Commodore's Fleet Practice Sunday -- One Hour Earlier

Commodore's Fleet can't catch a break!  First all these kids from around the country take over LYC last weekend for a team race regatta, and last night everyone wanted to quit sailing early for Halloween.  And now this Sunday's practice ends early for some silly cookout??  When do we get to sail!?

Never fear!  To make up for lost time on Sunday, we're going to start Commodore's Fleet practice ONE HOUR EARLY on Sunday.  Please arrive in time to be rigged and ready to sail at 12:30, not 1:30, this coming Sunday, November 3.  If your schedule doesn't allow the earlier time, please come at the normal time and just give the coaches a head's up, so they can keep an eye on your sailor coming down the canal.

Commodore's / Green Fleet Naples Replacement, Nov. 9 & 10

Next weekend we tried to get the Green Fleets from Coral Reef and Key Biscayne to come sail with us, but they already planned a joint Green Fleet practice on Biscayne Bay that weekend.  Biscayne Bay is a fantastic place to sail, with flat, safe water that's a little more "open" than LYC or Ft. Myers, a great stepping stone.  So, instead of staying home by ourselves, our Commodore's Fleet will just go join their party!

We will practice and race both days next weekend out of Coconut Grove Sailing Club, in the heart of the Grove.  I'll post a schedule and details as soon as it's available, but plan for Saturday and Sunday.  We believe (but do not yet know) it will be an arrival time around 9:00 a.m. down there, ending around 3:00, with some on-shore instruction and practice and racing on the water both days.  It's a great opportunity for our kids to travel someplace new, sail in different waters, and test their skills against kids from other clubs.

More specific details will follow, but please plan to load boats on the LYC truck after practice Thursday, and unload Sunday afternoon after returning to the club.

"Naplacement" Weekend - Nov. 9 & 10

Here it comes, the Naples Replacement ("Naplacement"?) Regatta of 2013.  This post is for Advanced and Intermediate sailors who will race in the ocean.  Weekend plans for Commodore's Fleet / Green Fleet sailors will be covered in a separate post.

Saturday, November 9 will be a Joint Practice Day with Coral Reef Yacht Club and Key Biscayne Yacht Club, also possibly with the participation of the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and the Upper Keys Sailing Club.  Saturday will be led by the coaches who will combine to form a unique practice experience, supported by parents serving as race committee.  Rigged and Ready for all sailors will be 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, November 10 will be a Regatta, managed by the joint efforts of all participating parents from the various clubs serving as race committee.  Rigged and ready is 9:30 again, with a team meeting at that time, and Skippers Meeting at 10:00 a.m.  No start after 2:30.

Saturday Night will be an LYC Cookout.  All participants are invited.  LYC members and LYC-YSGs will be billed $40 to their accounts as the weekend entry fee, which includes the cost of two dinners Saturday night.  Please make plans to stay and extend our hospitality to the Opti families from the other clubs.

What you need to do now:  

1) Visit the link here and sign up for the event.  Please fill out the needed information so we can be well organized.

2) E-mail Bob Meagher and let him know which day you can volunteer for on-shore or on-the-water activity.  

Complete information about the weekend can be found here at this link.

Commodore's/Green, please stand by for further plans.

Commodore's Halloween Practice

Knowing that our sailors may have other priorities as Thursday evening approaches, Commodore's parents please note that Commodore's Practice on Thursday will end at 4:30 pm to give the kids enough time to transform themselves into ghosts, zombies, or -- God forbid -- Hanna Montana.

Phil's Pharewell MOVED to SUNDAY, November 3

As we often are/were, we weren't aware of Phil's other duties when making our plans.  Though his heart is always with Optis, this Saturday the rest of him will be down in Hollywood running a high school 420 regatta and he's unable to make a Saturday cookout.  So, we moved it to Sunday, 3:00 p.m.  Please sign up on the link here and let us know you're coming, how many people, what you can bring, with $20 in hand.  With questions or ideas, please contact Sharyn Wellnitz at marshan@me.com.

