Ken Johnson, candidate for commodore, leads a slate of eleven who will be up for election at the club’s annual general meeting on Nov. 28. Under the club bylaws, nominations for officers are now closed, but members can make nominations for directors from the floor at the annual meeting. The candidate’s biographies:

Commodore, Ken Johnson

 Candidate for Commodore, Ken Johnson. Currently vice commodore, Ken has been a member of CYC since 1978.  A retired attorney, he is a long-time member of the Seattle San Juan 24 Fleet and currently owns and races Grauer Geist. He has been active in the club for many years, including assembling nominees for CYC’s annual awards for review by the board as well as serving on the CYC Board.

Vice Commodore, Bruce Van Deventer

 Candidate for Vice Commodore Bruce Van Deventer, currently rear commodore, got involved in sailing through his parent, who started sailing with CYC in Blanchards in the 1950s and then later sailed OK dinghies. Bruce was a junior member of CYC in the 1970s and sailed C-Larks at Leschi. Later he became involved with the racing program first as a whaler driver and then later as a PRO. Bruce is a former fleet captain-Race and currently is actively racing a 505 and the Melges 24 Wiggle Room that he partners with Chris Johnson. He’s also been the organizer for the CYC Rookie Rally for the past several years. Bruce is also a certified ski and snowboard instructor and instructor examiner.

Rear Commodore, Brian Watkins

 Candidate for Rear Commodore Brian Watkins is a current director and has been a CYC member since 2006.  He started racing off Shilshole in CYC races as a kid with his family in the early 70s and has been enjoying sailing and boating ever since.  He has raced with some of the region’s best in Etchells, J-24, and PHRF fleets, raced dinghies at Tufts, skippered his own keelboat, volunteered for several years with the Leukemia Cup, and organized many of the races in our area.  Currently, he is doing more race committee and judging work for adult and junior events.  Brian has been leading the recent “Restart CYC” meetings at the Shilshole clubhouse.

Treasurer, Stuart Burnell

Candidate for Treasurer Stuart Burnell joined CYC in 1997 when sailing in the Seattle Thunderbird Fleet with his cousin Craig Burnell. He became a senior member in 1999 while sailing his Olson 30 Enigma and the T-bird Predator. While with T-bird Fleet he was treasurer of both the Seattle fleet and the International Thunderbird Fleet, in 2003 he became the CYC treasurer through 2004. Currently he is actively racing his J-109 Tantivy throughout the Puget Sound and is excited once again to be assisting CYC.

Secretary, Lydia Volberding

Candidate for Secretary Lydia Volberding, is the incumbent secretary and has been a member of CYC since 2007.  Lydia bought an Olson 30 and became involved with the Tacoma Women’s Sailing Association.  She has participated in two Vic-Mauis, the Van Isle 360, two Bayview Mackinac races, three Newport to Ensenada races, several Swiftures and a number of ocean deliveries.  Lydia is actively involved with the Seattle J/24 fleet, skippering her boat Jailbreak.  When she is not sailing her own boat, Lydia can be found aboard the J109 Tantivy.

Fleet Captain Race, Bill Blodgett

Candidate for Fleet Captain, Race, Bill Blodgett is a natural born Kentucky sailor. He moved to Seattle in 2000 to fully expand his water wings.  In 2006 he purchased part of a Moore 24 called Moore Cowbell.  He helps produce and promote the sailing gear at KAMgear International in Ballard.  Most recently he’s been acting as CYC adjunct fleet captain race.  In this capacity, with the help of membership feedback, he has identified opportunities for improvement including simplifying registration and race instructions.  In this new position he would act on these initiatives as well as others

Fleet Captain Cruise, Doug Stewart

 Candidate for Fleet Captain Cruise Doug Stewart has been a member of CYC since 1979. He and his wife Joan have sailed on Madrugador, a Cal 40, since 1972 and have been a member of the Madrugador Syndicate since 1979.  Doug and Joan now own, race and cruise Madrugador with Mike and Pati Irish.

Junior Staff Commodore, Wayne Balsiger

Junior Staff Commodore, Wayne Balsiger. Wayne is currently commodore and under the bylaws will serve on the board in 2012. He has been a member of CYC since 1981 and was also commodore in 1991. He currently races his Thistle, Rainbow, crews on Absolutely a 39-foot one-ton and is a US Sailing judge. Wayne ran the highly successful Heart of CYC fundraising campaign and is now an analyst for T-Mobile.

Director, One-Year Term, Stevan Johnson

Candidate for Director Steve Johnson has lived in Seattle since 1971, moving here from New York where he grew up, was a member of Larchmont YC and a collegiate sailor.  An architect, he operates his own firm in downtown Seattle. Steve actively cruises and races his Cookson 12m White Cloud on Puget Sound and his J-24 Beagle on Lake Washington.   Steve has participated in many of the major off-shore sailing events in the US, including Transpac, Bermuda, Victoria-Maui, Cabo, Van-Isle 360 and roughly 35 Swiftsures. Steve was a previous CYC board member (1996-1999) and was CYC commodore in 2001.  His focus on the board of directors will be to create membership value, enhance the CYC facilities as economic assets, improve the club’s sailing program offerings and support the junior sailing program.

Director, Two-Year Term, Sunny Fenton

 Candidate for Director, Sunny Fenton grew up sailing dinghies on Puget Sound, and cruising in Desolation Sound and the San Juan Islands with her family. She taught sailing lessons through high school and currently sails in one-design and PHRF fleets with White Cloud, the Thunderbird Invader and the J24 Beagle.  Her family has a long history at CYC starting with her grandparents Sunny and June Vynne, both life-long sailors. When she’s not sailing, she works as the content manager at evo, a Seattle-based action sports and lifestyle retailer. In her seven years there, Sunny has helped grow the brand and build a community. She is excited to work with current members of CYC, help attract new members to the club, and continue the CYC racing tradition.

Director, One-Year Term, Kathryn Meyer

 Candidate for Director, Kathryn Meyer has been a member of CYC since 2004 and is currently finishing a two-year term on the board.  Kathryn is a Moore 24, Tasar owner and owner of KAMgear.  She can also be found at the helm of the J/24 J-Netically Altered.  Kathryn is a true competitor in business and on the water with connections to a broad range of sailors.

Director, Two-Year Term, Nojan Moshiri

Candidate for Director Nojan Moshiri has been a member of CYC since 2005.  He discovered sailing through the Corinthian Yacht Club of San Francisco in his hometown of Tiburon, California. After moving to Seattle in 2001 he raced and cruised through the Seattle Sailing Club before joining the CYC.  Today Nojan races his J/24 in the Lake Washington fleet, is restoring a rescued 5O5 and crews on various big boats.

Nojan, an engineer at Seattle’s F5 Networks, is committed to seeing CYC launch many new sailors into life on the water.

Director, Two-Year Term, Derick Vranizan

Candidate for Director, Derick Vranizan has been a member of CYC for a decade, and is also the CYC Junior Race Team coach. Since he began racing at the age of 9, Derick has sailed everything from Optimists to PHRF boats on Puget Sound and the lakes. Currently, in addition to coaching the Race Team, Derick is running his own Laser Olympic campaign.  Derick is committed to growing CYC and making the club a place where people want to spend their free time.