The also-rans were:
3.
Parker
Zanios and Tom Erickson
4.
Gunther
and Karl Langhart (after a man overboard drill)
5.
Chris and
Brad Oz
6.
Robert
and Eric Protzman
7.
Ashley
and Randy Kotz
8.
James,
Chris and Dave Roberts
There
is definitely an art to sailing X’s in a breeze. I may sign up for sailing school next year to find out what
it is. Anyway, congrats to all
those who attended and thanks to the judges and spectators for making it a fun
event.
SPEAKING
OF SAILING SCHOOL…….The first session has started and I hear there
are 14 Optimist beginners. That’s
a good sign for the future.
THERE
WILL BE CLUB RACES THIS SUNDAY FOR ALL FLEETS……The MCs should be gone
by the end of the day on Saturday and the rest of the Yacht Club can get some
racing in.
MC
NATIONALS IS THIS WEEK……….Registration is Wednesday, June 21.
Races will be Thursday, June 22 through Saturday, June 24.
You can check the CLYC Web Site for a detailed schedule.
Still expecting around 100 boats with a ton of top-notch sailors from
around the country. CLYC members
are welcome to attend both the Thursday night get-together at North Beach with a
steel drum band and the Friday night party on the Outing Club lawn with the MC
Raffle drawing. But if you want to
attend you will have to get tickets at registration, so don’t forget.
VOLUNTEERS
STILL NEEDED FOR BOTH SPECTATOR BOATS (contact Diane Kotz at 357-2618))
AND TAXI BOATS (contact J.C. Risewick at 357-5155). I know Diane and JC have been making lots of phone calls, but
they might have missed some of you who are interested in helping out.
If so, give them a ring. Thanks.
RUMOR
HAS IT………that Clear Lake will be the site of C Nationals in 2003.
Way to go !!!!!!!
CLASSIFIEDS……………..The
Sailing School is very interested in parting with 3 of its used X Boats.
These boats are admittedly not in excellent (maybe not even in good)
condition, but they are usable and may be good for someone’s first “bang
around” boat. The asking price is
$750 without trailer and I understand the price is very negotiable.
Give Charlie MacNider or
Kristin MacNider (357-2036) a call if you’ve got some interest in these
Sailing School collectibles that just might have been the trainers that your son
or daughter learned how to sail in.
Caroline
Hanson wants to divest herself (and her garage) of some old boating
charts and cruiser regatta posters that someone might want as decoration in a
den or office or wherever. The charts include the Caribbean, the Great Lakes,
the Bahamas, etc. It doesn’t get
much cheaper than what she’s offering (although she may force you to take
some other garage junk with you when you go).
Give Caroline a call (357-8059) or stop by.
If you’re too late you will have to sift through the Hanson garbage
cans.
Later,
OZ
********************************************************************
June 13, 2000
Oops……..You
would think that after a few decades of racing sailboats, I would know better
than to assume there will not
be a race. On Saturday, Race
Officer John Hanson, basically hit me (and several others it seems) in the head
with a 2 by 4 with the reminder that one should assume there will always be a race………….unless for some reason
there won’t be a race. That
lesson struck me particularly hard while I was leaving my dock at the same
moment the starting gun went off. Live
and learn…….Thanks for the reminder and the lesson, John.
Anyway, the Saturday morning boats got blown off the lake and the
Saturday afternoon folks got a good chance to test whether their equipment
stands up to the strains of winds in the mid 20 knots.
It appeared that the equipment held up fairly well to the
strain…………on the other hand, the equipment in several boats got wetter
than normal as a result of lying in the water for an extended period of time.
Sunday was much tamer.
Understand
the Vice Commodore
had some trouble staying on board his boat.
There is an obscure Yacht Club rule that deals with just such a
situation, and as soon as I find it, you can be assured it will be enforced with
great vigor.
THE ANNUAL DAD/MOM/LAD/LASS
RACE……..is this Sunday, June 18 at 2:00 p.m.
All you lads and lasses, make sure to get those parents out on your X
Boats. This generally proves to be
one of the top comedy events of the entire sailing season, so don’t miss out.
