Another season is in the books here at the Clear Lake Yacht Club… 2024 at the CLYC was a year of historic firsts, great camaraderie, fierce competition and continued passion for all things Summer and lake related!

The CLYC originated in 1935, the ILYA in 1897; can you believe that in all those years Clear Lake had never hosted the ILYA Championship!?!  This year, our dream finally came true and the Championships were held here; 151 boats, hundreds of sailors, hundreds more volunteers and an incredibly supportive municipality made this event one to remember!  The sailors and the ILYA organization itself stood up and took notice of our Club, we’re no longer a lake which is deemed “secondary” to the large lakes of Wisconsin and Minnesota; we’re playing with the Big Boys now and those Big Boys have a new standard they’re going to be held to because of your efforts!

Social events galore…Not just social events; this year was knocked out of the park by Commodore Casey Callanan and his amazing wife Hunter!  An amazing food truck at the Hanson Compound, the fantastic setup at the Zanios and Hendricks residences and of course the events held at the Yacht Club which was capped off by an off the charts, yet simple dinner at the Awards Ceremony!

The competition this year in every fleet was palpable; the boats were condensed and the scores jumbled in almost every fleet! Newcomers and long time runners-up took the reins, eventually leading their respective packs.

Jude Sorensen with crew Will Price started the season going gangbusters; many wondered if he would lose a race… That question was answered with the emergence of a new contender in Garrett Summerfield with crew Wes Gordon who brought the fight to Jude and Will. Of course, they weren’t the only contenders; Avery Tidrick with a variety of crews, her sister Bryn, Claire Rasmussen and Alex Berding began to fight tougher, making the fight more intense.  Watch out though, the younger teams of Sophia Allbee and Elyn Nedved, the Sorensen girls, the Harris boys are hungry for a piece of the pie and the future is promising!  Congratulations to Jude on winning his first X Fleet Championship!

The Melges 15 fleet was a battle of consistency; who could stay near the top the most often, not necessarily winning every race!  The battle for the Fleet Championship was decided by just .19 points, the difference between third and fourth was decided by just .12 points.  In it’s inaugural year, just two boats had enough races to qualify for the Championship, this year it was five and all eight boats were out enough to make an impact on the scoring.  Congratulations Dave Atkinson on his second consecutive Fleet Championship!

The MC fleet saw some of the tightest racing it’s experienced in years.  Instead of three boats running away, it was 10 to 15 boats swarmed together!  It seemed that every race was a new story and anyone had a chance to win.  For the first time since 2012 and only the second time since 2005, the MC Fleet Champion was not named Mark or Stu!  Todd Tesar was the sailor who emerged and took control; sailing very well in the middle of the season and held on to take home the hardware! Congratulations Todd on your victory!

The C fleet was only able to get eight races sailed this season…Not a great number, but the quality was impeccable.  Newcomer Merritt Becker dueled with all those willing to spar eventually taking home the Championship Trophy which is long storied at the CLYC.  Congratulations Merritt!

The E fleet was able to get a few more races than the C fleet, but unfortunately not nearly as many as they would like, only completing twelve total races. Emily Haugerud and Team Loon came out on top; they sailed a total of eleven races, had 7 wins, 3 seconds and a DNF… That’s not too shabby.  Congratulations Emily and team on your Championship!

The Top finishers from each fleet are as follows:

All five fleets at the CLYC have a “Seamanship” award within their ranks; that designation is for overall improvement in score versus the year prior.  The following award is more…:

• Tom MacNider Memorial Trophy – is awarded annually to the skipper who has the most improvement in score versus the prior year across all fleets.  “The most improved in the Club.”  Avery Tidrick with a variety of crews proved she’s a force to be reckoned within the X boat fleet.  Her improvement over last year was a whopping 2.2 points.  She fought through the entire year at the top of her fleet and showed her ever increasing skill.

Each year a couple perpetual trophies are given to those who have performed at the highest levels outside of Club racing; those awards and winners are as follows:

• R Lyle Bergo Memorial Trophy – this is awarded to the X boater with the best “off lake performance.”  In 2024 the recipient is Jude Sorensen for his performance at the ILYA X Boat Championship held at Delavan. As the lone Senior Fleet sailor from Clear Lake sailed well in the tough conditions presented.

