Crow’s Nest 07/03/25
Happy 249th birthday America!!! In accordance with Clear Lake tradition we’ll celebrate with funnel cakes, rides that grind, hiss, creak and crack, hand over our hard earned money for prizes worth one tenth the level of our frustration and don’t forget to say hi to your favorite carney!!!! Ah, 4th of July in Clear Lake; deep down we all love it!! You certainly can’t forget about the best fireworks show in the area, Friday, July 4th @ 10pm is the scheduled start!!!!
A friendly 4th of July reminder; make sure your boats are tied down, your tray tables are in their full upright and locked positions and the deck chairs are secured. We all know the 4th brings unforecasted storms!
It seems like an eternity since the last Crows Nest, I’m not sure where to start given the large amount of happenings in and around the Club since then… But, go grab your morning coffee and here we go…!
Saturday the 21st was the second party of the year, once again held at the YC – it’s incredible that it was 90 degrees and didn’t feel that hot… Did anyone else get that feeling? Perhaps it was the 40 mph wind that cooled it off some. Thanks to everyone who came, despite the hot temperatures the turnout was fantastic! A HUGE thanks goes out to everyone who helped setup and tear down, especially Deb Tesar who organized all of it in Andi’s absence!
Early notice for the next party: Saturday, July 19th at Marcus and Julie Lundberg’s residence. I’ll get you more details as they come available. As a reminder to all members, the parties at private residences are 21+ to attend; if there’s any questions please contact Commodore Dan Allen – dsallen@cltel.net
The ILYA E Scow Invitational is just one week away. A mix of E scow teams from across the Inland Lakes will come to Clear Lake in search of good racing, better parties and ultimately some hardware to take home. Many of the volunteer positions have been filled, however, some do still remain open. Please go out and take a look at where you can be of assistance. One area that needs help is assisting on the docks for launching and retrieving boats. Volunteer Sign Up
We all know E boaters can party, so why not party with them? Saturday, July 12th in the Surf District at the new Palms Rooftop Cabana which is on the 2nd floor of the new MEC (Music Experience Center – the cool new building on the corner of N Shore Dr and 7th Ave N). CLYC members are welcome to attend the Saturday Evening Cocktail Party, but you’ll need to pre-order your tickets… The cost is $30/person with heavy hors d’oeuvres served and a cash bar. Saturday Night Cocktail Party Tickets
The All Iowa Regatta was hosted this year at Okoboji Yacht Club on June 23-24. Avery, Thea, Alida and their crews represented the CLYC. The mornings were filled with chalk talks and on water drills and the afternoons were for racing; what a great format to learn and implement skills! Each of our three lady skippers won a race! A fun time was had by all reuniting with their Okoboji friends and after racing hitting the rides at Arnolds Park!
The ILYA MC Invitational was “held” at the Okoboji Yacht Club last week after the X boaters left. 7 Lakers made the short trip and the results were AMAZING! All seven sailors tied for first! It’s got to be some sort of record! Ok, unfortunately no races were able to be completed due to storms, no wind, hitting the water only for the wind to die, then more storms, then no wind… We’ve all been there and done that… Okoboji did a great job hosting as they always do and despite the lack of racing it was still an event worth attending. Thanks to everyone who attended for supporting the OYC and ILYA.
Last Sunday several Melges 15 sailors met with Toby Sutherland of White Bear and chatted about all things Melges 15 sailing related. What was intended to be an on the water clinic and drill session unfortunately turned into a shoreside chalk talk. I suppose it could have been worse; it’s tough to beat sitting on Nicholas’ deck talking sailing!
I’m told last weekend’s racing was “challenging” as has been the case most of the season. While I don’t have many details unfortunately, I do have a few that are of interest! The MC Fleet had a first time race winner; Stu 2 (Stu Schurtz) broke through for a win as we all knew he would. I missed Libbey Anderson’s M15 debut a couple weeks ago, shame on me; she came back last weekend with a pair of 3’s, a very nice way to back up a debut in a new fleet! Speaking of debuts… Elliot Summerfield made his X boat debut in the Z-8, welcome to the game young man! Can you believe it… The E and C fleets still have just one completed race for the entire season! Wow, I think the E fleet had better get out during the week for some practice sessions…
Since I don’t have blow by blow details, how about I give you the race winners from last weekend in each fleet:
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X boat – Race 1 & 2 – Jude Sorensen
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M15 – Race 1 – Riley Cooney, Race 2 – Will Finstad
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MC – Race 1 – Stu Schurtz, Race 2 – Brad Oz
Congrats and nice sailing to all of you!
The first series ends this weekend after the completion of the 4th of July Regatta. Each fleet is very close in the top 5 boats, with the Melges 15’s having just .2 points of separation from first to fifth! We’ll see who can conquer this final weekend of the First Series! Don’t forget to be ready for back-to-back races on Saturday, perhaps even Sunday if conditions warrant; though only the first three races would count for the regatta.
I hope everyone enjoys a happy and safe Independence Day; we’ll see you on the water Saturday morning! Until then friends…
Stay in the Clear Air,
Dan Allen
Commodore 2025
MC 2811 – Relentless