My personal goal is to finish the race with something less than my usual
25 scrapes and bruises from clumsily moving around in a boat designed for people
who are the size I was 30 years ago. If
the weather doesn’t cooperate, the alternate date is the following Sunday,
June 25, same time, same place.
MC
NATIONALS…………is now only a week away.
As of today, more than 70 boats have preregistered.
It looks like 100 boats will not be outside the realm of possibility.
All volunteer offers are still being readily accepted.
And there are still MC Raffle tickets available.
By the way, the MC Nationals
Committee will be designating “friendly docks” for this regatta, as we have
done with some of our other major regattas in the past.
Friendly docks are marked with a yellow ribbon on a dockpost and are
designed to be a temporary resting place for regatta participants and their
boats, if need be. The plan is to place ribbons on nearby Yacht Club members’
docks unless
the dockowner tells us otherwise. So,
if you are not interested in having your dock tagged with a yellow ribbon,
please contact either Margaret Oz (or me) and we will take you off the list.
Later,
OZ
Email
(office):
brad.osmundson@opuscorp.com
Email (home):
inremoz@aol.com
********************************************************************
June 6, 2000
Better……but not quite there yet. Saturday was a bright sunny day, which almost made you think it was summer…….right down to the lack of wind in the afternoon. At least the morning racers managed to fit in a couple of races before the breeze went bye-bye. Sunday was like sailing in Seattle in the spring……a nice 7 knots of air, but not much to perk up your interest weatherwise.
It was difficult to
ignore the fact that Thom Winninger decided to test the water temperature at the
first windward mark on Sunday…..and then decided to test how long his MC could
remain afloat within spitting distance of the mark.
And the Taylor brothers tested Head Race Officer Caslavka’s sight with
a second-place photo finish on Sunday.
THE PARTY AT
TAYLOR’S………….was a great kickoff for the season.
The social members outdid themselves, per usual, in preparing the
culinary delights. You will be able
to tell all week which of your friends were at the party, because their necks
are permanently kinked from peering skyward for the entire duration of the party
waiting for the big storm to hit. But
it never did, and the Taylor clan was saved from having drenched throngs of
partygoers tramping through their home. Thanks
for having us.
MC NATIONALS………..is
rapidly approaching (2 weeks away as a matter of fact).
As with any regatta, we need all the volunteer help we can get.
And, since this is a Thursday-Saturday event it is important that people
who can help out during the week let us know.
In particular, those who can taxi should call JC Risewick (357-5155);
those who can spectate (and also double as chase boats) should contact
Randy or Diane Kotz (357-2618). These
are two of the most important functions at any regatta, and there is no such
thing as too many taxis or too many spectator boats.
Also, the MC National Fleet organization requires that there be a certain
number of designated chase boats before any race can commence, so
spectator/chase boats will also be a critical part of the program.
We have gotten calls from many MC
sailors who are looking for crew.
The weight range so far has been from 70 to 160 pounds.
If you get off the scale and find yourself in that category……and are
excited about crewing in a 100 boat fleet…………give JC Risewick a call. He’s got the list.
Also, for those of you who just can’t seem to get enough partying, the parties during MC Nationals are open to all Yacht Club members…….but they aren’t free. If you would like to attend, you will have to buy tickets during registration on Wednesday, June 21. The Thursday night party will be at the North Beach with a steel drum band; and the Friday night party will be at the Outing Club.
Later, OZ
Email (office):
brad.osmundson@opuscorp.com
Email (home):
inremoz@aol.com
******************************************************************
May 31, 2000
I know Memorial Day is typically less than pleasant, but this past weekend may have taken the cake. Gray and wet was the order of the day. No matter how crummy the weather may be every year, it seems we always get in at least some racing…………but this year was a total shutout. Actually, with the number of parts I broke just sailing around for fun on Sunday, maybe it was better (for me anyway) not to have races…..I would have been trailing broken junk all across the lake.
Let’s hope somebody up there is a bit more cooperative this coming weekend. We need to get some sailing in and we need to get some parties in. And that’s all there is to it…….