• The Marie O’Brien Alcorn Memorial Trophy – this is awarded for the best “off lake performance” in an adult class.  The 2024 recipient is Dan Allen for his 11th place finish at the MC ILYA Championship and 5th place finish at the MC National Championship.

The Commodore has the duty and privilege of choosing the recipients of the next two awards.  Each year our members go above and beyond to further the cause of the Clear Lake Yacht Club and ensure it’s success for many years into the future:

• The Charlie Crane Memorial Trophy – Contributions to the Club are done in many different ways; it could be in volunteer spirit, monetary contributions, guidance to the future and/or donation of assets.  John and Carolyn Hanson are the proud recipients of this year’s award.  The Hanson’s have routinely been stewards of the Club across the country.  They’ve been responsible for moving the Club in a positive direction for many years and the appreciation for their generosity cannot be expressed in a single trophy.  Thank you John and Carolyn for everything you do for the CLYC!

• The Loose Anchor Award – This award is for the person or people who make contributions to the Club that aren’t seen on the front lines but are hugely impactful on the Club.  Julie Oltrogge, who is aptly nicknamed the Queen of Volunteers, is the award winner in 2024.  Julie was able to round up an enormous volunteer base for the ILYA Championship through painstaking work over many hours.  The Championships would not have been successful without her truly heroic efforts.  Thank you Julie for your continued giving to the CLYC!

Ah the drama that occurs in the dark, hidden spots; the conversations, mishaps and injuries with or without insult that happen outside the view of an entire organization.  That’s what the next award is for!:

• The Blooper Award – It’s pretty self explanatory what this award is for… Chosen by the cheers and jeers of the attending members at the Year End Banquet, this extremely large and inconvenient trophy is one we’d all like to avoid receiving.  In 2024 the Blooper goes to Jude Sorensen who was caught on the receiving end of karma… After a disagreement with one of the coaches at X Champs, Jude returned to his boat to find a sidestay broken in half and the mast laying on the deck.  Ok, now that’s funny… BUT did anyone check Elle Ebeling’s gear bag for wire cutters?  I’ve been told that, “Hell hath no fury like…….”  What’s the real Blooper here?   Hmmmm…. Elle….?

Commodore Casey Callanan eloquently said his “farewells” during the General Meeting at the Awards Ceremony and handed the flags and reins over to the new Executives.  Dan Allen was nominated and approved as the Commodore for the 2025 season; Andi Tisor was nominated as the Vice Commodore.  Charlie MacNider remains as the Head Race Officer and Meg Casey-Payne will remain as the Treasurer where they’ve served with distinction for many years now!

Speaking of our esteemed Head Race Officer and his gaggle of minions: The entire membership offers their many thanks.  Without you; Charlie, Kathy, Casey, Bill, Tommy, Denni, Dave, we don’t get to race… Remember sailors, we don’t just get races… We get quality races; that’s something many clubs can’t say!

Mark Ebeling gave an update on the Sailing Center and reports that things are great! Despite being great, some changes are coming down the pike.  Mark has stepped aside as President, turning that responsibility over to Jake Sorensen.  Jen Amble will be taking over as the Treasurer with Andi Tisor’s acceptance of the CLYC Vice Commodore position. A new, vibrant Board which was set on a good path to begin shows the commitment they all have to success.

More regattas are on tap for some of our sailors!  Brad Price with his crew, Will Price, Kelly Purviance and George Kennedy are competing at the E Scow Nationals at gorgeous Crystal Lake, MI.  If you’ve never seen it, Crystal Lake is a real gem of Midwest sailing.  Currently 85 boats are registered!!!  The event begins today with registration/check-in and racing begins tomorrow morning.  Good luck Brad and team!!!!  Dan Allen will be heading to Spring Lake, MI in a couple weeks for the MC Blue Regatta.  I’ll be sure to do a regatta recap of both events in early October.

I’d like to take a minute and put on the Commodore hat rather than the author hat… 2024 may have been the best yet; the members and leadership of the Club came together to achieve great feats many thought were impossible!  Together we’ve continued to build our Club, not just in sheer numbers, but in active members and sailors. Our future is bright and will only continue to shine with expansion of our membership! The ILYA Championship engaged our little town; it’s time to involve as many folks as possible and bring our beloved sport to a greater mass.

Until next time friends…

Stay in the Clear Air.

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