Saturday Farewell Cookout

This Saturday (after an abbreviated Champ/Int practice), please come join our Opti friends in a party to send Phil off with a bang.  Yes, this post spills the beans to him, but alerts the rest of us to a great time together to thank Phil for everything he's done.  Please make plans to come join the team at 3:00 on Saturday for burgers and dogs.

Please help.  Technical difficulties prevented the sign-up sheet from going up tonight, but here are the basics.  We'll gather at the Sailing Center, around hot grills, cold coolers, with $20 from each family and some pot-luck-style contributions of snacks and sides from those who can bring them.  Please save the date and stay tuned Tuesday for the sign-up sheet, posted here.  Check back later in the day and find it, or the Wednesday morning e-mail will remind you.

See you Saturday.

Thursday Commodore's Fleet Practice Canceled

Bad news / good news, guys.  The work on getting the club Optis ready for the team race regatta will make them unavailable for Thursday afternoon Commodore's Fleet practice, so it's been canceled. 

The good news is, the club Optis are getting work done!  So when the kids are back in them, they should be a bit better. 

Thanks for your understanding -- we'll make up the day somehow.

Spare bedroom, anyone?

The team race regatta requires umpires, and umpires need a place to stay Friday and Saturday nights.  The budget driven by entry fees doesn't allow for hotels; instead, sailor families host them for the weekend.  One of the arrangements made changed over the weekend, and we find ourselves in need of one more home for an umpire.  Anyone got a spare room?  These individuals are typically experienced sailors themselves who travel to multiple regattas like this and make excellent house guests!  Please contact Beth Welker if you can help out.

Team Race Practice Schedule

Intermediate Sailors -- if you're racing in the Team Race regatta this weekend, please join Tuesday's Championship practice.

Championship Sailors -- if you're racing in the Team Race regatta this weekend, please join Wednesday's Intermediate practice.

If you're not racing in the regatta this weekend, please attend your regularly scheduled practice.

Great Weekend

What a great weekend in Ft. Myers!  We can't let the weekend end without thank you's to:

• Steve & Dawn Tate, Roger Welker, Brett & Pam Moss for towing coach boats.
• Sharyn Wellnitz and Sabine Zouari for providing water and granola bars for our kids and coaches.
• Lisa Jones for arranging the fabulous dinner for 30 on Saturday.
• Roger Welker for showing a CRYC mom the depth of an LYC pour.
• The Casarettos and Wellnitz's for their hospitality afloat.
• Everyone for making the loading and unloading processes a true team effort
• The unsung parents and families whose names I overlooked, silently our kids, coach boats, and the whole LYC effort.  Thank you! 
• ... and of course, Juan, Kyle, and Corey for their effort helping keep our kids safe, smart and improving.

Typically regattas post the results online but this one hasn't done so at the time of this note.  I took a snapshot of the scores, though, and until they're uploaded as data, the image will have to serve.  Hopefully it's hi-res enough for you to see what you need:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5b589dl8mubr6c5/2013-10-20%2011.54.38.jpg

For many, team racing next weekend, but stay tuned for schedule updates during the week.

Many new and old parents had suggestions during the weekend.  The Opti Committee is doing a good job channeling and acting on them.  If you have any thoughts on the weekend, what we can do better for Jensen Beach in December, or anything else, please e-mail bob3@supersailmakers.com and we'll address them at the next Opti Committee meeting.  Thanks to all for great teamwork.

River Romp Schedule & Contact Info

Schedule (with a Green Fleet Focus)
Here's a link to an explanation of what happens when at the River Romp.  There's a LOT of info here -- print it and bring it in the car!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6snI5h8-e6kaXU4MHI0dkk2TTg/edit?usp=sharing


Contact Info
The LYC sign-up sheet we use has sailor and parent names, and cell numbers.  It's a useful page on your smartphone when you need to call someone to make plans, located here:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5Bh0OFIqvYFQXI4czJlLUxBRGc&usp=sharing&tid=0B5Bh0OFIqvYFcjBwa3FoeXhGRVE


GroupMe
On Friday as we drive to Ft. Myers, I will activate the GroupMe group for the first time this year and add everyone on the spreadsheet who's coming.  This will result in you getting a text.  To join the group, you must reply to this text, with anything -- just say "Hi" if you like.  Fair warning, as people do, everyone else in the group will receive this, so yes, you will be receiving multiple texts Friday afternoon.  GroupMe has a free app for iPhone (and Android??) you can download that's a little more user-friendly, or you can go online to www.groupme.com, sign up/log-in, and search for & join the "LYC Opti" or "LYC Green Fleet" groups.  Remember, whenever you send a text, even a reply, it goes to EVERYONE in the group, so please use it for important and time sensitive info.

