S/V First Light

Dear SYC Member:

Just ten days until the Annual Meeting and Change of Command! These past several years have cruised by at something more than hull speed and left treasured memories of fun, friendships, accomplishments, change, and great pride in Seattle Yacht Club – its members, professional staff, facilities and traditions.

Your Commodore has been hosted and honored as a guest of St. Francis Yacht Club at their 50th Annual Stag Cruise to Tinsley Island. This one and only outstation of St. Francis Yacht Club is in the Sacramento Delta, up the San Joaquin River, near the Port of Stockton. I can report that this year’s “Stag” was attended by 740 St. Francis Yacht Club members and guests with nearly 250 boats packed in at the Tinsley Island docks or anchored nearby. The food and drinks, in copious quantities, the thought-provoking and informative afternoon “Lighthouse talks,” the sporting competitions, professionally-produced entertainment and the camaraderie all lived up to their legendary billings. But the thing that I must report to you is the universal respect for, admiration of, and fond memories of Seattle Yacht Club expressed to me throughout the weekend by the of St. Francis Yacht Club members and other Commodores and guests from around the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This is a legacy that has been built over the years by many of you in your personal interactions with and in the hospitality extended to visiting cruisers, sailors and land travelers. We all leave our unique “footprints” and, collectively, we SYC members, past and present, are leaving a huge and highly regarded “footprint.” I am very proud to have been able to represent SYC!

Staff Commodore Otorowski and Vice Commodore Sullivan, along with their wives, are in Marseilles, France for the International Council of Yacht Clubs conference at Societe Nautique de Marseille. I know that they will return with new insights and ideas – and great stories!

Please take a moment to consider the proposed By-Laws amendments that will be brought to the membership for approval at the Annual Meeting on October 5 t. Your Trustees and Flag Officers recommend your vote in favor of these amendments. And remember that you must be present at the Annual Meeting to vote on the By-Laws amendments, so please sign up with the Front Desk. Besides, the Annual Meeting is a great evening of food, fellowship and fun! Oh, and yes, we elect our new Trustees, Treasurer and Rear Commodore. The candidates are working hard to gain your vote and they would appreciate your support at the Annual Meeting or by your absentee ballot if you just can’t be there. Instructions for obtaining and casting an absentee are provided below.

Enjoy your club!

Ben Cozadd, Commodore

Fishing Derby Postponed

SYC Fishing Derby, originally scheduled for Saturday, September 29 has been
postponed and will not be held then.  Stay tuned for future announcements.

Mark your calendar for
The Special People’s Cruise

Sunday, December 2, 2007

The success of this event depends on member participation. Skippers and power boats (26’ or longer) are needed to host Special People. Volunteers are also needed to work as ground crew, greeters, hosts, etc.

If you would like to participate in this wonderful event, please contact Tim Abell at (360) 657-7767 or (425) 760-4462.

Equinox Regatta

The 2007 Equinox Regatta to Gig Harbor was a success again this year.  14 boats, ranging from crewed race boats to single-handed cruisers, raced across Puget Sound from the green can off West Point south down Colvos Passage on the back side of Vashon Island.  The race on Saturday began with a 5-8 knot southerly.  The faster (lower rated PHRF) vessels all finished just as the wind died to 0 with a few taking a half an hour to cover the last 100 yards.  First place honors went to Flashback, a J35, skippered by Mark Rider with Declaration of Independence Second and Il Falco Third.  The cruiser/racers, PHRF of 115 and above, were becalmed off Blake Island for up to two hours as the southerly slowly gave way to a northerly setting up an exciting spinnaker run to the finish.  Runaway, skippered by Phil Carver, invested all her chips on a daring move at the mid-way point of the race by electing to leave the entire fleet and pass on the West side of Blakely Island.  The move paid off big and resulted in Runaway taking First in the cruiser/racer class with Mata Hari and Zig Zag a distant Second and Third.  

Vessels, most flying the SYC burgee and a few from other clubs, all tied up or rafted at the Outstation.  Other than Brian Watkins' trawler, which acted as our race committee boat (thank you Brian), the entire outstation was inhabited by sailboats; it was a beautiful sight.  The pot luck dinner, awards ceremony and s'mores roasted on the warmly burning outdoor fire were enjoyed by all.  Unfortunately there was not enough wind to get a race off on Sunday but, it was a beautiful early fall day to sit in the sun and slowly motor back to the dock.  Hope to see all of you out there for the 2008 Equinox regatta.

Race Committee Boat

Racing the weather!

Keith Johnson & Pat Crockett casting off aboard S/V Strider

Annie & Darren Anhalt

Phil Calvert & Rhonda Halffman

Mike Massa

NOTICE OF NOMINATIONS

TO: Members of Seattle Yacht Club
FROM: Nominating Committee – 2007
DATE: June 11, 2007

Your Nominating Committee submits the following list of members as candidates for Flag Officers and Board of Trustee positions to be elected at the Annual Meeting on Friday, October 5, 2007:

Your attention is called to Article 7, Section 7.20. of the by-laws, which reads in part:

“…Additional nominations may be made by posting on the bulletin board of the Club at least fifteen (15) days before the Annual Meeting of the members a notice signed by at least twenty five (25) members of the Club entitled to vote, proposing an additional candidate, or candidates, for any particular office. No person shall be posted as a nominee without his or her consent.”

2007 Nominating Committee:
Chairman Chris Otorowski, Dave Ferguson, Tom Foti, Bill Frietag, Cheryl Rice, Roy Robinson, Don Simpson, Paul Sunich, Carin Weinrich

ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST

Mister Secretary:

Please mail an absentee ballot to me at the following address:

_________________________________ ____________
Printed Name Membership #

_________________________________
Street Address

_________________________________
City, State, Zip

_________________________________
Signature

(Please note that any missing information will invalidate this request).

Fax request to: (206) 324-8784

Or mail to: Seattle Yacht Club
Absentee Ballot Request
1807 E. Hamlin St.
Seattle, WA, 98112

Or e-mail to: sycfroff@seattleyachtclub.org (your e-mail request must contain all of the above information, ballots can not be e-mailed.) Your full name at the bottom of the request will constitute your signature.

Absentee ballots will not be available until September 4, 2007

Qualify For Washington State Boater Education Card
Required For Younger Boaters by January 1, 2008

USCG Auxiliary will give the State Approved America’s Boating Course® (eight hours instruction in three sessions including exam) for SYC Members & Family at SYC Portage Bay

October 7, 14 & 21, 2007
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Cost: $25.00 for materials.

Sign up at the SYC Portage Bay Front Desk.
Students12 years old and younger must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Joint Sail / Power Dinner

Thursday, October 11
6:00 p.m. in the Fireside Lounge

Understanding Pacific Northwest Marine Weather:
For Cruising or Racing Under Sail or Power

Guest Speaker: KING-5 Television’s Meteorologist, Jeff Renner

After graduating from University of Wisconsin in 1975 with a degree in journalism, Renner earned a bachelor-of-science degree in atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington in 1988. A professional member of the American Meteorological Society, Renner is often called as an expert witness in court cases involving meteorology. The Department of the Army honored Renner with a Distinguished Services Award for his work as an aviation meteorology instructor for Army helicopter pilots in the Northwest. He is a board member of the Pacific Science Center Science Advisory Council and an accomplished sailor, pilot, mountaineer, and an author of several books including Northwest Marine Weather.

Thursday, 11 October 2007
6:00 p.m. Cocktails, 7:00 p.m. Dinner, in the Fireside Lounge
Reserve Now--This will fill quickly! Call the Front Desk: (206) 325-1000.

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