Crow’s Nest 09/02/25
And with a snap of the fingers, the CLYC season is over…A wonderful year of camaraderie, fierce racing and joyful conversation following has come to an end. As it is every year, it’s far too early to wrap up, but I’m sorry folks, that’s just the way it is…
Last weekend was the final racing of the year followed by a memorable Awards Banquet attended by many people! A wonderful spread was created by Cynthia Lewerke, highlighted by her incredible sandwiches and salads. Of course Linda did a great job, as always, behind the bar set up by Vice Commodore Andi Tisor.
The Nominating Committee of Mike Starbeck, Brad Price and Casey Callanan presented their choices for our new Vice Commodore and Board Members. All the nominees were approved by the Membership and will start their duties January 1st. If you weren’t able to attend the Awards Dinner and Annual General Meeting, here’s the nominations you missed:
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Past Commodore – Dan Allen
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Commodore – Andi Tisor
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Vice Commodore – Mark Ebeling
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Secretary/Treasurer – Meg Casey
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Head Race Officer – Charlie MacNider
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Board Members – Stu Oltrogge, Brad Price, Ana Starbeck, Todd Tesar, Emily Haugerud.
Thank you all for volunteering to continue moving the Club in a positive forward direction!
A new variety of artsy awards, hand chosen by scorer and trophy extraordinaire Mark Tesar, were handed out to the top sailors of each fleet! I’m sure you’ve been watching scores all year, but here’s your final Championship standings in each fleet (the full results are available Here):
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X Boat Fleet:
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MC Scow Fleet:
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Fleet Champion – Z-7 Jude Sorenson & Will Price
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Fleet Champion – 2811 Dan Allen (Class Seamanship Award)
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2nd – Z-12 – Garrett Summerfield & Wes Gordon (Class Seamanship Award)
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2nd – 2842 – Stu Oltrogge & Deb Tesar
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3rd – Z-4 – Avery & Brynn Tidrick
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3rd – 2790 – Todd Tesar
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4th – Z-3 – Sofia Allbee & Xavier Prestholt
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4th – 2340 – Emily Haugerud & Kelly Purviance
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5th – Z-5 – Alida Lundberg & Oliver Thompson
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5th – 2878 – Mark Tesar
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6th – Z-15 – Thea & Isla Sorenson
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6th – 2818 – Brad Osmundson
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7th – Z-8 – Elliot Summerfield & Wes Gordon
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7th – 2569 – Eric Protzman
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8th – Z-53 – Griffin Harris & Braxtyn Kennedy
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8th – 2574 – Randy Kotz
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C Scow Fleet
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Melges 15 Fleet
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Fleet Champion – T-34 Merrit Becker & Ryan Wade
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Fleet Champion – USA 618 Finley Nyhus & Matt Doane
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2nd – Z-5 – Marcus & Leif Lundberg
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2nd – USA 110 – Dave Atkinson & Juliet Gratias
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3rd – Z-100 – Steve Swift
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3rd – USA 383 – Brad & Mary Thompson
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4th – Z- 2 – Tom Birdsall
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4th – USA 619 – Will & Lilly Finstad
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5th – Z-3 – Bill Nicholas
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5th – USA 669 – Elle & Georgia Ebeling
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E Scow Fleet:
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Fleet Champion – Z-23 Emily Haugerud, Dave Haugerud, Stu Oltrogge, Deb Tesar
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2nd – Z-13 Mark Tesar, Todd Tesar, James Howarth, Jeff Griffin
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3rd – Z94 Eric Protzman, Jason Gordon, Paul Gordon, Garrett Summerfield
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4th – Z16 Jake Sorenson, Jess Tidrick, Jude Sorenson, Avery Tidrick
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Best Off Lake Optimist Dinghy Performance – USA 8698 – Oliver Thompson |
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Best Female Off Lake Optimist Dinghy Performance – USA 14130 – Isla Sorenson |
Over the years a number of memorial trophies have been established to honor those who show a special prowess on the water and off. In no particular order, here are this year’s winners:
*R Lyle Bergo Memorial Trophy – Top X Boat Regatta Performance:
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Sofia Allbee – Having a great team is instrumental to increased confidence and ultimately better results! Sofia turned to her cousin Xavier to race this year and he answered that call! At the ILYA X Boat Championship at Lake Minnetonka, the conditions started out unstable and very tough. Light wind with a big chop which finally turned into a heavier, more manageable breeze on the last day, Sofia’s results consistently improved. Turning in the best results among out X boat racers!
*Marie O’Brien Alcorn Memorial Trophy – Top Regatta Performance:
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Todd Tesar – The always fast MC sailor showed his skill and speed at the ILYA MC Championship held this year at Pewaukee Yacht Club. After a tough start, Todd gained traction and sailed consistently with 3 top 10 finishes in erratically shifting winds that range from 5 mph to over 20mph. His ability to change gears and improvise at times led to an amazing 3rd place overall finish! Congratulations Todd, well done!
