Board Considers Dropping Weeknight Restrictions

August 29, 2009

The CYC Board of Directors is considering relaxing restrictions on non-member participation in weeknight races in 2010, in a one-year, experimental departure from what has been a controversial policy both inside and outside the club.

Boat owners who are not members of CYC currently are permitted to sail in weeknight races at Leschi and Shilshole as guests for one year only. The experimental guidelines would abandon that restriction, opening weeknight racing to members of other yacht clubs but at rates that would encourage them to join CYC.

The proposal to change the weeknight restrictions was raised during budget deliberations at the Shilshole clubhouse on Saturday, August 29. It will be discussed further at the board's regular meeting on September 14.

The CYC Board of Directors met for budget deliberations at Shilshole on August 29.

On broader budget issues, the board is considering a gradual shift in the club's fee structure that would increase income from race fees but would result in stable or even reduced dues. The shift is intended to make the race program more self-supporting.

In other budget matters, the board is considering:

Authorizing Fleet Captain Race Jerry Diercks to adjust race package pricing so that the discounts for the various packages uniformly reflect the amount of racing they include, with the largest discounts for the most races.
Setting aside $20,000 to rent quarters at Leschi in 2010. If no Leschi solution is found next year, the funds would be seed money for a Leschi capital fund.
Aiming to increase operational reserves by about $30,000 in 2010.
Basing budget projections on the assumption that there will be no drop in membership in 2010. The club currently has just under 500 members.

Limiting weeknight racing to members and one-year guests has been a thorny issue for years, with supporters arguing that the program should be viewed as a benefit of CYC membership, and opponents arguing that policy has limited something everybody wants - increased participation.

CYC's weekend regattas and races, both on the Lake and Sound, have been and will remain open to members of all yacht clubs.

Corinthian instituted weeknight restrictions in the mid-1990s in response to the rise of "paper" yacht clubs like Sloop Tavern Yacht Club and Shilshole Bay Yacht Club, both of which run races but have little or no investment in facilities or race management vessels.

Members of Seattle Yacht Club were specifically excluded from those initial restrictions, but that exclusion was withdrawn several years ago.

During the Saturday meeting, board members generally agreed that a one-year-test of the relaxed guidelines would provide a chance to assess the impact of the change.

Exactly how much non-members would be charged to race weeknights has not been determined.

Corinthian is the only yacht club in Seattle that runs weeknight races using professionally-staffed, dedicated committee boats and mark-set Whalers to set courses on both Lake Washington and Puget Sound.