Spring cleaning is upon us!  Mark and Deb Tesar will be in charge this year as Margaret is out of town… Don’t think for one second though that Margaret doesn’t have a list of work to be done and she WILL make sure it’s done well!  Next Saturday, April 29th from 9 to 11am at the CLYC building downtown is the place to be; all the cleaning supplies will be provided, but please bring your rakes and other outdoor tools for the lawn and garden.

The registrations are pouring in!!!  Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to register early!  We’re all friends here at the CLYC; let’s add to our friendship base; $100 is all it takes for a new membership. The new members you’re encouraging to join can enjoy fabulous parties at excellent locations, make new friends and perhaps learn a new side of the lake lifestyle! The membership fees haven’t changed this year; we’ve just had the addition of the Melges 15 fleet, but let’s go ahead and recap all the fees so we’re all on the same page!

• Base Membership – New Member – $100
• Base Membership (Social Members; required for racing boats except the Melges 15 Developmental Series)  – $125
• Junior Base Membership (Those not included in a parents membership who are under age 30) – $55
• Racing Boat – $170 per boat (E, C, MC, M15, Hobie)
• Racing X Boat – $65 per boat
• Melges 15 Developmental Series (Base Membership not required) – $60 per boat

Clear as mud? To register and for more information, please go to https://www.clyciowa.com/ships-store/membership-dues/.  Don’t forget, when you’re registering you have the option to make a donation to the Sailing Center, which is in most cases tax deductible (please consult your tax preparer). Let me know if you have any questions; if I can’t answer your question, I’ll get you pointed in the right direction at least!

In case you somehow missed the Crows Nest a couple weeks ago (shame on you!), we have a great lineup of parties this year; the first two parties will be at the Yacht Club, the third at the Outing Club then off to the Tesar/Oltrogge Compound.  The final party naturally will be the awards ceremony at the Yacht Club again. Vice Commodore Casey Callanan is in charge of the parties this year; if you’d like to see something different or have ideas, please give him a shout.

As we do every year we have a plethora of club racing. In addition we’ll be hosting the West Water Clinic for the X boats followed by the ILYA Melges 15 Championship the first weekend in August! The club racing schedule is mostly the same this year with the addition of the Melges 15 fleets; here’s the schedule:

• Friday at a time TBD:  Melges 15 “Developmental Series”
• Saturday at 9:30am: MC, X and Melges 15 “Championship Series”
• Saturday at 2pm: E, C Hobie
• Sunday at 10am: MC, X and Melges 15 “Championship Series”
• Sunday at 2pm: E Fleet – June 4, June 25, July 16, July 23, August 13, August 27
  • Melges 15 “Mixed + Series” (Select dates TBD)
• Annual Russ Schurtz Memorial Dad/Lad/Mom/Lass Race – June 18th

Some clarification regarding the different Melges 15 racing options are as follows:

• The “Championship Series” will race for new CLYC Championship hardware. As noted above, this fleet will race on the same course as the MC and X fleets.
• The “Developmental Series” will be used for learning this hot rod.  Come on out and sail something different, learn a new skill, perhaps fall in love with a new boat!
• The “Mixed + Series” is a chance for the ladies of Clear Lake to show their stuff on a high performance craft!  Ladies come out and take the tiller, show the men what you’ve got on the race course.  For those not familiar, Mixed + is a major initiative amongst sailing fleets all over the country: it requires at least half the crew on a boat to be female.

Don’t own a Melges 15, don’t worry about it, boats are available, let’s go give them a shot! Any questions regarding these new experiences should be directed to Jeff Nicholas.  Please email him, jnicholas@cltel.net.

Remarkably, only six weeks remain until the opening of the Clear Lake Sailing Center!  Registration is open on their website, www.clycss.com. You’ll certainly want to get everyone interested registered soon, the spots will fill quickly and you don’t want to be left out!  Billy Starbeck and Easton Devries lead a large group of instructors this year; from beginner to racer, young to not-so-young, this team is ready to teach!

While we all love to be on and around the water and feel carefree while doing so, we should remember that safety is of the utmost importance!  During the summer racing Commodore Price urges everyone out watching to familiarize and arm yourselves with a few different pieces of information and equipment. First is the “Safety Card” which shows the geography of the lake and points to reach in a medical emergency; you may remember these were created a couple years ago in conjunction with the ILYA. Yes, most of us know the lake, but can you operate with your adrenaline pumping? A reminder never hurts! Secondly is a VHF/UHF marine radio, these are widely available online, your local hardware or sports store can order them as well… Our race committee and the sailors are all on channel 72, you can enjoy our PRO’s reports and be kept abreast of any situations which may arise; problems are much easier to solve when we’re all on the same page!  Please contact Commodore Price or myself if you have any questions, bradley.price34@gmail.com or dsallen@cltel.net

For Sale:

Z-9 E boat: 2-owner boat.  Full racing package.  2008 hull, 2018 mast, 2017 boom, everything else at least 2018 or later, including all running rigging.  Upgraded Melges trailer, 2017 envelope and full deck cover, Velocitek ProStart x2, flotation panels, 2 full sets of North sails.  All work done at Melges, including weigh-in and weight certification.  Always stored inside.  Asking $27K. Please contact Brad @ bradley.price34@gmail.com for further details.

E Scow sails available:  2022 North J4 Jib (class legal) used one weekend – $800,  2019 North Whomper (solid white) used one season – $800.  Please contact Dan Allen for more info – dsallen@cltel.net

Until next time friends!

Stay in the Clear Air.

Dan Allen
MC 2811 – Relentless
dsallen@cltel.net
www.clyciowa.com
www.clycss.com