After the Regatta
Phil needs to return the LYC trailer to its resting space, and to allow that, we need to get our boats and gear off the truck and trailer no later than Tuesday.  Those practicing on Tuesday can do it then, but if you don't plan to come until Wednesday, do it Tuesday, Monday, or even Sunday night after the truck gets home.

- Bob

What's the Hitch for Fort Myers?

For those going to Fort Myers River Romp...

Coach Boat Tow.  We still need someone to tow a coach boat.  We have three coaches going -- Juan for RBW, and Kyle and Corey for Green.  That means we need three coach boats.  The LYC truck is towing the Opti trailer.  We have two parents each towing a coach boat.  We need a third.  If you have a trailer hitch and you're not towing your own boat please help the the team out.  If you do, you'll get to partake in that free Green Fleet Beer program we're trying to start.  Some call it hazing.

If you can't do it this time but are willing to ameliorate your guilt by signing up now for Martin County, please let me know.

Weather & Wind.  After the last post some parents asked what weather sites people often use for wind prediction.  This is a good topic of conversation for around the beach and bar, but some of the more popular are below, with links to Ft. Myers for this Saturday.

Weather Underground
WindFinder
Weather.com

Here's a free preview -- it looks light and sunny.

Gear and Parts.  With such beautiful weather planned, you might not need some of the gear offered by someone I forgot to introduce to the newer parents and sailors.  Matt Coleman, whose son graduated Optis and now sails Lasers, is well-known to us and offers Zhik products with his Zoum Opti dealership (check the links).  Matt is a wealth of knowledge about all things Opti and will also have a display at Ft. Myers, further south along the beach toward the bridge.  You'll see him around the club a lot, he's a great resource, and it's worth stopping by this weekend when you can check out his stuff.

River Romp Saturday Night

Lisa Jones has successfully booked the gig for 6:30 p.m. Saturday night with a reservation for "25 to 40" people at the Firehouse Sports Grill -- walking distance from the regatta site (2 blocks, same side of street).  As of this post, their web site was completely obliterated by errors, but they have typical bar food and their burgers get excellent reviews.  Details below.  Please RSVP to Lisa to let her know how many people to expect so she can properly warn the innocent staff at Firehouse of the bedlam that's about to descend on them (possibly worse than zombies).  It'll be separate checks, but we'll continue the tradition of the Green Fleet parents buying the beer for the rest of the group.

Firehouse Sports Grill

13121 North Cleveland Avenue
North Fort Myers, FL 33903
(239) 997-3473
Map Link Here

(Please note if you go to Google Street view, the photo is old and the standalone building with the Lenny C's sign indicating "we just moved" is the place we're going.  Firehouse followed them in.)

Just kidding about the Green Fleet Beer Tradition, though I think it would be a good one to start.


By the way, as of 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, we STILL need one person to tow one coach boat.  Please contact Phil directly if you have a trailer hitch and can tow there and back.

Save the Date -- Fall Sailing Banquet

The annual Fall Sailing Banquet will be held at LYC on Tuesday, December 3 for all sailors & Opti fleets.  This is a chance for the kids to put on some nice clothes and come enjoy a dinner celebrating the season, the Fall Series winners, and announcing the perpetual trophy winners.  All participants and their parents are invited (with charges for non-members billed to their YSG accounts).  Please mark it on your calendar, and we'll look forward to seeing you!

Fort Myers River Romp Info

This is for anyone attending the Ft. Myers River Romp this coming weekend...

We Need a Tower.  We need one more tower, someone who can carry one of the coach boats to Ft. Myers, and grab a coach or buddy to launch it -- and bring it home Sunday.  Please contact Philip directly at philip.muller@lyc.org. 

