Can you believe it’s come already?  The second party of the 2024 season is upon us; Saturday, June 15th about 6:30 at the Callanan/Hanson Compound.  Commodore Casey Callanan reminds us this is an adult party; a food truck, tent for outdoor shelter and drinks of all sorts will be provided!!! All you have to do is show up and have fun! This promises to be one of the best parties in some time; it’s almost a single night all inclusive vacation!

Just in case you’re not aware of the location:  4444 Dodge Ct, Clear Lake, IA 50428.  In the center of Dodge’s Point is a grass area, please park around that and be sure to leave enough room for cars to get through as the road is fairly narrow.

At the last party, a few volunteer positions were filled for the ILYA Championship Regatta, however, more are still needed!  20 A’s – 50 E’s – 50 C’s- 60 MC’s…. That’s 750+ people coming to Clear Lake for the event; 7 days, 4 social events, 27 total races… It’s an undertaking of epic proportions; everyone is needed in some capacity; please contact Julie Oltrogge at julieoltrogge@gmail.com

Speaking of the ILYA Championship; Stu Oltrogge, who is one of the Regatta Organizers, has a special message to the Club:

Because this is our first time hosting this regatta and one where we are going to shine our brightest, we are pulling out all of the stops to make this an epic event.  To help us achieve that, we’re partnering with the ILYA in a Friends & Family sponsorship program.  At levels of $1,500, $1,000 or $500, we’re offering ways for you to participate in some exclusive events at our regatta.  Details can be found here.  Shoot me an email at stuartoltrogge@gmail.com if you’re interested or see me at the party.

Collectively we sailors do quite a bit of complaining about Mother Nature and her fickle temperament but for the most part she hasn’t been too terrible…All right we had one day of zero breeze, but we’re getting in a full schedule of races so far this year, knock on wood, even if some things have been less than desirable.  Three weeks in a row wearing foul weather gear in the morning due to rain or cool temperatures, I guess that should be somewhat expected; it hasn’t been the norm over the past few years though. Northerly and Easterly breezes in May and June… Hmmm, not ideal, but at least the wind is blowing!

Saturday morning wasn’t quite as breezy as the afternoon but presented its own challenges with large changes in velocity and oscillating shifts rearranging the order of the fleets on multiple occasions.

Race 1 in the MC fleet was won by Mark Tesar who put the pedal down at the start and didn’t notice how large his lead was until Steve Swift chatted him up on the first run… There may have been an exchange of morning cocktails since Mark had plenty of time to enjoy!  Second place went to Eric Protzman after a masterful final run! Emily Haugerud was third, Todd Tesar finished fourth and Dan Allen in 5th.  As a side note; the 2nd through 8th place boats finished in a span of less than 10 seconds apart!  It was a sight to behold!

Race 2 was a dog fight between Todd Tesar and Dan Allen in the climbing, yet directionally unstable breeze.  Dan led at the first mark, Todd the second, third and fourth… Dan Allen managed to climb back and barely pass Todd just at the end.  Mark Tesar crept his way back toward them only to be passed by Emily Haugerud who took advantage of a huge lefty, passing Mark right at the finish, fifth place went to Stu Schurtz.

In the M15 fleet, Elle Ebeling made her debut in firework fashion… After shaking off a little rust on a spinnaker set, the Ebeling girls took off and sailed with a frightful vengeance, winning the first race in style.  Dave Atkinson and crew maintained their consistency taking second with Ashley Stokke in the third spot.

Race two and more of the Ebeling girls…Firing off the line and running wild, Elle and Georgia Ebeling set the bar taking Race 2 in the increasing velocity.  This time Finley Nyhus finished second after a disappointing first race with Mr Consistent Dave Atkinson in third.

Jude Sorensen, the “Elder” of the X fleet continues to show the way.  His many years now of racing in the X and Opti fleets are paying off.  The best thing is he’s able to share his knowledge with the rest of the fleet, which he’s very willingly done!  Race 1 Saturday began with Jude winning the start and he led the way around the course. Avery Tidrick with sister Brynn took second place having sailed a beautiful race. Alida Lundberg with crew Oliver Thompson had a great race finishing third; Thea and Isla Sorensen were fourth with the Summerfield boys in fifth. Welcome Summerfield family to the life of sailboat racing, I hope you’re hooked!

