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August 31, 2010
Visit to Zenda
An "innocent" visit to Zenda, home of Melges Boat Works takes strange twist.
MYC'ers Bill Shelton, Lyle Bracker, Jerry Simon, and Don Sanford drove to Zenda today, supposedly to pick up some parts for Jerry's MC.
During an informative facility tour conducted by Charlie Harrett, they observed the manufacturing process for several boats. Following the tour, they decided to sell everything they own, pool their resources and invest in one of the brand new Melges 32's that recently came off the production floor.
Their combined Visa Card credit limits were not quite 
enough for the purchase of the boat and an appropriate tow vehicle, so Tirade will remain in Zenda for a few days until those arrangements are completed. Then it's off to the world's in San Francisco where Don's son, Emery has agreed to let them all sleep on the couch.
P.S., please don't tell our wives.
Madison ILIYA Clinic a Success!
"The Madison Opti fleet enjoyed a beautiful day on the water on Sunday, August 29. Twelve optis with 15 children took part in a clinic sponsored by the Inland Lakes Yachting Association. The Inlands brought in two Opti coaches to help our young fleet progress to the next level." Read more here.
August 28, 2010
Photos from August 4 and 18 from Don Sanford posted here.
August 9, 2010
RECONSTITUTED BY-LAWS
Click here to download approved by-laws.
Notice is hereby given that the attached, reconstituted by-laws dated August 3, 2010, will be discussed and voted upon at the Mendota Yacht Club Annual Business Meeting on September 22, 2010 at the Essen Haus, 514 East Wilson Street, Madison, Wisconsin. The meeting will be convened by Commodore Trey Sprinkman at 7:00 PM, Central Daylight Time.
On August 3 the MYC Board of Directors completed revisions and recommended approval of the attached reconstituted by-laws dated August 3, 2010, to the members attending the Mendota Yacht Club Annual Business Meeting on September 22, 2010. These by-laws have been reconstituted from a version dating back to 1990. The purposes of reconstituting the by-laws are (i) to assure proper reference to our Articles of Incorporation, (ii) to carry forward all pertinent language from earlier versions of the by-laws, (iii) to update specific information to reflect current practices (e.g., update of committee functions and update of communication practices), (iv) to reorganize the presentation of information for clarity, and (v) to assure proper provisions for the amendment process.
The Board did significant research, diligently reviewed all past records, and carefully reviewed current operating practices to provide these reconstituted by-laws. We heartily invite all members to review the attachment before the annual business meeting, send any comments or questions to the secretary at least 24 hours prior to the meeting, and to attend the annual business meeting at which time these reconstituted by-laws will be discussed, revised as needed, and voted upon for approval by the full membership.
To conserve the club’s funds, the review will be conducted using projection of the content. Paper copy will not be
provided at the meeting, so please bring your own copy if you wish to have one as a reference. The approved
by-laws will be posted on the Mendota Yacht Club website and a paper copy will be placed in the Wisconsin
Historical Society archives along with all other archived materials of the club.
Click here to download approved by-laws.
August 5, 2010
Tim Stanton's photos from Wednesday night, August 5th posted here.
August 4, 2010
More Tim Stanton photos from Wednesday, July 28 posted here.
August 3, 2010
No Wind!
Not great sailing for Victory Day but this club still know how to have fun! Thanks, Anma, for the photos.
Flat calm.
Victory Day picnic
Welcome back the Power vessel Fourplay to the waters of Lake Mendota!
July 29, 2010
I-20 action: Steve Scheck
Wednesday nights seem to be “dodge the storms night” this year, but we finally got to race on June 23rd. Making his first appearance in an I-20 race was Brian and Christine Anderson’s son, Oscar. Brian and Oscar sailed on out in a light, but building breeze. It ended up being a pretty long trip with the wind direction, but it was great watching them sail the entire course and enjoy a long spinnaker run back. Lots more to do for both skipper and crew compared to the A scow! Continue reading.
MY FOUR REGATTA MATCH RACING REPORT
by Dierk Polzin
SONARS in Sheboygan
Wow, it has been a busy year learning and racing in a lot of events. After speaking at the Monona Spring Banquet and highlighting the current sailing scene, I dived right in and immersed myself in match racing. In case you have not kept up like most of us, both Chicago and Sheboygan now have high level coaching and dedicated fleets of boats for Match Racing. Let me give you a brief review, followed by a little intro to what we have been doing at Hoofers on Saturday mornings.