*Tom MacNider Memorial Trophy – CLYC Most Improved:
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Dan Allen – Leading the way in the MC fleet with 9 first place finishes was just the beginning; like everyone who had enough races, he was able to drop one race from each series… Dan’s two worst races were both 4th place finishes; that kind of consistency throughout a season in the varying conditions and increased fleet size is impressive. A reduction of 1.79 points in his average was enough to win the MC Fleet Championship this year. Congratulations Dan.
*Eric Protzman “Ironman” Award: Most races sailed across all classes and enthusiasm for racing
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Eric Protzman -This is a new trophy that has been established, honoring a living legend and genuinely amazing person within our Club. Few sailors compete as much and with as much enthusiasm and genuine love for the sport as Eric. Whether it be in the MC or the E, if the races are on, Eric (and his team) are on the water. His love of the sport leads him to mentoring youth and up-and-coming sailors to learn new skills, improve their skills and share in his passion of sailing. Thank you Eric for your dedication!
*MC Class Silver Cup – Under 25 MC Champion:
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Leif Lundberg – In just his second season competing in the MC fleet, Leif has proven himself to be in the conversation of competitive racers. Having competed in both the 2024 and 2025 MC Inland Champs, he continues to improve, benefiting from racing against different competition; the improvement to his overall scoring average from a year ago and being in the Top 5 mix on a more consistent basis are undoubtedly a result of this! Congratulations Leif on a season well sailed!
Not everything here at the CLYC is about racing; the majority of the members are Social Members and each member no matter their “designation” gives a lot of time, energy and in some cases money to the Club for various causes. Each year the Commodore chooses the recipients of the following “Service Awards” from the entire pool of membership.
*Harold Crane Memorial Trophy – Contributions to the CLYC:
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Clear Lake Sailing Center Board of Directors – The future of the CLYC depends upon bringing new members to the Club. Marketing classes/lessons and bringing young sailors to the Club, then engaging both the student and parents, eventually leading to new members and fostering relationships as their families grow within the Yacht Club. This job rests on the shoulders of the few who are dedicated enough to volunteer for the hardest job within our realm.
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Fabiola Allbee, Jenny Amble, Mark Ebeling, Molly Harris, Jake Sorenson and Laura Tidrick
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*The Loose Anchor Award – Contributions Behind the Scenes:
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Stu Oltrogge – Mentoring X boat racers, assisting with racing classes, briefing X boat parents of what to expect at a regatta, mentoring the Executive Committee, building a new website, committing years on the Regatta Committee and engaging every member just to name a few… Few people wear as many hats as Stu and are able to maintain his humbleness and genuine love of the organization and its members.
How can anyone forget the most coveted award within the CLYC – the Blooper Award. Years have gone by with fantastic stories of gruesome mistakes, carelessness, hilarity and misfortune. From entire families to individuals, no one is immune to the random acts previously mentioned; the key however, is how or if you can hide them… In some cases, getting caught not paying people enough to maintain their silence…
*The Blooper Award:
What can I say, it’s the most entertaining portion of the Year End Party! The secrets come out, the gloves come off, it’s open season on those guilty of shenanigans and ooopsies which end up bared for all the Club to hear! Only two nominees this year, however, boy were they good ones! The decision between Jennifer’s missing keel (which isn’t missing, they found it…) and the Tesar housing mixup was a tough one… In the end, it was Mark and Deb who take home the ground off leeboard. While travelling to regattas is tough enough sometimes, I can’t imagine it being tougher than walking into a random person’s house, bringing your bags inside and using the facilities (#2) only to find out you’re in the wrong house!!! About the only thing that would have made the story better would have been a law enforcement presence! Hahahaha! Congratulations Mark and Deb on the misfortune of taking home the annual award for being busted doing the unfortunate!
Lastly, on a personal note; I would like to thank my family, Sara, Hudson and Hensley, Vice Commodore Andi Tisor, the CLYC Board, the CLSC Board and the CLYC Members for making 2025 a very special year to remember for me as Commodore. As a person who can be difficult to work with at times, I truly appreciate the flexibility, understanding and common ground found by all this year!
Some special thank you’s: to my wife Sara who kept me together when I got frustrated; there may be nothing worse than a frustrated sailor in a position of power! The Clear Lake Sailing Center Board for their communication and desire for the two entities to work together for a common goal. Stu Oltrogge for all of the hard work you do to make everyone else’s life easier! Elle Ebeling; you were an incredibly positive influence at Sailing School this year, my daughter talks about you all the time; you were the first face she saw and the last person to say goodbye. Your welcoming attitude has many kids, Hensley included, excited about returning week after week and already making plans for 2026!
While the CLYC sailing season may be complete, championship racing is close on the horizon in various locales! Brad Price and team, Will Price and Kelly Purviance have recruited Nate Kotz to run the jib in Beach Haven, NJ for the E Scow Nationals. Mark, Todd, Stu and Dan are heading to the MC Nationals in Madison, WI in just a couple weeks. Todd and Dan have both qualified for MC Blue Chip at Spring Lake, MI, though I don’t know if either will be able to attend. When these regattas are all wrapped up, I’ll provide a recap for everyone!
Until then friends!
Stay in the Clear Air.
Dan Allen
Lame Duck Commodore
MC 2811 – Relentless