Well last week was certainly interesting…  Actual tornadoes on the ground, deluges of rain and plenty of wind.  I was reading an excerpt from the 50th Anniversary of the Club on Friday when the tornado sirens started going off. I took my kids and computer downstairs and continued reading, then happened across a picture of the Bayside roller coaster… Did anyone realize last Friday, August 27th was the 90th Anniversary of it’s destruction due to a tornado?  The same day we sat hunkered down due to tornadoes in the area…  I also didn’t realize the long standing tradition of the “Crows Nest,” a newsletter for the members, which I’m very proud to be a part of.  It’s pretty amazing the information our little Yacht Club website contains, thanks to Stu Oltrogge for making such information available on our site.

The fleet championships have all been won; the winners to be crowned this weekend at the last party of the year!  This Sunday at the Yacht Club, dinner will be catered by Pastime Gardens in Mason City; a complete taco bar, beef and chicken with all the imaginable fixin’s.  A great idea by Commodore Long!!! Dinner will be served at 5:30 with the annual membership meeting, awards and passing of the Commodore’s Cannon to follow.  The cost is a mere $10/person for a great spread!  Everyone is encouraged to attend and revel in the memories of a great summer!  As usual, beer, wine, soft drinks and water will be available; please remember no hard liquor is allowed on the YC premises.

The Clear Lake Sailing Center (the Sailing School to most of us) is the backbone, the lifeblood of the Clear Lake Yacht Club and they need our help!  Aside from teaching our very young ones and new adults how to sail, the instructors themselves are being taught how to race.  This year, 162 different students, that’s not counting repeat students, participated in one program or another…. That’s a ton of people!  Effective teaching of these hundreds of students is very tough to do without proper equipment.  The current coach boats are nearly 20 years old; the engines and boats can only take so much use and so much fixing…  With that in mind;  the Center is pursuing the purchase of two new coach boats to be used on and off the lake.  They’re a mear $11,000 short of their goal; when they do, the funds will be matched by a generous donor. Whether you would like to write a check for $11,000 or $50, every dollar counts when we’re talking about the futures of these sailors and the future of the Yacht Club itself! Please keep in mind the common goal of teaching valuable life skills, the future of sailing in Clear Lake and our common love of the sport and the lake in general!

The Clear Lake Yacht Club makes the big time, AGAIN!  The Clear Lake Yacht Club has been USSailing’s One Design Club of the Year, ILYA Club of the Year, and now we’re featured in Sailing World Magazine.  Perhaps you noticed a familiar name on the scoreline, but didn’t realize exactly who it was; that was Dave Powlison of Sailing World Magazine with photographer Jen Edney close behind.  An article he wrote about the 50th MC Nationals in Clear Lake, is featured in the most recent edition of the magazine, and it is glowing!  It showed the true picture of Clear Lake, the Yacht Club, it’s members and the sport of sailing within all of us.  The quotes from the organizers and the thoughts from sailors were spot on and used in a fantastic story line. The thoughtfulness of the article was nearly as awe inspiring as the events he described!  If you get a copy, you should keep it to show your Grandkids or Great Grandkids one day.  You’ll also have a fantastic picture of our very own Eric Protzman, appearing on page 60 and a great heavy wind action shot of Dan Allen with crew Riley Cooney appears on page 64, all of whom I’m sure would autograph your copy! Hahaha…  You should be getting your copy very soon if you’re a subscriber; if you’re not, you might want to think about it!

The Fleet Champions are……. Sorry, not in this edition…….You’ll have to come to the Awards Banquet or I guess you can go online and see the scores… That really ruins the surprise though doesn’t it??!!  I’ll publish a recap of the year next week, along with some words from the Fleet Champions. In the meantime, let’s recap the second series in each fleet:

Hard fought battles, multiple race winners, ultra competitive racing and the drama that goes with; that’s what we had during the Second Series in every fleet!  During the second half of the summer the X fleet was mixed up and scrambled; every point making a huge impact; every team making waves and valiant strides toward a Second Series victory.  Last weekend, young Jude Sorensen took two straight wins to make the scoring even closer in the X Fleet!  The dust tried to settle, however, another small issue…. A tie for first place in the Second Series between Elle Ebeling and Leif Lundberg.  Elle won the tiebreaker with her four 1st place finishes and took the win.  Congratulations to all the young sailors of the X Fleet, what an effort put forth by all of you!

