Good Words

“There remains yet to be discovered a better way to develop character and responsibility than through the teaching of seamanship. A mother’s apron strings will not stretch to the pram-sailing starting line, nor will dad be there to decide when

to tack, or to give advice on decisions that must be made quickly and accurately if one is to excel in the sport of sailing (and later, to survive and excel in adult life).  The sea is an exacting instructor which teaches one the necessity to think clearly, to visualize consequences, to make quick judgments, and most importantly, to accept the responsibility and consequences for unwise decisions.  Through the process of becoming good sailors, our children learn to shoulder
responsibility, to accept victory and defeat with equal grace, and best of all, they acquire an affection for the sea
which never wanes.” —Randolph R. Fisher, Commodore, Lauderdale Yacht Club (1974–1975)

Anniversary Party

If anyone's considering accepting Michelle's offer below -- do!  This will be one heck of a good party, really good food, and was opened to the entire sailing crowd.  Just show up before 5:30 for the free rum punch.

- Bob

NANTUCKET STYLE-LOBSTER BOIL // CELEBRATE 75 YEARS AT LYC!

All Youth Sailing Guests Welcome! 

As Membership Director of the Lauderdale Yacht Club I would like to personally invite you to join us for a Nantucket-style Lobster Boil to celebrate LYC's 75th Anniversary this Friday! I have included all the details below. Reservations are required. Please contact me directly at michelle.escobar@lyc.org or 954-527-2204 for your Guest Card.

 

Friday, June 28th

Under the Pavilion

Complimentary Rum Punch • 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Complimentary Hors d'oeuvres • 5:30 PM

Pot of Gold Drawing • 6:30 PM

  

 *****************************************

75th Anniversary Book Signing & Yacht Shop Sale • 6:00 PM

Specialty Drinks All Night

Special Guests & Presentation • 6:45 PM

Family-style Lobster Boil Dinner • 7:00 PM

soup & salad bar, 2 lb. lobster, potatoes, corn on the cob, pie and ice cream ($38)

Children’s Buffet • 7:00 PM

soup & salad bar, fried shrimp, chicken tenders, fluffernutters, tater tots, pie and ice cream  ($19.38)

Live Music by Chase Band • 7:00 PM

Colors Ceremony • Sunset

75th Anniversary Pot of Gold Drawing for $750*

Fireworks Show • 9:00 PM

À la carte lunch ends at 4:00 PM. No à la carte dinner available.

Reservations required. Cancellation Policy in effect.

Reserved tables under the Pavilion. Yacht-casual attire requested.

Shipwreck Room open until 11:00 PM. Contact Member Services for reservations.

*For those attending 75th Anniversary Celebration Lobster Boil/Must be present to win.

From all the Staff, thank you for sailing with us this summer and we hope to see you and your family Friday night!

Kind regards,

Michelle A. Escobar

Membership Director

Lauderdale Yacht Club

954-527-2204

INTERNATIONAL OPTI REGATTA REPORT

Here are a few photos for you to check out last week's International Optimist Regatta in St. Thomas, USVI hosted by the St. Thomas Yacht Club, in Cowpet Bay.

We had an amazing time. What a truly beautiful place to sail! We had 8-14 mph breeze all week and 2-5 ft rolling swells. Much thanks to Team FOR for inviting LYC to join them in a pre-regatta team race clinic. And congratulations to Severing Gramm for his 4th place finish overall and 1st in Blue Fleet!

 

Team race practice in Great Bay with Team FOR

 Beach launch on day 2 of the event.

On the way out to the racecourse

Morning briefing at STYC before racing

Glow stick team racing

Bella cooling off after a hard day of racing

This event was so much fun we are going to make it an annual event. Mark your calendar's for next year!

IMPORTANT USODA NATIONALS INFO

Dear USODA National Championships Sailor,

Thank you for your participation in the 2013 USODA Nationals at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club! 

To assist your check-in process, please click on the Mandatory USODA BOAT SELF-CERTIFICATION SAFETY CHECKLIST & CONCUSSION FORMS that MUST be filled out PRIOR to Check-in. Feel free to: mail to  (112 Vendome Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236), scan and e-mail to (kvreeken@mac.com) or fax to (313.884.7956 C/O Sean Schotthoeffer).

UPON ARRIVAL: Enter the GPYC grounds and stop at the Security House.  You will be directed to turn right toward the Welcome Tent.  You will be greeted by our Welcome Team, who will ask the name of the sailor(s) in the vehicle.  Once identified each sailor will be provided an Identification Packet.

