June 2017 Commodore's Corner

What a great season we have had so far! And there is still plenty more going on at EYC. 

The Memorial Day Regatta was fantastic. We had sun and wind at the same time which, if memory serves me, is a rare occurrence for the MDR. Rich Johnson and his committee pulled off two excellent days of racing. Both Saturday and Sunday he tortured some of us old people with trips to the dash mark. Janet Mitchell and the regatta kitchen crew put together a fantastic dinner on Saturday (140+ dinners) and 85 breakfasts between Saturday and Sunday. A big thank you to Regatta Chair Dean Mitchell for putting this on once again.

The weekend after Memorial Day, there was some major Port Commission work, thanks to a coordinated effort with a local rancher. A friendly rancher who lives near EYC was in need of some land fill to build a retaining wall. It looked like the perfect opportunity to dispose of a few sections of the old docks (33 to be exact) so a plan was hatched to haul all those dock sections—one at a time—on trailers. We needed to deliver the large cement blocks to the top of a small mountain on what seemed to be an old logging road. What could possibly go wrong? Port Commissioner John Mahoney took the lead and found three club members with trucks and trailers to do the hauling. With Matt Sprick (with his leg in brace from a recent surgery), Russ Petersen, and Mike Gerot behind the wheels and Nick Tabet, John, and myself as co-pilots, each section of dock was delivered one by one to the local rancher. Glen Hughes operated a fork lift at EYC and with the assistance of Gordon Mattatall and Paul Stephens loaded each trailer. It took 33 trips to complete the task but by later afternoon on Saturday they were all gone with only a minor amount of property damage.

The following weekend the multihull fleet held the annual Live on the Edge Regatta. I heard that they had the wind they needed but not the sun we enjoyed at the MDR. There were 22 boats and 3 races on both Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to Roeland Kapsenberg for once again chairing this regatta.

EYC will be the place to be on June 25-30. Coming up is Sail School, one of the biggest EYC events of the season and one that brings out the best in EYC volunteers. This year Mike and June Chamberlin are chairing the event. They reported at the last board meeting everything is coming along great but enrollment numbers are low. So, if you know of any kids (or adults) that are interested in learning to sail, now is the time. There is still a little time left to sign up.

Also on the weekend of June 24 and 25, Eugene Yacht Club and Triton Yacht Club will team up to co-host the Emerald Cup Regatta. If the weather cooperates, the registration and skippers’ meeting and even the Saturday dinner will all take place in the swim area. In case of rain, we may need to hold some of the functions inside the Youth Sailing Center.

In addition to Sail School preparation and Emerald Cup on Saturday, June 24, we also have a monthly work party scheduled, General Meeting and Pot Luck.

If you are not tired yet from all the activity in June, we sail right into the Fourth of July festivities at the club.

I would like to make a special request that members take a few moments to step back and look at their moorage spots, whether it be a travel trailer deck, sail boat on the gravel lot, or possibly a tarp that should have been put in the landfill five years ago. Does it need to be tidied up, cleaned or mowed? Because we will have members, members’ families, friends and potential members on the ground during Sail School and on the Fourth of July. So let’s all make an effort to make all of our spaces looking good.

As a follow-up to the April general meeting, on behalf of the Board of Directors, I am calling a special meeting to discuss the wave attenuation project. This will be hosted by the Board of Directors and the Wave Attenuation Committee to answer question or concerns and listen to feedback from the general membership. Details on the when and where will come soon.

Now that summer is here, be sure to make time to come on out and enjoy the EYC facilities and the lake, and all it has to offer!