November, 2008
Our racing season is winding down as our dinghy sailors prepare for Turkey Bowl and our PHRF racers either prepare for winter sailing in the South Sound Series or winterize their boats, grab their skis and head for the slopes. In the meantime, many more of us are following the daily reports from the Volvo Ocean Race to learn how CYC's Jonathan McKee is fairing as a key member of the Puma Racing Team. As I write this they are approaching the doldrums with a lead which is diminishing day by day, hour by hour.
The approach of winter lends us time to reflect on our past and get ready for the future. 2008 has seen many successful events for CYC beginning with our overflow crowds for the Fridays in February reports from our cruisers who regaled us with stories of their multi-year adventures. NOOD was a bright addition to our schedule with 221 boats enjoying three days of racing and entertainment in May. Our snipe fleet hosted a successful Women's National regatta. Our members enjoyed success in the J-24 Worlds in Italy, the Star Worlds in Florida and the I-14 Nationals in California. On the local scene our lake fleets sailed approximately 60 weeknight races out of Leschi while we saw increased participation on the Sound.
Charles Fawcett retired as our office manager this year to be replaced by Bruce Miller who came to us from a career in public relations and management at West Marine. Our race staff continues to excel under the leadership of our PRO's Kevin Cunningham and Charley Rathkopf. We added new whaler drivers and purchased a fifth whaler which we are currently equipping with a winch for retrieval of marks. Our bartenders and cooks continue to serve us well.
Over the past winter, Dan Heyl supervised the repairs on our race equipment; this year incoming Fleet Captain/Race Jerry Diercks will oversee that important role. Current Fleet Captain/Cruise Rod Deyo and wife Mary are updating our reciprocal moorage agreements with yacht clubs in the Northwest and throughout the world.
All of us have heard the phrase "It's all about the economy." CYC is not immune to the impact of economic issues which have resulted in some significant changes. Whenever a change occurs, there will be a consequent sense of loss but there are also opportunities for improvement. An example is the Leadline which is moving to an online format saving the club $11,000. You will see many more pictures on the web and the club news will be much more current compared to the print copy of the Leadline. The November Leadline will be the last issue.
The most significant change will be the loss of the Leschi clubhouse which our lake sailors have enjoyed for years of post race socializing. Many of our board members are lake sailors who supported the decision to not renew our lease of the clubhouse with reluctant resignation. We were faced with our declining income and a 30% increase in the proposed lease which included a 270 day notice of termination. Rather than see huge increases in dues and race fees to continue to rent the clubhouse which we do not use for 300+ days a year and which we will eventually lose when the property is sold or remodeled, we felt that our members would be better served by restoring our reserves while searching for a long term site for our lake sailors. We have met with our lake fleet council representatives to discuss this change and seek their input as we move forward. Meanwhile our lake racing program remains intact with the same weekend events and 22 weeks to evening sailing supported by our committee boat, two whalers, and Kevin Cunningham as our PRO supervising our whaler drivers, scorekeepers and fleet volunteers.
We hope that many of you will plan to attend our annual membership meeting at our Shilshole clubhouse on Tuesday, November 18. The bar will open at 6:00 and the meeting will begin at 7:00 pm with the election of our officers and directors for 2009 followed by reports from our current board members and plans for the future. As always, we look forward to your thoughts and input on the future of CYC.
If you will be unable to attend the annual meeting, please return your ballot if you are a voting member. Voting members are senior members, charter and life members. Although the ballot does not show contested elections, we need a significant number of ballots returned to validate our election as required by our By-Laws.