You will then be directed to the unloading areas.  Unload your OPTI and dolly, attach the appropriate stickers and then take your OPTI and dolly to your assigned storage spot. Once your OPTI is placed in its storage spot, it will be necessary to move your vehicle and trailer to the nearby trailer storage facility at Colony Marine and then to the vehicle parking facility at Grosse Pointe North High School. Once your vehicle is parked at Grosse Pointe North, take the shuttle bus back to the GPYC and continue to the Measurement Tent and then to the Check-in process in the Tennis House. 

NOTE: Arrival and Check-In begins at 10:00am Saturday, July 6, 2013.  The GPYC is unable to accommodate early arrival and boat drop-off due to the 4th of July Holiday Events and the grounds set up activities in preparation for the USODA Nationals.  

For more information please check-out the USODA NATIONALS WEBSITE and if anyone coming with you would like to volunteer for RC or general helping out while there please have then go to the VOLUNTEER PAGE. It's a great way to meet a lot of wonderful people!! Our apologies, if you are registered for more than 1 Championship Regatta you will receive this email more than once. We only require one copy of each form for all 3 regattas.

We look forward to welcoming you and your family to the GPYC!

Sincerely,

Kelley Vreeken

USODA NATIONALS SCHEDULE 2013

We are headed to the Mitten State. And don't let the name fool you, Grosse Point, Michigan is going to be beautiful! http://www.usodanationals-2013.org/ here's the link to the regatta website. You can find the NOR for each event (team, girls, fleet) along with a bunch of other good information.

On the frontside of this event, as in, before departure from LYC here is some information you need to know...


Tuesday, July 2nd
                           at 12:00PM all sailors are encouraged to come to LYC for the boat prep and trailer loading party. Sailors will be wet-sanding and polishing their hulls and checking all their equipment before loading the trailer. Phil will provide PIZZA and tents and umbrellas for shade. (Sailors must provide their own polish, wet-sand paper, and spare parts, etc.) This should take about an hour.

Wednesday, July 3rd
                               All boats must be loaded by 12:00PM >>NOON<< on Wednesday, July 3rd. All Optimists should have a top and bottom cover (with working straps), the blades fitted beneath the hiking straps, airbags slightly deflated, sail tube and dollies well labeled in the trailer bed.

Thursday, July 4th
                           Phil will be driving the LYC truck and trailer to Michigan. The truck will depart on the Fourth of July at 6:30AM, and will arrive at 7PM on July 5th at GPYC on Lake St. Claire. 

Friday, July 5th
                       Sailors are expected to meet Phil at 7ish to unload the trailer at GPYC to make sure we can be the first to go through measurement on Saturday AM.
    
Saturday, July 6th
                           All LYC sailors will register and measure their equipment at 10:00AM, we will launch at 12 NOON for practice and will be off the water at 4PM.

Success Story

"...Afraid of the wind and the waves and being alone on the water, at 8 years old in a boat just under eight feet long called an Optimist [she] cried and begged and used every creative excuse she could summon to avoid going to her weekend sailing lessons at the Lauderdale Yacht Club in her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Fla."

Now, not so much (click here).  Inspiration for kids and parents alike.  Good job, Sharon & Fred.  

It Comes Back

New LYC member George Uznis heard about our team heading to his hometown of Grosse Point and made the offer below.  Anyone interested in taking advantage of this great housing opportunity, please e-mail me at bob3@supersailmakers.com and I'll forward the first replies to George (so he doesn't get several).  I'm following up on the boat(s) and will have more info for the group soon.  Maybe more important, please read and understand this is what our sailing culture produces.  Let's follow his example in the future and always ask what we can do to help others coming to LYC.  This is what we do.

_____________________________________

Bob,

Good to hear from you.

You know the GPYC is not located in proximity of the hotels or motels and I can easily accommodate a family. My house is on the lake 2 1/2 miles from GPYC.

 It was 20 years ago but my son Mike was on the world team for 2 years and I was USODA trustee. I know the drill. I will send you a photo or the 21" Shearwater that I can make available.  I also have a 21" Mako that I will be out in and can take some people.

In 1988 my kids had never seen an Optimist and we came to LYC  for the Boomerang Regatta and Clyde set us up in boats and it "took", something parents don't forget.