FIRST PARTY……is this Saturday, June 3, at Don and Dolores Taylor’s home. Festivities should begin around 6:30 and will be hosted by the CLYC Social Members. I have been duly chastised for neglecting to include the date and time in last week’s newsletter………sorry………but it will probably happen again. There will even be some extra events going on that may pique your interest.
YEARBOOKS……..are
out. They not only take the prize
for being the earliest we’ve managed to get them out, but I think they are the
best we’ve produced yet. Denni
Erickson, Rick and Mary Lou Fitch and the team at Larson Printing deserve the
attaboys for coordinating the project this year.
The Advertising Committee could not have done a more stellar
job…………..Cheryl Schurtz, John Hanson and Sheila Swift reached out and
touched enough friendly businesses to collect over $4500 in ad revenues.
Pay attention to these businesses that are willing to support the Yacht
Club…….if you are looking to purchase something why not open your yearbook
first and steer your patronage towards those who give their support. And this year the committee tried something
new…………take a gander at the Dawne’s ad which is a 20% off cut-out
coupon.
MC RAFFLE……..The MC Nationals committee wants to make sure you don’t miss out on the raffle for the new Melges Millenium MC with sail number 2000 that will be won by some lucky person on Friday night, June 23, during MC Nationals at Clear Lake. At $20 per ticket it’s a steal………you could win a brand new boat and help out the Sailing School at the same time. Check out the CLYC Web site, or leave a message with Stuart Oltrogge, Jeff Nicholas or myself OR go to the YC party at Taylors (tickets will also be on sale there).
THE HOBIES ARE RETURNING……..sort of. At last week’s Board Meeting we decided to allow Hobies to sail with the Saturday morning fleets for a reasonable registration fee of $100 per boat. Hopefully there is some real interest there. It’s been a couple of decades since we last saw any Hobies racing with the club….so welcome back.
ADMINISTRATIVE STUFF……..A few people have approached me to say that even though they have email, they don’t really pay much attention to it. So, when they only get their newsletter by email they end up not reading it until weeks later, when all the information is stale and out of date. If I am describing you, you might want to let us know and we’ll see if we can’t fix the situation.
SAILING SCHOOL REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN……….James Risewick and Paul Birdsall are anxiously awaiting word on exactly whom they will be instructing this year. So don’t disappoint them.
Later, OZ
Email (office):
brad.osmundson@opuscorp.com
Email (home):
inremoz@aol.com
Fax:
612.656.4814
*****************************************************************************
IT’S FINALLY HERE…………All
those boat repairs that you had all winter to fix now have to be done by this
weekend. All those articles by sailing rock stars that you had all
winter to read have to be read in a matter of days.
All those workouts you were going to do so you wouldn’t have to run for
the Advil after every race now have to be crammed into a few short sessions.
IN CASE YOU’VE FORGOTTEN……The
CLYC racing schedule goes like this:
Saturday 9:30 a.m. Cougars, X’s, Sat. a.m. MCs
Saturday 1:30 p.m. E, C and MCs
Sunday
10:00 a.m. All Fleets
MEMORIAL DAY REGATTA………is,
of course, this weekend. Back-to-back
races on Saturday for all the fleets.
TUNE UPS…….were actually held last weekend. I hear it was gorgeous. All fleets were represented……so at least some folks aren’t as rusty as most of us are.
MC RAFFLE………..is
going gangbusters, but the drawing to be held during MC Nationals (at Clear Lake
June 22-24) is only a bit over 3 weeks away.
This is your chance to win an MC and benefit the sailing school all in
one swell foop. Raffle tickets are $20 apiece. About 200 have been sold so
far; so get yours before the supply runs out. You can get them through the
website, or contact Stu Oltrogge, Eric Protzman or Jeff Nicholas.
Tickets will also be available at the first YC party.
SPEAKING OF PARTIES……..The first one is at Don and Dolores Taylor’s on South Shore Drive just 3 or 4 houses south of the Outing Club. Social Members are in charge of drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
BOARD MEETING………..The second board meeting of the year will be this Saturday, May 27, 8:00 a.m. at the Yacht Club. So shake the cobwebs out and bring up what’s been on your mind the last couple of months.