The MC fleet was neck-and-neck-and-neck-and-neck during the entire second series and came down to the last two races; Mark Tesar and Stu Oltrogge both scored a first and a third which gave Stu the top position with Mark in second, forcing Dan Allen to fall back to third and Todd Tesar into fourth with Eric Protzman finishing fifth. Some of the closest racing in years!

Close, high speed racing is what the E fleet has been about all summer long.  This weekend was no different, except they finally got a full weekend of racing, finishing the series on a high note! Stu Oltrogge, steering the Z-23 Team Loon in place of daughter Emily Haugerud, had a great weekend with scores of 1, 1, 1, 2, in close quarters.  Ultimately Team Loon Z-23 takes the Series win.

I should most likely apologize to the C fleet; I’ve been ribbing them all year for their lack of participation in the club racing.  They have had a bit of a tough year among the group and if this year had different circumstances I’m sure they would have been out more… With that said, I believe the 1st Series, 2nd Series, each regatta and the most improved goes to the fisherman who catches the largest walleye in Canada????  Smallest gets the Juno Cup?  Come on guys it’s sailing season; you can fish year round!

The sailors in addition to their regular spoils are eligible for other high honors within the Club; the R Lyle Bergo Memorial Trophy (Best X Boat regatta performance), the Marie O’Brien Alcorn Memorial Trophy (Top overall off lake regatta performance) and the Tom MacNider Memorial Trophy (CLYC most improved).

Speaking of awards, there’s much more than just sailing excellence lauded at the Clear Lake Yacht Club.  Non-sailing recognitions are also handed out; the Charlie Crane Memorial Trophy (Contributions to the CLYC), the Loose Anchor Award (behind the scenes contributions) and of course the Blooper Award; these awards are all available to any member.

I’ve almost forgotten we’ve still got one last weekend of racing left.  Of course it doesn’t count toward the 2nd Series or the Championship scoring, however, bragging rights are still on the line; So to is the infamous Juno Cup for each “adult fleet.”  Finish last in the last race of the year, you’ll be blessed with the most amazing piece of hardware imaginable!

I’m hoping all the one eyed mangy cats are safe on S Lakeview Dr, boats have been properly secured to trailers, heck, I hope all the trailers were found! The days are dwindling to make your nominations and tell the story of another’s misfortune! Send your Blooper Nominations to Stu Oltrogge – clyciowa@gmail.com

Lastly we have the opportunity for big savings this fall on the sails you were already planning to buy!  This year we have both North and Quantum Fall Savings deals being offered for all the scow sails and X boat sails.  Contact Mark Tesar for the Quantum order specifics mtesar@cltel.net or Dan Allen for the North order specifics dsallen@cltel.net. The savings are significant, don’t miss out!

For Sale in Clear Lake:

2005 Melges E boat: All conversions to the current set up have been completed.  New jib halyard this year.  Full deck cover and mooring cover 3 and 2 years old respectively. Standard Melges trailer package with spare tire.  Spin sheets replaced in 2019.  All dings were repaired last Fall.  Sails include a 2019 full set used in 1 regatta in 2019 and then club sailing in 2021 and a 2016 full set.  $9,950.  Contact Stu Oltrogge at 651-295-4913 or clyciowa@gmail.com

2014 Melges MC # 2605: Very fast, closed cockpit MC. Includes a Melges trailer (with mast support), full deck cover, envelope cover, rudder cover and 1or 2 North Z-Max sails. It’s been stored in a heated garage every winter.  Price is $12,500 (which is a steal) Contact Brad Osmundson at bosmundson@onwardinvestors.com or 612-419-8473

Stay in the Clear Air,

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