Hello CSYC Members,

Now that the holidays are over and the possibility of some relief from the pandemic, we can begin to look forward to Spring and the start of another sailing season. It is closer than you think! I want to welcome back our members to the 2022 edition of the Colorado Sail & Yacht Club. I would also like to introduce our 2022 Board of Directors, as well as provide a quick summary of our plans for the 2022 sailing season.

Commodore – Dean Lenz – Capri 22 – Tranquility

Vice Commodore – Mark Lindeman – Capri 22 – Icarus

Secretary – Scott Haerbig – Flying Scot – Queen Bee

Treasurer/Membership – Brooke Moreland – Catalina 25 – Autumn Winds

Race Director – Michael Kline – J22 – Naughty Moose

Social Chair – Lauren Klepac – Why-Buy

Webmaster – Larry Morland – Catalina 25 – Rainbow Chaser

Dinghy Chair – Open

Recent Past Commodore – Gary Simon – J22 – Chance

We also have our advisory panel of past Commodores: Robert Kline, Trey Hegstrom, Dan Griggs, & Ken Ross

The primary board members can be reached through the “Contact us” tab on the CSYC website. Feel free to drop us a note on anything you wish to know or comment on about the club!

We’ve been working on our plans for 2022. First on our agenda is the Wine and Cheese party that will be held at the Ken Caryl ranch house on Saturday, March 19^th.   This is a great time to reconnect with fellow club members and meet a few new sailors as well. Invitations have been sent out with all the details. This event is open to members and non-members so if you have someone who might be interested in sailing, bring them along!

We have our 2022 Skippers meeting on April 9^th at the Marina starting at 10:00 am. We will walk through what we have in store for racing this spring and summer along with a quick rundown of any rule changes, a short safety briefing, and a refresher of the operational aspects of the committee boat. We’ve also opened this meeting to non-members with an opportunity for those looking for crew and to get to know potential new members.  Our fleets are still strong, with growth in the J22, PHRF, and Flying Scot fleets as well as increased participation of the Why-Buy J22 boats. We are excited to have many new faces. Even if you are a seasoned racer who thinks you’re already up to speed, there’s bound to be something new and you will enjoy reconnecting.  So, join us!

This year, as a precursor to the beginning of series racing, we plan to hold a practice race on April 13^th. Those who are in the water can take the opportunity to shake off the remains of winter’s wear and tear, tune up your rig, and dust off your crew. This race will not count in the series standings, it’s just for fun.

Our racing season dates are set on our calendar with keelboats starting on April 20th and the dinghy season starting May 24^th. So please log on to (www.csyc.org/calendar) for all the 2022 dates. Of course we have not left out the FAGAWI, and Pursuit races.

Finally, you may have heard from previous years about our bi-weekly Monday night Practice: a meet up and beer can race around marks. We are finalizing our plans for this event but it’s safe to say it is just an excuse to get out on the lake with friends and potentially meet up with new sailors to encourage them to buy a boat and join our club.

I hope you are getting excited for the sailing season, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the lake! Don’t forget to log on to csyc.org for club information and interesting articles.

Fair winds and good sailing!

Dean Lenz

2022 CSYC Commodore

Commodore@csyc.org

Continuing a long-running club tradition, CSYC’s annual Fugawe race was held on August 21st.  The Fugawe (a portmanteau of “where the f?ck are we”) is a night race starting at sunset and ending at midnight.  The boat that sails the farthest around marks 2, 5, and 7 during that four-plus-hour time period, and therefore has the highest handicap-adjusted average speed, wins the race.  The Fugawe is preceded by a social raft-up in the south no-wake zone before the race, at which members share appetizers and camaraderie.

In this year’s event, the raft-up was ruined by an afternoon/evening rainstorm.  But that didn’t stop Betsy Gutknecht, and Robert and Marsha Kline, from taking the club’s pontoon boat out on the water to watch the race and snap some photos (thanks Betsy!).

Five of the club’s largest keelboats came out to the start line to contest the race: defending three-time champion Grenadine, and challengers Jabulani, Moku, Night Hawk, and ZZZulu.  The start went off at 7:47 p.m. between a pair of no-wake zone buoys, to finish at midnight at the marina channel markers.  The clouds parted about 90 minutes into the race, revealing a beautiful night with a full moon reflecting on the water.  Winds were light this year, generally from the w

est with occasional shifts of 45 to 135 degrees, challenging the racers to select the best strategy for covering the most distance around pairs of marks.

When the race was over and the results were in, Night Hawk upset Grenadine to take victory, sailing 3/4 mile farther in the time period for an average speed of 1.89 knots to Grenadine’s 1.77 knots.  Night Hawk won by looping the most far-apart marks 2 and 5 more than Grenadine, which looped more marks in total, but marks that were closer together.  Congratulations to Night Hawk, and heartfelt thanks to all boats that came out and competed!

The Fugawe is always a fun event, and the club encourages all boats to participate.  Grenadine’s crew makes a weekend of it, by camping in the park, and would love to have other crews join in that fun tradition!  Now, as the winner of the 2021 Fugawe, Night Hawk has earned the honor of running the 2022 Fugawe.  See you next year!

Randy Stafford

Grenadine