Crow’s Nest 04/02/26
Perhaps this enters your inbox as you sit near a fireplace surrounded by mountain snow, next to your pool escaping the dessert heat or maybe here in North Iowa enduring the ever changing seasons; no matter the physical location of your current inbox, I hope it finds you all well
We’ve had Ice out, then not so fast, ice is back in, then with a snap of the fingers the ice is back out… Welcome to late March and early April in North Iowa. The temperatures tease us into thinking Summer is here and then slap us back down with the reality that a snow storm is still possible!
Despite these undeniable facts, the optimists within our order have docks in the water, some boats are being pulled from storage and the excitement is reaching an early fever pitch. In fact, one of the earliest docks in this year is none other than the recently retired Brad Oz… It seems he finally has time to make phone calls to have someone else do his dirty work! Congratulations Oz on your retirement!
Andi Tisor takes the helm in 2026 and conducted her first, very efficient and productive Board Meeting last weekend. Thank you to Wil Cooney for allowing us to use the MEC again for the meeting. Both the social and racing schedules are set, the ILYA Dinghy Championship week is etched on the calendar and we’re ready to hit the water…Well, hit-ish… Maybe we should let it warm up more before boats make their summer homes?
We have so much information to share but I’m not going to put it all in one newsletter… While I’m sure everyone has missed this fine publication, you don’t need to take a full morning to read everything!
Registration is open on the CLYC website and ready for you; for those of you who have chosen the auto-renewal function, those are set to renew on April 10th. You’ll get an email reminder a few days prior to that renewal and you don’t have to do anything. Some folks are still a bit “old school” and like to print a form and send a check, that’s fine too!
May 10th is the deadline for registration if you want to make it in the yearbook… You really want to make it in the yearbook, it’s an excellent resource and a keepsake for many years! Speaking of the yearbook, please, please, if you have any pictures that could be used, send them to Emily Haugerud ecoltrogge@gmail.com
Saturday, April 25th is the annual Spring Cleanup at the Yacht Club building downtown. If you’re available beginning at 9 am, please come down and assist in the many chores needed to rebeautify the building and surrounding grounds. Deb Tesar will be in change of the clean up this year, if you have any questions please contact her at dtesar@cltel.net
The ILYA Dinghy Championship is being held in Clear Lake this year from July 24th through August 1st. The Dinghy Champs is a combined event of 3 days of Opti racing, 3 days of X boat racing and 3 days of M15 racing. Over the course of those days we’ll see 250+ boats and 1000+ people filing through the YC and participating in the event. It may be the largest regatta we’ve ever held in Clear Lake. For now, mark your calendars and be thinking about how and where you can volunteer.
The CLYC social schedule is, of course, the most important topic of any given year, so let’s start with those dates. Who should bring what…? We’ll let you know at a later time:
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June 6th – CLYC Building
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June 27th – CLYC Building
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July 18th – Outing Club
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August 22nd – Jeff Brakke residence
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September 6th – CLYC Building (Awards Dinner)
Of course the CLYC racing season starts off Memorial Day Weekend; the schedule of races hasn’t changed but some of the dates are a little different, so watch the upcoming Crows Nest editions and I’ll elaborate.
The Sailing Center has their website open and registration for classes is active! The Board has hired a former instructor and familiar face as their Coordinator – Sophia Ollenburg. Sophia has graduated from the U of Iowa with a degree in Communications and is now moving forward with her degree in Education from BVU and working at Clear Creek Elementary while doing so…! Wow, those are some qualifications for sure! Welcome Sophia! Actually, WELCOME BACK!
Perhaps you haven’t noticed the number of younger humans in and out of the YC building during the Summer weeks, but that traffic has taken a drastic upward turn! Be sure to get your youth sailors registered soon! Register online at www.clearlakesailingcenter.com
Much more later on! Until then friends!
Stay in the Clear Air.
Dan Allen
MC 2811 – Relentless