A clubhouse filled with an enthusiastic crowd celebrated racing, cruising, and junior sailors of all stripes who experienced memorable sailing adventures in 2016.  The bartenders barely kept up with the demand, Chef Joni Platts produced another excellent low-cost dinner – all setting the stage for a fun-filled CYC Awards Party on Friday, January 20, celebrating a multitude of outstanding 2016 performance.

Commodore Denny Vaughan hosted the ceremony assisted by several other Officers and Board members.

Discretionary Awards

The Awards came quickly, but not before Commodore Vaughan emphasized that the true winners for the Discretionary Awards were the nominees, itself a true honor to be celebrated.

Hans Otto Giese for outstanding service – for the first time, the Club had all female nominees for the Club’s most prestige award, each with an outstanding record of service.  JEN HOBDEN was selected for her tireless work on the CYC website that is so in the background that it is often taken for granted by many. The website is key to knowing what is happening at CYC, and the website would not be what it is without Jen.  She is always quick to post events and has been very helpful to many of us with formatting and related issues.  Other nominees were SHAUNA WALGREN for many volunteer efforts including promoting the women’s sailing program and attracting new Club members, and PEGGY WATT for revitalizing the Club’s cruising program, as well as creating numerous social activities focused on cruising, all attracting many new members.

Sailor of the Year – TALIA TOLAND, a senior at the Overlake School, had an outstanding season nationally and locally, including winning the  US Sailing’s Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship (Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy), 5^th overall and 2^nd female at US Sailing’s Youth Championships, 7^th overall and 2^nd female at the US Chubb Junior Championship (Smythe Trophy), and winning or placing high in many NW regattas.  Other nominees were CRAIG BURNELL who sailed his Thunderbird, Predator, to victory in each of the Lake series in 2016, the first time a Thunderbird has swept all 4 series since 2011, and won the Thunderbird Western Regionals, and JIM GEROS, skipper of Last Tango (see “Boat of the Year” below).

Boat of the Year – LAST TANGO, skippered by Jim Geros, with firsts at Blakely Rocks, PSSC, Puget One-Design, three Wednesday night series, Foulweather Bluff, Grand Prix, Tri-Island Short Course with firsts in all three races, Trans-Puget and Ballard Cup Series, won the very competitive J-105 Seattle Fleet Championship, and placed high is many other NW regattas.   Other nominees, each with many firsts and other top finishes throughout 2016: ABSOLUTELY, skippered by Charlie Macaulay, DIFFERENT DRUMMER, skippered by Charles Hill,HERE & NOW, owned by Pat Denney, and JUBILLEE, skippered by Erik Kristen;

Gary Horder Award for outstanding Junior Sailor – DIETER CREIZ for dominating the many NW Optimist regattas, finishing first overall over many older sailors in all the races making up the Northwest Youth Racing Circuit as well as first overall in the US Optimist Dinghy Association NW Regionals and winning or placing high in other races. Other nominees, each of whom had outstanding junior sailing records, were BLAKE BENTZEN, ABBIE CARLSON and OWEN TIMMS.

Boating Family of the Year – STAFF COMMODORE ERIC, KARRIE, AVA and REED SANDERSON who completed a two-year journey traveling across the US, purchasing a cruising boat on the East Coast, and twice sailing from Maryland to the Bahamas and back, before returning to Seattle in mid-2016 (the Sandersons will recount the many zigs and zags of their journey at an upcoming Friday night cruising night presentation).

Cruising Boat of the Year – ARDEA, a Beneteau Idylle 1350, owned by Jon and Michelle Henderson, who in June 2016 completed a 27-month effort to prepare for a prolonged cruise together, and since then, after sailing nearly 5,500 miles in six months, have enjoyed slowing down and a prolonged stay in Mazatlan.  The other nominee “MANGO,” a Wauquiez 43 Ketch owned by Scott and Kristen Meilicke and are sailing with 2 kids, Emma Kate and Adam, plus 2 dogs, have also worked their way down the West Coast and are cruising in the Mazatlan area.

George Spalding Award for most inspirational junior – JACK HOLBROOK for his working with young and inexperienced “Green Fleet” Optimist sailors. His nominator stated: “I just was impressed seeing Jack help out this summer with the green feet.  He is very mature and well spoken.  Although he is so much older he has always been kind and engaging with very young sailors… He is a true Corinthian.”

Dog House Award for an unseaman-like activity – MIKE McGUANE, who, on the July 4 weekend, to avoid being too close to other boats in a crowded harbor and high winds, anchored his boat Kitiwake in five feet of water despite drawing six feet, in Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island, and from the bar overlooking the moorage, watched his boat slowly tip to port as the tide went out. When recognized by another sailor: “Isn’t that your boat out there aground?” to which Mike looked him in the face and said,  “I don’t even own a boat.  Can you spot me a drink?”

Other Awards and Trophies

Honor Roll of Champions

New additions for 2016 to the CYC Honor Roll for winning national or international regattas or awards of similar nature:

• Colin Dunphy – crew, Team Mad Dog Racing, winner of the Race 2 Alaska
• Mats Elf – winner, 505 Canadian Championships, Squamish, BC.
• Dan Falk – winner, RS Aero 9 US Nationals, Cascade Locks, OR. .
• Charles Hill – winner, Swiftsure Cape Flattery Race, Heavy Class.
• Talia Toland – winner, US Sailing’s Jr. Women’s Singlehanded Championship (Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy), Sail Sand Point, WA.

Performance Awards

Performance awards are presented to boats for winning specific races/regattas:

Commodore’s Trophy

• FINAL ROSE, Jean Higgins , CYC

Gibson Trophy

• OUTLAW, Derek Storm and Cindy Gossett , CYC

Blakely Rock:

• PHRF – TERREMOTO, Bill Weinstein, CYC
• IRC – GLORY, John Buchan, Seattle YC

Scatchet Head:

• PHRF – DOS, Brad Butler, Port Madison YC
• IRC – GLORY, John Buchan, Seattle YC

Werner Ohmes Foghorn Trophy– best Center Sound performance:

• GLORY, John Buchan, Seattle YC

Northwest Challenge Cup – best overall in Center Sound, PSSR and PSSC:

• Co-Winners:  JUBILEE, Erik Kristen, CYC, and HERE & NOW, Pat Denney, CYC

Bill Lieberman Trophy – top CYC junior in NW Optimist Regionals:

• DIETER CREITZ

Other Recognitions

Also recognized by the Commodores were the many volunteers and employees who contributed throughout the year to make the Club a success, including Dylan, Samantha, Beth and Celeste in the office, Bartender Karen, Chef Joni, PROs Charley Rathkopf. Troy Childs, Joan Chandler, Jared Hickman, Geoff Pease and Brian Watkins, and those who served as Protest Judges, whaler drivers, volunteer bartenders, volunteer race committee members, protest judges, webmasters, race registrars, regatta chairs and others.

He also thanked Hans Spiller for engraving all the awards and trophies, Jan Anderson for contributing most of the photographs used in the Awards slideshow and the Boat of the Year photograph that hangs by the bar, and Ken Johnson for preparing information about nominees for the Board’s decisions and writing the script and collecting the 100+ photos for the evening’s presentation.

All in all, a very successful evening filled with lots of sailing stories and memories (mostly true) of an outstanding 2016.  Great fun for everyone there, and a good time was missed by those who weren’t.