A difficult race 2 ensued after the MC and M15 starts…It was now time for the X fleet to show their collective bravery and guts; and show it they did!  Jude once again led around the track taking the win.  Avery and Brynn sailed a very controlled race, finishing second with Alida and Oliver in 3rd.  Thea and Isla shook off a capsize between races and finished fourth in race 2 with Sofia Allbee in fifth place.

As predicted, the wind climbed, the gusts were close to our club racing limits, but was still very sailable; PRO Tommy Erickson took full advantage of the conditions!  I like to do research after the races to see what the recorded conditions were; the breeze was blowing 16mph from the NNW with gusts to 25 during race time; so said the airport log anyway…

The Z-23 Team with Emily Haugerud at the helm jumped out to early leads in both races, followed closely by Brad Price and team in Z-9.  The racing was close but if you give Emily a lead, she’s very reluctant to give it up! Mark Tesar and his team in the Z-13 were third.

Race 2 in the E fleet saw Emily jump out to a lead again, this time however, a snafu with the kite led to being passed by the Z-13 Team… But hold on… The Z-23 Team got it together, coming back and eventually winning.  Mark Tesar held on to second place over Brad Price and team in third.

After a long C boat hiatus Marcus Lundberg sailing his latest Damfino, won the first race in style, despite some admitted mistakes and C boat rust!  Second place was our other new C boater Merritt Becker with Ryan Wade crewing. Bill and Greg Nicholas get a DNF after deciding to test the water temperature mid-race…

Race 2 was match racing style; just Marcus and Merritt continued in the fun. Merritt showed he’s no slouch, winning this go round…

Sunday morning took a sudden turn and came in like a lion before settling in; with the water still pretty cold and wind kicking into high gear, PRO Charlie MacNider made the wise call to leave the X boats on shore and sail just the MC and M15 fleets. Just one race was sailed in winds which were gusting into the low 20’s at times.

In the M15 fleet, Dave Atkinson broke through with his first win of the year sailing a great race in the tough conditions.  Finley Nyhus seems to excel in the breezy conditions as well, coming through with yet another second place finish.  Will Finstad, Elle Ebeling and the Thompson’s rounded out the top five!

The MC fleet was dominated by the heavy air aces; Todd Tesar took his first bullet of the year, followed very closely by Stu Oltrogge with crew Deb Tesar in second and Mark Tesar in third.  Eric Protzman and Stu Schurtz completed the top 5 of the windy race.

1 X boat, 1 M15 and 1 C boat – the common theme; they all tipped over this past weekend.  No one was hurt, no damage done… A couple points to make about these particular situations:  1. Rule 41 is modified for CLYC racing and boats who are tipped over during a race may receive assistance and continue racing without penalty.  2. If someone had been hurt, do you know the proper safety protocols as outlined by the CLYC???

We’ve gone over this a few times in the past but it’s important to bring it up every year!  We’ve handed out the Safety Card multiple times, we’ve had them at events; everyone should have one in their powerboats if they’re out watching races.  Be prepared to help if you’re able. Rather than handing out another piece of laminated paper to everyone we’ve posted the safety protocols HERE.

The Sailing Center is in full swing, now nearly done with Week 2 of the eight week summer schedule!  Just like the racers, the Center has to deal with the whims of “ol Mother Nature. Thank goodness optis are small enough to move inside during the rainy mornings and the show can go on!

Don’t forget to register your child or yourself!  The Clear Lake Sailing Center caters to all ages; the regular schedule of youth classes and 5 Tuesday night sessions for adults.  If you can’t make it to all the classes, don’t worry about it!  Andi Tisor has made it clear they will work with your schedule.  What’s not to like?  High quality instruction, fun on the water and learning a new skill… All with flexibility…!  Take advantage today!

I hope to see many of you on the water; if not certainly at the Saturday evening party.  Until then….

Stay in the Clear Air.

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