Only two days left until the registration deadline for 2022… Have you paid your dues yet?  New members have joined and our membership numbers are climbing!  Thanks to everyone who has joined and those who have brought our newest friends into our brand of fun!

The Club building is prime to be used for the upcoming rentals, Sailing Center activities and of course the first party of the year on Saturday, June 4th!  Thank you to everyone who showed up to help Margaret scratch off her pre-season to-do list at the building.

While you were at the Club, perhaps driving by or out for a walk, you may have noticed the fencing, equipment and lack of dock at the seawall… The rehab project on the seawall itself has begun and while it’s a bit of an eyesore now, it should turn out to be….. Well, I guess it will turn out to be just like it was… The project which was first anticipated to take over a year is now anticipated to be done by Memorial Day 2022, we shall see.  With all of this said, you won’t be able to rig and launch your boats from the downtown ramp; it’s blocked by the docks waiting for project completion before they’re installed.

Last week I mentioned the Safety Initiative put forth by ILYA Commodore Lee Alnes; well, one correction needs to be made.  The coaches are not “strongly recommended” to use kill switches, they’re required as are safety cards.  We all know the benefit of the kill switches, especially their use on coach boats; the safety cards are just like they sound… All the pertinent information for each lake, such as emergency contacts, points of meeting emergency personnel and the location of emergency equipment.  Mark Tesar put together a safety card for Clear Lake which we can make available to anyone and everyone who wants it; personally I think it should be on every member’s powerboat, but that’s just my opinion… First Aid kits are available on the Race Committee boats; is one available on your boat?  Do you know how to use it?  Boat Medic has a great first aid kit (official first aid partner of the US Sailing Team), probably not a bad idea for us to have something similar on our powerboats just in case?

Hopefully your docks are in at least, maybe even your lifts, if not… Think about the “Tune Up Regattas” happening close by… Tune up your boat, get your sea legs back under you and see those old friends you’ve been missing through the long winter! Unfortunately a few events have been canceled or reconsidered for this year, however, if you’re interested in early season regattas, here’s a few to choose from:

May 14-15            Spring Tune Up Regatta (C/MC)        Cedar Lake, WI

May 21-22            LaBelle Tune Up (C/MC/X)            Oconomowoc, WI

May 21-22            Geneva Spring Regatta (E)            Lake Geneva, WI

Have you wondered about the health of sailing and racing in the US?  Like many outdoor recreation activities, sailing had a big boost in local participation during Covid. That growth in these post-Covid times has not diminished. I recently caught up with Andy Burdick from Melges; he says Melges is as busy as ever!  They’ve built over 300 Melges 15’s with 260 more on order; yet another Melges boat to win Sailing World’s “Boat of the Year.”  They’re maintaining orders of 50 MC’s per year and have 25+ E’s on order; that’s simply incredible! We’re pretty blessed to have such a dedicated builder for our classes!

Speaking of Melges 15’s… It’s been adopted as an official class of the ILYA and is now a provisional fleet at the CLYC.  They certainly add to the excitement of Midwest lake racing; not only is it lightning fast, it’s stable and allows teams of differing weight ranges and ability.  Talk to Jeff Nicholas to hear more and jump on one of these fantastic crafts.

Come on folks; we have a social event scheduled for Saturday, July 16th… Right now we don’t have a definitive location for the event; certainly someone wants to host a few close friends for an evening of food, drinks and fun?  If that someone is you, please contact Commodore Mike Starbeck to make arrangements.  michael.starbeck@gmail.com

One last reminder; registration closes this Saturday, May 7th. Please don’t forget to make your way to the website and get registered today!  www.clyciowa.com

The full schedule of racing and social events begins in less than a month, stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks!  Until then…

Stay in the Clear Air,

Dan Allen
MC 2811 – Relentless
E Scow Z-11 – Wild Side
dsallen@cltel.net
www.clyciowa.com
www.clycss.com