OFF SEASON REGATTAS………Several of our CLYC sailors have been participating in the off-season regatta circuit. I know the Risewick brothers each pulled off 2nd place overall in the MC and X Fleets a couple of weeks ago at Lake Harriet (the coldest regatta held in years). Our X Fleet was well-represented there with Parker Zanios and Katie Gentry rounding out the group. And Eric Protzman has been on a tear. I think he was at a regatta every week all winter long…..I guess living down south does have its advantages.
SAILING SCHOOL……is still taking registrations for 1st and 2nd sessions. The earlier the sign-ups come in the easier it is to figure out all the staffing and logistics. If you lost the registration forms we sent out in the last 2 newsletters, just copy the form that is on the CLYC website, fill it out and mail it in.
I’m out of stuff.
Later, OZ
Email (office):
brad.osmundson@opuscorp.com
Email (home):
inremoz@aol.com
Fax:
612.656.4814
*************************************************************************
THE END IS NEAR…….for Yacht Club registrations at least. May 15 is the deadline. After that it’s going to cost you a bit more money. But more importantly, you will run the risk of being an anonymous CLYC member, because no one will get to see your listing in the yearbook. According to Mr. Secretary-Treasurer, the social members are kicking the behinds of sailing members in terms of signing up. So, get on the stick sailors………………With our new secure on-line registration format you have very few excuses for not making the May 15 date. Click Here for CLYC Registration
A few have expressed reservations at sending their credit card numbers through cyber space. That’s understandable, but a bit old-fashioned. First of all, the Yacht Club site is a secure site. And second of all, as an internet expert friend of mine explained to me, you take much worse risks with your credit card every day. As he said to me, “Oz, I don’t imagine you’ve ever been so careless as to finish a meal at your favorite restaurant, hand your credit card to some waitron you’ve never seen before who vanishes for 10 to 15 minutes doing God knows what with your valuable card, then cheerfully sign the card on the waitron’s return from places unknown and even tip this person……But if, heaven forbid, you have been that careless then your fears of using your credit card on the internet are a bit misplaced.” ‘Nuff said, I guess.
THE END IS NEARLY NEAR…….for Sailing School registrations. You received a packet of materials with the April newsletter and we’re including it again with this issue. NOTE THE CHANGE IN SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRST SESSION. There will be no school on Thursday and Friday, June 22 and 23, because of MC Nationals (which many of the students and instructors will be involved with). Those 2 days will be made up at the end of the first week in July. So mark your calendars….and get signed up. Click Here for CLYC sailing School registration.
PARTY SCHEDULE IS NOW COMPLETE……..the June party will be at Don (Sr.) and Dolores Taylor’s home and the August party will be Dick and Betty Winga’s. Thanks to you all for volunteering to allow us to take over your homes for an evening.
JUST RETURNED FROM THE ANNUAL INTERLAKES MEETING…….Interlakes Regatta is at Lake Okoboji this year. 420s will again be sailing this year on their own course. Since it appears unlikely that any M’s will show (none did last year), it looks like E’s and C’s will be on one course and X’s and MC’s on the other. The Okoboji representatives indicated they may be a bit short on judges and will definitely be short on places to stay. There was some discussion about in the future holding the regatta as a Thursday thru Saturday event rather than the current Friday thru Sunday deal, so we can avoid the ever-increasing motorboat traffic and waves. I think there will be a special meeting held at the regatta this summer to poll the participants.
DID ANYONE CATCH THE PIC OF THOMAS
ZANIOS IN SAILING WORLD MAGAZINE?……….Don’t tell his folks, but it
looks like he’s having a good time at school!
Later, OZ
Email (office): brad.osmundson@opuscorp.com
Email (home): inremoz@aol.com
Fax:
612.656-4606
*************************************************************************
April 1, 2000
THE INAUGURAL SAILING SEASON OF THE 21st CENTURY IS NEARLY UPON US !!! The wimpy winter has caused early ice-outs all over the Midwest. I hear that Clear Lake’s ice-out date a month ago either tied or set a record, so I’m sure docks are sprouting from the shoreline. Anyone for sailing around in a drysuit??