Loading.  Loading will take place after your last weekday practice this week, and Phil will post the truck/trailer map with your spot.  Please put your boat in your spot, not someone else's.  Commodore's Fleet parents -- your Green Fleet sailor gets priority on the truck and your spot will be there when you load after practice Thursday.  Please note, when you do, the other fleets will have loaded before you.  Sails/spars, boards, and dollies all have specific locations in the trailer bed, so please look and match them.  A word to the wise -- take whatever you have room for, especially the dolly you will use.  Having a dolly ready when the truck pulls up makes your unload faster and allows you to help others more quickly.  Please remember, while we will all want to get out quickly on Sunday, let's load the truck as orderly then as we do this week.  

GroupMe.  We will re-establish the GroupMe group texts, with one group for the Red/Blue/White fleets and one for the Green fleet.  There are more detailed instructions on the LYC blog under the GroupMe tab on the top, but briefly, it is a group text app.  We use it at regattas for immediate communication of important or time-sensitive information regarding that regatta.  One text goes to all members.  However, any reply also goes to all members, so please do not text the group unless your info is relevant for the whole group.  Example: when the club truck shows up with all the boats, or the race committee is sending the kids in to the beach early, or the car pool is leaving for dinner, someone will text.  Group notification of speed traps on Alligator Alley on Friday afternoon is a highly-approved use.  If you want to swap info with only one or two others, please text them directly, not through the group.  More instructions will follow, but you can also visit the GroupMe tab on the blog to learn more.

Saturday Night.  Lisa Jones is scouting the options for a team dinner Saturday night, for a place big, fun, and kid-friendly enough to accommodate a large group of us Saturday night. Of course, some will have their own fun, but the bulk of the LYC crowd will end up making noise together.  Additional info to follow later this week.  

Gear.  If this is your first regatta and your kid needs some gear, never fear, vendors have gear!  Typically two or three gear vendors show up with truckfulls of parts, clothes, gadgets and gizmos.  It's a great idea to make friends with the gear vendors, because you'll really need them one day.  Special note -- Pam Moss, mother of LYC Intermediate sailor Mike Moss, will be making her debut as a North American distributor for Magic Marine.  Magic Marine sells foul weather gear and gear bags designed to keep sailors (and their parents) happy in bad weather.  Let's all support Pam thrive as our own in-house supplier!  

Weather.  Today's forecast for the weekend is 5-10 knots and sunny, but we all know how fast that can change.  If you have anxious kids with computers or smartphones, start teaching them how to look up the forecast themselves instead of bugging you each afternoon.

Zombies.  Yes, zombies.  Each year for the last four, there have been zombie sightings on Saturday night.  Tell your sailor they only eat the kids who don't try their hardest on the race course.  http://www.zombicon.com/

Regarding Philip

The Opti Committee learned of Philip's plans Thursday afternoon and has already begun discussing the transition period during the search for a new Sailing Director.  If you have any questions about the program or upcoming events, please contact any one of us at any time -- you'll find us more receptive than ever as we work together to support our kids and coaches. Philip will be performing his normal duties this weekend, at River Romp, and the Team Race Regatta so we'll have time to prepare for his departure.  Stay tuned -- it's never boring!

Important Announcement

Lauderdale Yacht Club regrets to inform our members, guests, and participants in the various sailing and waterfront activities at the club that our Sailing Director Philip Muller has tendered his resignation.  Philip has advanced from a green fleet coach to the leader and head of all sailing activities at LYC.  Our club’s youth program is one of the largest and most diverse in North America and under Philip’s oversight, LYC has garnered acclaim and respect throughout the sailing community.  From consistently training world-level optimist sailors and Olympians to enrolling a broad-based entry-level green fleet class, Philip has created a very special success story.  His tireless work ethic, balanced attitude towards fun and competition, and solid relationships with our sailors will be extremely difficult to replace.  We wish him well in his next endeavor; his last day at LYC will be November 3, 2013.