Pleased to help,

George

ATTN: ADVANCED/INTERMEDIATE SAILORS!

Anyone interested in participating in this summer's USODA New England Championships?  Please sign up on the program documents "upcoming regatta" spreadsheet. We participated in this event last year and had an outstanding time.

Summer racing in New England serves up excellent (March-like) conditions. With this year's venue in Portland, Maine the scenery should be delightfully picturesque.This regatta will host a challenging, competitive fleet lead by a sound race committee.

This is a 2014 Team Trials Qualifying regatta! Here's the link to the website.
http://www.sailmaine.org/optinewenglands/Regatta_Info/Register.html

WARNING: Summer Session Starting

The LYC Summer Sessions are starting.  While this means the joy of sailing will be spread to even more young ones, it also means some of these young ones, in the innocence and ignorance of youth, may -- despite our coaches' best efforts -- wreak utter and complete devastation on any personal gear left in the garage.  All Opti families are reminded of the unfortunate reality that any gear left in the garage may get used and abused by people who do not know any better in these first few weeks of summer camp.  Sorry, while it's not right, it may happen, so collect and protect anything you want to keep very safe.  Yes, we can segregate and label our stuff, and yes, coaches will work to prevent it, but also, yes, each year, at least one Opti sailor shows up at the club to see a summer sailor dragging his or her $600 sail across a piling in the canal.  Fair warning.  Remember, we were all newbies once, and didn't know.  And when they do, they'll make us all better.

Intermediate/Advanced Parent Meeting Summary

Intermediate/Advanced Opti Parent Meeting Summary

A discussion of the upcoming National Championship dominated the meeting.  For those not attending Nationals, a summary of the other topics discussed precedes the Nationals update.

Next Parents' Meetings

• An Opti Parents Meeting for Midshipmen and Commodores Parents returning to or considering the Fall racing season will be held in August, date TBD.
• A parents meeting for Intermediate and Advanced sailor parents will be held following nationals, date TBD.

Checklists

Phil and Juan will begin a new checklist system to aggressively instill necessary habits in LYC sailors.  The newest racers will have a short checklist that teaches them to check key safety equipment before they leave the dock every time they go sailing.  Intermediate and Advanced sailors list will expand to include key Opti Class requirements.  These new procedures will enhance safety, and prevent nonconformity with class rules which has proven costly in penalties in past regattas.  More important, it will build responsible, self-reliant habits in our sailors.

Fall Season

The Fall Season will begin with a work day and cookout for all fleets on August 24 & 25.  Come join old friends and new as we get our fleet ready for the Fall and flip some burgers at the Sailing Center.  Info sheet to follow.  Regular practice starts after Labor Day on September 7.

Major Fall Long-Distance Regattas: start deciding!

• Southeast Championships, Pensacola, FL - Sept 21-22
• Atlantic Coast Championships, Oyster Bay, NY - Sept 27-29
• West Coast Championships, San Pedro, CA - October 12-14

LYC will be supporting the SE Champs and West Coast Champs.

We will work to secure a shorter URL for the lycoptis.blogspot.com web page.

HURRICANE PROTOCOL - HAPPY JULY!

As TS Andrea moves over north western Florida we are reminded of the fact that the 2013 Hurricane Season is officially upon us. Please review the LYC Hurricane Protocol for all sailing fleets.

In general, all families not participating in any summer clinics or club supported events are encouraged to remove all private boats and equipment from LYC's Sailing Center.

In the event of a Tropical Storm or Hurricane please follow the steps below...


At the hoisting of a ‘Hurricane Watch’ all boats in and dry storage areas and all equipment on the premises of Lauderdale Yacht Club are requested to be removed.

Sailing Director will announce the ETA for Hurricane watch & warning & advise local families to watch the news.

LYC requests that all members remove loose items from the Sailing Center

The Club will not tow any privately owned boats.

Any owner of a boat left at the facilities during a hurricane will be financially responsible for any and all damages to Club facilities, other property or persons caused by said boat, and will indemnify and hold the Club harmless for all expenses and fees of any type incurred by the Club regarding said boat or damages caused by it.

No dinghies or equipment will be stored in the Clubhouse on Club grounds or in Club buildings.

If an owner is out of town or unable to move his boat prior to a storm or hurricane, he will be responsible for someone other than the Marina Director or Sailmaster to do it for him.

Thanks for your help. I look forward to an "uneventful" summer, in this regard.