By the time you read this Leif Lundberg should be setting up, well maybe waking up and thinking about setting up for the 50th X Boat Blue Chip Regatta.  As mentioned in previous editions of the Crows Nest, he was invited due to his consistency throughout the 2022 season at the many regattas he sailed. Good luck, sail hard and most of all have fun Leif and Isaac, we’re all very proud of you guys! Go Z-5!!!!

Saturday, August 13th at 6:30pm, you should channel your inner Parrothead and rendezvous for “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” at the Ebeling and MacNider residences. Be careful in your flip flops around all the pop tops at the next CLYC social event; any new tattoos will not be the responsibility of the CLYC or the hosts of the event! Set your navigation to 435 and 441 N Shore Dr and enjoy the evening with the rest of the members!  As always, wine, beer and other refreshments will be supplied by the club; burgers and sides will also be provided by the club!

An early notice to the E Fleet: Fleet Captain Wil Cooney has arranged the E fleet party for Friday, August 26th at the Cooney residence. That’s 717 S Shore Dr, Clear Lake if you weren’t aware… Dinner will be provided to the fleet starting at 6:30, you should bring your own choice of beverage!  Some fleet business will need to be discussed in addition to the “election” of the Fleet Captain for the 2023 season.  Skippers please RSVP Wil Cooney @ 641-five.eight.three-1237 by Tuesday, August 23rd with the number of attendees from your boat.

Another early notice, this time to the MC Fleet: Fleet Captain Jake Sorensen will be holding the MC Fleet party on Saturday, August 27th.  He’s still hammering out the specifics, so more details will come next week.

The Sailing Center is just about to end their season having completed 8 highly successful weeks of instruction!  Kids as young as 6 to adults enjoyed a few days to an entire summer filled with fun on the water learning to navigate sail craft.  The smiles were seemingly endless as you watched from shore.  Many new kids attended class this year, among them were Pat Bergo’s great-grandchildren down from the Twin Cities.  Thank you to the Officers, Board Members and instructors for everything you do fostering a love of sailing in our kids.

Racing continues for four more weekends here at CLYC; just 3 weeks left for the Championships in each fleet and then Labor Day weekend. Let’s hope the weather cooperates at the tail end of our season… Mother Nature has not been kind for the vast majority of the Summer, at least not on the weekends… One example provided to me by Stu Oltrogge:  the E fleet has sailed just 10 total races so far this summer; 30 have been scheduled… For you non-mathematicians out there, that’s just 33%… Frustrating to say the least!

Speaking of the E fleet;  Sunday E racing will happen this week, Sunday, August 14th at the normal time of 2:00pm.  Consider yourselves updated…

The X and MC fleets were joined by four Melges 15’s this past Saturday morning with two solid races being completed; of course they were the only races completed all weekend… In the X fleet Leif Lundberg won race 1, albeit by the slimmest of margins, crossing the finish line overlapped with Elle Ebeling! Race 2 was also won by Leif Lundberg with Brady Amble second (his best race of the year) and Elle Ebeling in third. The skill of the entire fleet is on the rise and it’s obvious as we watch them; they hit the shifts, stay in the breeze and actually concentrate on racing!  It’s a great phenomenon to see a bunch of teenagers (some younger) concentrating for hours!

The MC fleet was mixed up and competitive as ever!  Emily Haugerud took the win in race one by about a boat length over dad Stu Oltrogge with Randy Kotz close behind in third. Race two was controlled from start to finish by Stu Oltrogge; he followed the Buddy Melges Rule…Start ahead and cover… He won handily with Dan Allen second and Brad Oz third.

The Annual Russ Schurtz Memorial Dad/Mom/Ladd/Lass Regatta was attempted.  Mother Nature didn’t take too kindly to the attempt, this time with nearly zero wind under cloudy and at times rainy skies. Despite the conditions, the parents and kids seemed to have a great time! An X boat flotilla was formed in the middle of the lake with wonderful pictures taken to commemorate this event. With club racing, regattas, back-to-school and various other events quickly forthcoming, I’m told no other attempts to race will be made this year.

Coming up next week is the ILYA Annual Championship Regatta hosted this year (Again) by Lake Geneva Yacht Club.  Clear Lake has several attendees this year; Brad Price and crew in the E fleet, Stu Oltrogge, Mark Tesar and Todd Tesar in the MC fleet. Geneva is sure to serve up a great time; $25 burgers, $40 martinis and Mt Gay flowing like a river surely top that list… Of course the sailing venue itself is phenomenal and it’s tough to beat a club with the facilities and amenities such as Geneva!!!

Bloopers – how can we ever forget to talk about those!?!?! Several submissions have been made to the Master of Jesters himself, Stu Oltrogge; we’re looking for more of those well kept secrets of failure, peril and disregard which have occurred through our short summer.  Please contact Stu with your submissions, clyciowa@gmail.com

The Sailing Center is looking for a jet ski trailer to be used for one of the smaller coach boats.  If anyone has one they’re willing to part with, please contact Mark Ebeling at markebeling@hotmail.com

With the end of the season approaching, if you would like to list any of your items for sale in the Crows Nest please let me know.

Lastly, an early notice for the Board Meeting happening Sunday, August 21st.  Board Members, you’ll receive an invite from Commodore Mike Starbeck at some point with the agenda and location of the meeting.  Please plan to attend.

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