Crow’s Nest 07/18/24

Margaret Oz and the Building and Grounds Committee could use a little help… Hahahaha, help cleaning up around the YC building, that is… This Friday (tomorrow) at 3pm they’ll be starting the work, “prettying up” the grounds around the Club due to the normal 4th of July wear. If you’re able please come help, don’t forget your rake! If you have any questions you can contact Margaret, inremoz@aol.com

Saturday July 20th @ 6:30… The next social event is upon us and our gracious hosts, Jamie and Nancy Zanios couldn’t be more excited! Docking is available at the Zanios residence (look for the Greek flag) and the dock immediately to the West is also available.  Of course car parking is open on North Shore Dr across from the house, as well as along Fairway Drive.  The house address is 2303 N Shore Dr, if you didn’t know that already. Racing members of all fleets, you should plan to bring your delicacies for all to enjoy.  Of course the liquid refreshment will be on site with the bar set up on the deck.

Speaking of social events… During the ILYA Championships, two parties will be held at the Surf Ballroom.  One on Tuesday, August 13th the other on Friday, August 16th.  Tickets are available to our members, even if you’re not participating in the regatta.  ILYA Social Event Tickets The tickets, which must be purchased by July 29th, are $55/person. This will get you an evening featuring live entertainment, mingling with folks from around the country and food catered by Chef David from the Surfside Restaurant.  Chef David is a French master chef trained in culinary techniques by the finest restaurateurs. If you have any questions or need any help, please feel free to reach out to me, Dan Allen  dsallen@cltel.net

Sailors; the late fees kick in July 25th… That’s next week… It’s time to crack open the wallet and get registered. We still have a few boats who I know are going to sail but haven’t done the clicky, clicky on the website!  Go out and get it done!  ILYA Championship Event Page

Throughout the years since 1935 the CLYC has hosted many regattas; each one a success, each one showcasing the beauty of our Club and Lake.  This is only possible due to the generosity and volunteer spirit of our members.  In our 89 years, we’ve not held an event of this size, in terms of boats or people; we need the assistance of every member in order to make this regatta a success and force the ILYA to put Clear Lake in a rotation to hold this event on a regular basis.  We’re within a month of IC-Day (Inland Champs Day), please reach out to Julie Oltrogge julieoltrogge@gmail.com, let her know what days you’re available and she’ll put you in the perfect position!

Don’t forget the Boater’s Closet!  ILYA Championship merchandise available now for delivery to the regatta.  Many items can be customized with your boat name and/or number!  If you prefer to wait until they get on site with limited inventory and sizes you can do that… BUT why wait…?  Boater’s Closet – ILYA Champs Merch

What in the world…? That’s a short and sweet synopsis of the weekend’s racing… Saturday morning started with a gorgeous 12-13 mph breeze as boats were leaving the docks, only to watch it dwindle to nothing very quickly; so quickly in fact, the X boats barely had enough wind to cross the starting line!  Wisely and justly PRO Charlie MacNider abandoned racing for the morning.

Just as abruptly as it died in the morning, the breeze roared back Saturday afternoon, almost too much as the wind built to 18 mph with gusts to 23, perhaps a bit more.  Unfortunately the C fleet called it quits early, with only one making it to the starting area and only 3 E boats were available to race and able to make it to the starting line.

Do Loons pounce?  I don’t think a Loon in the wild pounces….but our resident E boat, Team Loon Z-23 surely did.  Right off the starting line the Z-23 took control and never relinquished their lead even after the spectra broke on a boom block and they stopped to fix it mid-race… Wow.  The Z-94, Eric Protzman and team took second place with Jake Sorensen and team in the Z-16 taking 3rd.

In the second E boat race it was more of the same but the wind had become a touch unstable in the velocity department.  Sometimes as low as 10, other times gusting over 20.  Emily Haugerud and her Z-23 team hammered away again at the Protzman and Sorensen teams.  Once again, they took the bullet in race 2, this time with no breakdowns.  The Z-94 was second once again and Jake Sorensen and team were third.

If you were on the water Saturday afternoon, you may have noticed a crazy guy driving around photographers… Our ILYA Championship Regatta photographers, Sandy and Kathleen Sondrol were in town to do a test/practice shoot ahead of the event.  Check out a small sample of their 1000+ photographs at www.sandysondrol.com

Once again, there was so much promise on the lake as the sailors awoke Sunday morning.  A solid 12+ mph breeze had the fleets and race committee excited, but we all know how the rest of the story goes… As has been a trend lately, the breeze started to fade, though one race was able to be completed.

The MCs were slated to start first; a postponement at the last possible moment due to a huge right hand shift delayed the proceedings some, but like always, PRO Charlie MacNider and Casey Callanan got the fleets right back into sequence and on their way.  The fleet was bunched up all the way around the course.  Todd Tesar has been unstoppable lately and that trend continued Saturday as he bested the fleet for the bullet.  Emily Haugerud continues to sail amazingly finishing second, Eric Protzman, Stu Oltrogge and Brad Oz rounded out the top 5.

Dave Atkinson has been sailing consistently well all year; consistently at the top is even better! In the faltering breeze Sunday morning Dave and crew were extremely patient and fast, besting the fleet.  Finley and Matt who have also been sailing well all season came through with another second place finish, Riley Cooney finished third with Brad and Mary Thompson in fourth.

While Jude and Will have been enjoying a tremendous amount of success this year; the team of Garret Summerfield and Wes Gordon have emerged in this Second Series as a force to be dealt with; Avery and Brynn came back from a weekend off and shined as well.  Our X boat fleet continues to improve exponentially!

The X fleet slowly made their collective way around the buoys Sunday morning in a pretty tight bunch. Jude’s experience prevailed in the tricky winds, propelling him to a victory.  Garret and Wes continued on their upward trend finishing in second once again.  Avery and Brynn finished third with the Harris Boys in Fourth and the Sorensen Girls in fifth.

Following in the footsteps of the great “Crows” before me, the “Old Crow”, the “Harvard Crow” and the “Wonderful Crow of Oz,”  to name a few; this “New Crow” rarely uses the newsletter to rave or rant about something that has affected me on the water, however, there’s a first for everything… We have some weeds which seem to have been regulated by nature, some floating debris after storms, etc… NEVER before have I experienced running over a garbage bag, a full garbage bag mind you, in the lake.  I’m not sure how it got there, it could have been blown in by a storm, but come on people… Please….. This isn’t the East River … As users and lovers of our lake, keep a watchful eye out for things like this; if you see something in the lake, please pull it out of the water if it’s safe to do so; otherwise alert the DNR.  End of Rant…

This weekend is the Jack MacNider Regatta, all fleets should be ready for back-to-back races on Saturday.  C and E fleets, you have extra racing on Sunday, be ready for back-to-back races both days…. Fingers crossed we get in a full schedule of racing this weekend to compliment our fantastic party! See you on the water and at the party!  Until then friends…

Stay in the Clear Air,

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