Wow!  What a regatta that turned out to be! 15 foot dinghies skipping across the tops of waves the long way down the lake in a solid breeze; we simply could not have asked for more!  Mother Nature finally decided to show up for more than a few hours this summer!  She’s certainly not like our outstanding membership who showed up in droves again, volunteering to provide an excellent experience for the sailors! Thank you to everyone who made this event a massive success!

40 boats from across the Inland came to Clear Lake to duke it out to become the 2023 ILYA Melges 15 Champion.  If you weren’t out on the water to hear the reactions of the teams, I hope you had time to at least watch from a good vantage point.  I had the privilege of working on the Signal Boat last weekend and the best part of the regatta were the reactions as teams crossed the finish line.  The hooping and hollering was amazing!  Some expressed their utter satisfaction with the conditions using words I’m not allowed to use in the Crows Nest! It’s so great to see and hear the sailors having such a great time at our amazing venue.

The reaction of sailors to the conditions was fantastic, so was the reaction to our Club and town, they loved everything about coming to Clear Lake.  The setup of the Club, the conditions and most of all the hospitality.  “Iowa Nice” was brought to the forefront again as our masses of volunteers gave the M15 teams everything they wanted and needed plus some; many couldn’t say enough kind words.

Our Melges 15 fleet here in Clear Lake is both new to the boat and mostly very young; they all put forth a valiant effort against the best of the ILYA.  Some great results were had, amazing rides, but best of all learning experiences to move forward with.  Stu Oltrogge with crew Deb Tesar were our top boat.  Finley Nyhus with crew Matthew Doane was our top youth boat; welcome back to racing young Mr. Doane! Growth is the name of the game right now, both in number of boats as well as experience; I have no doubt that in time, our fleet will be among the gold standard. 2024 may bring 3 new boats, perhaps more, to the fleet competing each weekend.

Tuesday afternoon the life of a truly wonderful young man, Easton DeVries was celebrated. Seemingly thousands came to the visitation and funeral to lend their support for the friends and family of the DeVries family. The CLYC continues its thoughts and prayers for all of those touched by Easton’s passing.

This weekend is party time!!! Far too many weeks have gone by since the last party, so let’s make these events great!

The MC Fleet party is Friday, August 11th starting around 6:30 at the Oltrogge residence (701 N Shore Dr if you’re not sure where it’s at). Fleet Captain Dave Haugerud will be preparing all the food, all you need to bring is your preference of beverage.  Remember MC sailors, if you don’t show up, you run the risk of being given the distinct honor of being Fleet Captain next year…

Attention all members!!! The next YC members party will be Saturday, August 12th around 6:30 or so.  This time around we’re at the famed Compound, three houses in a row owned by the Tesar’s and Oltrogge’s (701 N Shore Dr), if you still can’t find it, drive down North Shore Dr and look for the house with the Opti setup in the yard! The MC Fleet, C Fleet and Social Members who live North of Main Ave are responsible for bringing the food. Beverages of all varieties will be available.

Hopefully this weekend brings a full schedule of club racing back to the water.  We are behind in races so the morning fleets should be prepared for back-to-back races both days. E scow fleet, you have racing both Saturday and Sunday afternoons this week, please prepare accordingly.  The forecast looks good so far, it could be a very busy weekend of partying and racing! Including this weekend, we have just 3 weeks left of Championship racing… I know, booooo! I wish we could somehow extend our season… Some of the best sailing is in September…hmmm…

Leif Lundberg and one, perhaps both of his crew, are on their way to the X boat BlueChip Regatta at Cedar Lake, WI today. This is the second year in a row he’s qualified.  Good luck Leif!

Beginning next Wednesday, August 16th is the start of the ILYA Annual Championship, the “Big Inland” as some still refer to it. We have a decent contingent of sailors attending the event over at Lake Geneva. Brad Price and the Z-9 team will be there naturally (what major regatta do they not go to…), 5 MC teams are currently registered; Stu Oltrogge, Dan Allen, Marcus Lundberg in his newly acquired boat, Chris Krogh and Nathan Kotz. Mark Tesar will be making the trip as well, he’ll be the PRO for the A fleet and on the gate boat for the E fleet.

We have several sailors aging out of the X boat but right now we have just one boat for sale:

2022 X-Boat – Opportunity to own one of the newest four X boats. Includes these items bought new with the boat in 2022: Melges trailer and hold-downs with spare tire, seadek flooring, tapered mainsheet, full deck cover, envelope cover, rudder/tiller bag, and Quantum mainsail & jib. Also includes 2023 Quantum mainsail and jib used only in regattas this season. Available at the end of August. Pictures can be provided.Price – $20,000 Contact Marcus Lundberg damfino999@yahoo.com | five zero seven-363-0634

We’re going to skip a week with the Crows Nest as I’ll be out of town at the ILYA Championship Regatta.  When I get back we’ll have a full recap of the X Blue Chip and ILYA Championship, along with fleet standings and the race for Club Champions! Stay tuned…

Stay in the Clear Air,

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