LOTS OF STUFF THIS YEAR…….We’ve got our usual fun things happening this year, like weekend races, sailing school and our monthly Yacht Club parties. But we’ve also got 3 regattas…….MC Nationals in June, E Invitationals in July and the Laser Regatta in August………..that should keep us busy. We’ve got a new slate of officers…….I’m your new Y2K Commodore (you can stop giggling now), Dave Roberts is your new Vice Commodore and, most importantly, Rick and Mary Lou Fitch have graciously offered to take over the Secretary/Treasurer reins (until they can’t stand it any more).
AND FINALLY………This is the year we accomplish the renovation of the Yacht Club/ Sailing School headquarters. What started out as a modest project to replace the roof and a couple of rotten walls has become something more visionary, I believe. The old bathhouse building which has been the home of the Yacht Club and the Sailing School for the past 17 years is badly in need of more than the cosmetic treatments we have given it every couple of years. What it will be is more useful for club and sailing school functions for years to come, and a positive addition to the downtown lakefront we can all be proud of. What it won’t be is a Taj Mahal.
In addition to replacing at least 2 of the walls and the flat (and leaky) roof with a pitched roof, we plan to enlarge the meeting area by more than half, add 2 interior bathrooms, relocate the kitchen area, add an outdoor patio area on the lakeside under the overhanging roof, incorporate a loft storage area and upgrade the flooring, windows and doorways. The City has approved the project and is willing to grant a long term (20 year) lease to the Sailing School. Fundraising will start any minute. What has really made this a project with legs is the generous pledge by the JOHN K. AND LOUISE V. HANSON FOUNDATION of $100,000 in matching funds for any donations made to the CLYC Sailing School Building Fund (which are, incidentally, tax deductible). This is going to be a lot of fun to see happen, so get fired up…………..Stay tuned, more details (and pictures) to follow……….
ATTACHMENTS………There should be a (1) CLYC Schedule, (2) CLYC Registration Form, (3) Sailing School Information Sheet, and (4) Sailing School Registration Form attached. I know it’s a lot of paper, but it’s a good thing to get out of the way early. If the paperwork really bugs you, know that you can now actually do your CLYC registration (but not your Sailing School registration) on-line on the Web Site (which, by the way, has changed to www.clyciowa.com) with your Visa or Mastercard (the registration process is secure, per Harry Alcorn, the web wiz). It doesn’t get any easier than that, so there is no reason at all for failing to get your Yacht Club registration in by May 15. (Note to chronic late registrants: Late registration screws it up for the rest of the members, because giving a grace period to the very few latecomers delays publishing the Yearbook…….and getting a Yearbook 2 or 3 weeks after the season has started doesn’t make a lot of sense (it’s a bit irritating to the vast majority who were on time, too…….)
SAILING SCHOOL……….If you can get Sailing School registrations in even before Yacht Club registrations, that would be excellent. If you lose your form, you can copy the form off the Web Site. Charlie MacNider, who is adjusting to life without Bob Swanson as sidekick, needs to finalize staffing. I understand the head instructors this season will be J.C. Risewick and Paul Birdsall, who have both been involved with the sailing school program for years now. These guys are good teachers and (most important of all) someone the kids love to be around. It ain’t sailing school if it ain’t fun………..
And remember, the CLYC Sailing School is not just for Yacht Club members. So go ahead and do some recruiting…..give out registration forms to your classmates, friends, neighbors and even strangers who look like they could use a good sail.
By the way, we are very interested in replacing the spot Bob Swanson vacated, so if making a bunch of kids (and adults) who want to learn how to sail, smile is any motivation for you……..please step up to the plate.
NEW WEB SITE ADDRESS………..In case you haven’t noticed, the CLYC Web Site address changed over the winter to www.clyciowa.com. We registered this way so that we can always be sure to have this address even if we change web hosts for some reason. Plus, it’s easier to remember (which is critical for those my age and older).
REGATTAS………….