In mid-May I crewed for Mark Johnson in the Chicago Match Race Center's Spring Event/Richardson Qualifier. CMRC is located in Belmont Harbor and is an independent entity created by Don Wilson. They have eight Tom-28s which are specifically designed for match racing. We had a rough time and the boat handling is a bit tricky as the boats have an 8 foot draft and bulb keel. Racing with us was John Powell, a former Madisonian you may remember. We finished 6th of 9 teams and got more comfortable in this great quirky boats. Sally Barkow and Bill Hardesty crewed and called tactics for a couple of local teams and met in the finals. The idea in Chicago is to run training nights on Tuesday and Fridays every week and run regattas every month. The houseboat is towed out into the lake and chef is cooking lunch for spectators and racers as they rotate on and off the water. An announcer is giving play by play to the shore via a speaker and fans on the houseboat. Quite a set up.
Next was the US Sailing Qualifier in Sheboygan the week after for the Prince of Wales Match Racing. This was the Area-K quarterfinal and four teams competed. We won 10 of 11 races and won the event by a wide margin. Sheboygan has 8 Sonars purchased used a few years ago along with an eight boat fleet of the Elliots. These are the new Women's Olympic Match Racing Boat and they look gorgeous, much smaller and lower to the water than the Sonars. The Sonars were very nice to sail, but all the lines lead into the cockpit and make it a bit tangled at times.
Tom 28s in Chicago
In June, Dave Niemann (Eidolon) and Bret Newcomb went to a 5 day Match Racing clinic/regatta in Sheboygan run by Dave Perry. The first two half days were clinic followed by a regatta with Dave Perry coaching all along the way. Lots of video debriefing and notes and tip sheets. The clinic attracted quite a diverse group, with a teams from Greece, Canada, California, along with a top college racer Stephanie Roble. We had some big wind and light wind and really enjoyed doing the intense practice drills. Dave Niemann helmed the regatta portion and we had some huge big wind on Saturday which made it tough on Bret who had not run a spinnaker pole for a couple of years. We made a few mistakes but finally had it going on Sunday and won some close races. Housing in Sheboygan was free and hosted by yacht club members, it takes a lot of volunteers to put on a Match Racing Regatta and Sheboygan has really embraced it.
The fourth event, I flew to Detroit to sail at Bayview YC for the US Sailing Semi-finals with Mark Johnson on the Detroit River in Ultimate 20s. The 3-4 knot current really makes for a bizarre game. Calling starting line and mark laylines becomes an obsession. Ultimate 20s have asymmetrical which makes covering almost impossible downwind. We had big wind again battled to a spot in the Semi-finals out of the 9 teams. Of the four teams left we were the only non-local with both boat and current local knowledge. We took third overall and have now been awarded the spot in the finals for the US Sailing Match Racing in September in Ultimate 20s also in Detroit on the river.
Tom 28s in Chicago
Since returning, every Saturday we have run Match Racing at Hoofers in the Badger Sloops. Between Dave Niemann, Dave Gorwitz, Brian Louther and Grant Frautschi we are starting to get a local league going. I called it the Madison Match Racing League. At 9 AM we meet for a brief whiteboard intro and bring new sailors up to speed. In the three weeks we have done it we have had 15+ sailors give it a try. The great thing about it is that we are all learning and sharing info. We swap teams on and off the RC boats and run as many low-key races as we can. We put skippers and crews in and out. If you want to try it come on down. We have a website with some of the handouts...
Madison Match Racing League Google Group
Also check out: Chicago Match Race
Madison Match Racing League
SATURDAYS (every week)
8:15 am - breakfast at Mickey's Dairy Bar (maybe)
9:00 am - chalk talk - rigging - course set (45 minutes)
9:45 am - leave dock, start drills
11:00 am - start full races..
12:45 am - sail in and turn over rigged boat to daysailors
1:00 pm - optional beer and debrief
2010 ILIYA E Scow Invitational
By Lon Schoor
Red sky at night is a sailor’s delight – and certainly this was true for the E-scow sailors at Minnetonka. The Saturday night party on the island was picture perfect. The next morning we had back-2-back races in 8-15 knots of wind in the 230 to 240 degree range.
