CYC Home
January, 2010
You voted with your clicks.
The web-based service CYC uses to send e-newsletters to members twice a month enables us to tally the number of recipients who open the emails. Additionally, the service records the number of clicks on individual articles in the e-newsletters.
Far and away, the most read newsletter in 2009 led with an article about a protest hearing in which a boat was given a warning for sailing into the path of a Washington state ferry during the Possession Point Race on March 14.
Seventy-four percent of you opened the e-newsletter carrying the subject line "What not to Do When Closing with a Ferry." Of those who opened the newsletter, 78 percent clicked through to the CYC web site to read the protest decision itself.
Many of the best read newsletters focused on drama and excitement on the race course. Not surprisingly, the least read newsletters were about club business. Only 42 percent of you opened the September newsletter announcing nominations for club officers and directors.
The newsletters go to about 450 of the approximately 500 members of CYC. The other 50 do not have email addresses in the club data base.
The subject lines on the best read newsletters of 2009 were:
Photo by Joy Okazaki
Sail number 97324 was sailing in a 25-knot breeze, and at about 1030, the ferry Spokane hailed the CYC race committee on Channel 14 that it had to make a radical course change to avoid the sailboat. The sailboat was given a warning for being in violation of two Special Sailboat Safety Regulations.
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Here and Now crew.
The crew of the J/29 Here and Now pulled a man out of the cold waters of Puget Sound, where he had been for about five minutes after falling from another boat. "You've got to have a lot of respect for the elements out there," said Here and Now crewmember Burl Nolte. "The boat feels big and stable in light air. The boat feels really small in heavy air when it's getting tossed around like that. Things can happen very fast."
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Three Thistle sailors were pulled from Lake Washington after their boat capsized in a puff estimated at about 30 knots. The incident occurred near the I-90 bridge, and the successful rescue was a credit to the CYC race staff and a fellow Thistle sailor who assisted.
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This was the first e-newsletter sent to the membership following the last edition of the Leadline, the club's printed newsletter. The note about the club's new communication strategy was self contained and did not include a link to the CYC Web Site.
Six-Meter sloops at NOOD.
More than 200 boats were signed up in advance of Seattle's second National Offshore One Design Regatta presented by Sailing World Magazine. This article trumpeted improved food and shoreside activities for the event.
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Craig Horsfield's Skyweb Express.
In this newsletter, the lead item promoted a presentation at the club by member Craig Horsfield, who along with member Chris Tutmark sailed the Atlantic single-handed in 21-foot boats. Both Horsfield and Tutmark will be speaking at the club again on Jan. 22.
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Roxanne in the Blakely Rocks Race.
Top finishers in the Blakely Rocks Race explained their strategy in the annual event, the traditional kickoff of the Puget Sound racing season. The wind built to 30 knots during the race and settled down to about 20.
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Melges 24s start PSSC.
CYC combined its major fall buoy regattas under the banner of PSSC, creating a two-weekend event split between larger keelboats and one-design boats/dinghies. The smaller-boat event previously had been called the Fleet Championship Regatta. article
The lead item in this newsletter was a self-contained announcement of the Puget Sound Spring Regatta with links to registration materials and a merchandise sales site.
The lead item in this newsletter was a self-contained announcement of the second week of PSSC, with links to class breaks, merchandise sails sites, and photos of the first week of action.