A Search Committee has been formed in order to identify and recruit the next Sailing Director at LYC.  For the short term, the depth of our coaching and administrative staff will help insure that all practices, programs, and logistics support will be seamlessly covered.  The fleet captain and the individual fleet chairmen have commenced a detailed examination of all upcoming events on the calendar to expand current coaching roles and responsibilities so that our athletes are provided the tools needed to achieve their personal sailing objectives and goals.  Juan Carlos Romero, Chris Dold,  Julia Melton, Colin Page, Kyle Pond, Corey Page, Hunter Cambone,  and guest coach Joakuim Carlson (arriving November 2) are all extremely qualified in their respective roles.  Our coaching staff is unparalleled and there is no doubt that this Fall season will surpass previous years’ participation and results.

We have multiple events planned for the upcoming months and procedures to insure our participants receive the same quality coaching, training, support and organization are being planned and implemented immediately.  Philip has pledged to assist in the process and knowing his character, our programs will smoothly transition in the upcoming weeks.     – Fleet Captain Tom Lihan

THIS WEEKEND

Best of luck to all our sailors who are in Cabrillo Beach, California competing in the USODA West Coast Championships. Best of luck. to follow our team check out the USODA.org website.

This weekend both Intermediate fleets will focus on team racing practice to prepare those racing in the Oct 26-27 Team Race regatta, and to help the boathandling skills and team race knowledge for those not racing that weekend. Our practice schedule for Saturday and Sunday will be 9:30am-4pm Saturday and 9:30am-2pm on Sunday for Intermediate Gold and Silver. 

Orange Bowl FULL

A quick check of the Orange Bowl registration site indicated they have reached their cap of 300 Optis and will not be taking any more registrations.  I, for one, hope this is a strategy and not a fact.  The following is the list of LYC-registered sailors.

Connor Murphy

Luke Welker

Bella Casaretto

Michael Moss

Jonathan Siegel

Kelly Clark

Connor Boland

If your sailor's name is not on the list and you hope to do Orange Bowl, there is a waiting list located here and I encourage you to do what I just did and get on it.

Commodore's Fleet Info

Hello, Commodore's Fleet parents, I'm Bob Meagher, the chairman of the LYC Opti Committee.  We have a group of seven committee members (listed at the end) who work to make sure the program runs smoothly and lines of communication stay open.  If at any time you have a question, please don't hesitate to contact any one of us at our addresses and cell phones below.

Communication & Optiblog

Experience has shown that e-mail lists quickly become incomplete, can annoy recipients with "Reply All" syndrome, and leave us searching our Deleted Items for last-month's critical information.  We have created a blog page located at http://lycoptis.blogspot.com/ that solves this problem.  Please Sign Up on the right side to receive e-mails of every blog post the morning after they're posted.  This is the simplest and most comprehensive way for the coaches and committee to communicate with all LYC Opti sailors.  Also, useful documents and links are located throughout the site -- explore away!  Note, if you don't sign up, you'll miss important info throughout the season, so please join us.  Thanks.  (P.S. -- for archive purposes, this e-mail will be posted to the blog, so if you're signed up, you'll receive it again tomorrow morning.)

Repeat Parent's Meeting This Sunday

Following the success of last weekend's Parents' Meeting, Lisa Jones is leading another on this Sunday, immediately after the kids launch (2:15ish) for the people who couldn't make it.  Please come learn about how to handle boats and sails, upcoming regattas & parties, gear, and more. 

Fort Myers River Romp

The first regatta of the season is around the corner (October 19 & 20) and your kid will love it!  The River Romp is a decade-old tradition and a great first regatta for aspiring Green Fleeters.  The races are held very close to shore in protected waters on the river in Ft. Myers, perfect for first-timers.  A dozen of you have signed up already, and all Commodores Fleet kids should take the leap -- but if you have reservations, please contact the sailing office at 954-527-2223.  If you haven't already done so, please register for the regatta here and sign up here on the LYC page here.  Green Fleeter boats like yours get first priority on the LYC Trailer, which you'll load Thursday night (17th) after practice.  This is a great way to do something quick and fun as a family, as well as spend some time with other parents new to the program -- or many years into it.  Ask more about it this Sunday, but make your plans now!