Continue reading.
July 22, 2010
Moon Light Race
Photo Credit: Tim Stanton
See more outstanding photos from Tim here including photos from July 14.
July 7, 2010
Photo Credit: Tim Stanton
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops..." See more here.
June 28, 2010
More photos from the Payton Regatta posted here.
June 26, 2010
Photo Credit: Don Sanford
See all of Don's photos from Day 1 of the NCASA Nationals here.
June 22, 2010
Changes to Club Racing — Sunday, June 27, 2010
There is a whole lot of racing going on this weekend on Lake Mendota. With the both the National Class A Scow Association Regatta (NCASA) and Catamaran Racing Association of Wisconsin (CRAW) 2010 Madtown Throwdown having regatta racing Sunday, June 27th morning, MYC Keelboat club racing will be held in Middleton Bay to give all competitors ample space to race. To the best of the Race Committee’s knowledge, there is no club racing for scow fleets. Please contact your fleet captain if you have concerns.
This change moves the race course outside of the racing circle shown in the sailing instructions in your club directory. Point of Assembly will be just west of Frautschi Point (Second Point); the course, as always, will be determined by wind conditions. The William L Ward – RC 1 has been loaned to the NCASA regatta. Look for an improvised RC 1 boat flying the MYC burgee. The starting sequence will begin at 10:00. Remember, Keelboats are the only start — be on time.
June 10, 2010
Tim Stanton photos from Wednesday, June 9, 2010 here.
May 1,2010
Islandpolloza!
Islandpolloza was a great way to kick off the social season.
Great island food, pink drinks, and friends on the dance floor not seen since last summer made for a fun filled evening. The concert DVD got us all in the mood for summer and a parrot worked the party!
(If you have pictures send them along because this camera wasn't the best.)
April 11, 2010
Sailor's Social
A great time was had by all this past Wednesday at the 2nd Annual Sailor's Social held at the Coliseum Bar. Approximately 125 sailors from around the greater Madison area came together to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, talk sailing, and and cheer on their favorite local club commodore. Six local Commodores stepped forward to represent their club in this years Commodore's Challenge which turned out to be a test the skill and ability to tie various knots while blindfolded, or behind their backs. Congrats to Mendota Yacht Clubs Commodore, Trey Sprinkman for taking home this year's trophy!!
Photos posted here.
February 19, 2010
MYC Sailors Rescued After J24 Sinks off Greneda
Via Don Sanford:
In the oft-told annals of sailing in the chapter titled, "Everything was fine... and then it wasn't," we have a story for you. Lou Slamar of the Village Idiot crew sent this story and photos asking that I share it with all of you.
On January 30,2010, four MYC members: Gregg Lewis, Mike Moninger, Lou Slamar, Dennis Kennedy and skipper David Tod, a Canadian, went "down south" to participate in the Grenada Sailing Festival. You'll recognize Gregg, Mike, Lou and Dennisn as crew on the J24 Village Idiot on Lake Mendota.
January 30 was a beautiful day on the water blowing 20-30 with gusts higher than that. Lou reports, "We were going down wind with no problem" when their fun was interrupted as they were "smacked down flat" on a spinnaker leg. "We were ready to take down the chute when the skipper either turned up to a close reach or the wind shifted and that was it." Though they released the spin sheet and halyard, the boat never came up.
Someplace along the line, the mast broke though Lou does not recall why or how that happened.
For a while, air trapped in the lazzerettes kept the boat afloat. Prudently, the crew had locked them before racing. The starboard one had a broken latch and they'd jury-rigged it closed. It finally failed and the cover blew open. The boat was gone in 15 or 20 minutes. All of the MYC sailors had life jackets on. The Skipper did not. Fortunately, the water was warm and a nearby photography boat came along right away and pulled our intrepid friends from the drink.
Our guys lost some personal possessions; cameras, dry clothing, eyeglasses, etc. but everyone is safe and sound. The Grenada Yacht Club had insurance on the boat, the skipper and crew had no liability.
Lou says that he has Googled j24 sinkings and found out that this is more common than he imagined. You can see the rest of the story in the newspaper article.
PS "Note to self, check the latches on lazzerettes before launch day!
Don