Naples Cup Regatta

The second fun regatta of the season is the Naples Cup Regatta with the legendary party many of you have heard about.  Unfortunately, we received word yesterday that the beach renourishment project underway in Naples is causing the cancellation of the regatta this year for its scheduled date of November 9 & 10.  We are working on a suitable replacement, but if you booked rooms in Naples, cancel before your deadline, and stay tuned for the alternate plan.

Private Coaching

Is your sailor really into it and can't get enough?  Or has some hesitancy that some one-on-one instruction can erase?  We have numerous private coaches of all different personalities ready to help.  Ask the Sailing Office

Head's Up

The Championship and Intermediate Gold fleets are having a Joint Practice with the Coral Reef Yacht Club team this weekend.  On Sunday afternoon pickup, the Sailing Center area will be a little more crowded than usual.

We look forward to seeing you at the Sailing Center, and at Ft. Myers.

Thanks.

The Opti Committee

Bob Meagher -- son Joey, Intermediate Gold; daughter Lucy, Commodores -- 954-448-5999, bob3@supersailmakers.com

Roger & Beth Welker -- son Luke, Championship -- 646-745-4643, roger.s.welker@wellsfargo.com  rbleventmanagement@gmail.com

Alberto Casaretto -- daughter Bella, Championship -- 954-593-9290, wandacasaretto@yahoo.com

Lisa Jones -- son Langdon, Intermediate Silver -- 954-465-6342, lisawalljones@me.com

Kevin Wagerson -- son Christian, Intermediate Silver -- 810-969-2026, kwagerson@mac.com

Jim Clark -- son Kelly, Championship -- 954-662-7873, jimclark000@gmail.com

PRACTICE THIS WEEKEND

LYC will be hosting a Joint Practice this weekend with Coral Reef Yacht Club's Championship Race team!

Saturday and Sunday will be full days of practice for Champ and Intermediate Gold Fleet Sailors. 9:30 arrival!

Intermediate Silver, Prams, and Commodore's will observe regular practice hours.

We wish Juan Carlos the best of luck and to keep a sharp eye as he heads to California for the USNT practice and to scope out the venue for West Coast Champs.

Coaching on the ocean this weekend will be: Julia Melton and Colin Page (Saturday) and Julia and Philip Muller (Sunday).

Forecast for both weekend days looks good: 10-12 mph from the SSE.

PARENT'S MEETING RECAP

Thanks to those of you who attended last weekend's Commodore's Fleet parent's meeting. Here are some notes on what you missed if you weren't there.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Lauderdale Yacht Club junior sailing program offers instruction at every level for sailors 5-18 years old in the Optimist, 420, and Laser classes. The fleet levels are listed below.
Optimist > Pram, Commodore's, Intermediate Silver, Gold, Championship
420 > Learn to Race, Varsity Race
Laser > Ocean Team, Hi-Performance Team

EQUIPMENT
your sailor has been assigned a complete Optimist set (sail, spars, blades, hull) for the season. Assignment lists are available. your sailor is responsible for the care of his or her equipment.
*LYC owned boats and sailors are numbered (stickers on the boat) and labeled (green dots on the sail).



All equipment is to be stored at LYC, unless it is being transported to or from a regatta.
Boats are to be racked on the northernmost (right) side of the Opti rack. Sails and blades are stored in the garage in designated areas.


REGATTAS
We encourage your sailor to participate in regional, LYC supported events once he or she is ready. If you aren't sure, ask a coach. Regattas are typically weekend events (full days). LYC will transport your sailor's equipment, provide coaching, and a coach boat. (LYC does not make arrangements for sailor travel or lodging). If you need more information about how to register for an event, read previous postings below, or give us a call 954-527-2223.

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PARENT HELP
Parents are politely asked to assist their sailor (and others) with bringing boats off the storage racks. Once the boat is down, sailors should be able to rig independently. Coaches will circulate the fleet to assist sailors with rigging.

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WEEKEND UPDATE

Thanks to all the sailors who participated in LYC's historical BROOK BASH event! Great sailing to all the competitors! Thanks to Past Commodore David Rulien and Peter Commette for hosting a truly fun event!

Results: 3rd - Kevin Wagerson & Bret Moss; 2nd- Pam Moss, Darla May, & Rebecca Gennett; 1st - Mike Moss & Christian Wagerson.