Our Commodore Mark Lindeman has update his Commodore’s Corner with new information on:

• Chili Cook-Off on January 20th
• Skippers’ Meeting on April 15th
• Plans for our Autumn Winds Regatta in October

You can read the latest news from the Commodore’s Corner here: https://csyc.org/commodores-corner

Hello everyone, Happy New Year, the winds are freshening!

As promised, here is the first in a series of video presentations on the racing rules of sailing for 2021 through 2024. This first set of links to these three videos covers Rule 18. Rule 18 covers giving ‘mark room’ at course marks and at obstructions. It is advantageous when reviewing these videos to have your rule book open to the definitions pages. In rule 18 there are many terms used that have very precise meanings which every racer should understand. For example, what defines an obstruction, or a continuing obstruction. These terms are explained in the definitions section of your rulebook and they are also explained to some degree during the video. There are three videos covering Rule 18 because it’s a complex rule covering many situations with numerous rights and responsibilities depending upon your position at the mark or obstruction.

Please review the videos at your leisure but complete all three before the end of January, as we’ll be moving on to other Rules to review in the following months.

Thanks for tuning in, and please accept my sincere thanks for taking the time to study these videos. I believe your racing will benefit as a result.

Mark Lindeman

CSYC Commodore

Here are the links:

Rule 18.1 – When Mark-Room Applies: Racing Rules of Sailing 2021-2024 – SailZing

https://sailzing.com/rule-18-2-giving-mark-room-racing-rules-of-sailing-2021-2024

https://sailzing.com/rule-18-mark-room-part-3-passing-head-to-wind-in-the-zone-and-gybing-at-a-mark/

Six months ago in Deltaville Virginia, we purchased an old IOR ¼ ton racer which had been abandoned in its slip for several years. The boat (now named Zulu) has no doubt an extensive history of racing and passage making. The only problem is, we know none of it! We bought Zulu from a marina manager who told us that the old racer had been abandoned there by its previous owner, and had been sitting in its slip for the past 6-7 years in neglect. Every few months the marina manager would pump out any rainwater that had accumulated, but apart from that the boat had been left to the elements.

In regard to Zulu’s history, what we do know is that she was built in Holland in 1970, made her way across the Atlantic at some point, and was last registered in Colorado in 2015. That is literally it however. There is no documentation to be found, and as hard as we search, we cannot find any record of her anywhere online. This brings us to the purpose of our article. This is a call to anybody in the sailing community who has any memory of a boat resembling Zulu in Colorado, or anyone who knows someone who might. The sailing community is generally a small one so we are hoping someone will have seen this boat before or may know someone who might have. We would be extremely grateful for any information given regarding the Zulu’s history.

Please refer to the pictures for identification, if more are needed, please feel free to contact us.

Here are some vessel specifics that may prove useful:

Make: Dekker en Zonen

Model: Defender 15

Year: 1970

Length: 26.25 ft

Rig: masthead sloop

Color: Blue or Green or Red or Yellow, depending on the decade (there are several layers of paint on the topsides)

We would like to thank in advance anyone who is able to tell us some of Zulu’s history.

Contact: Harry Kempton (harrison@kempton.dev) or (757.870.6148)

Email or Texting usually work best

Hello Chatfield Sailors!

  Welcome to Sailing and Racing on Chatfield Reservoir in 2023. This coming year your Board of Directors has a full schedule of events planned for both the off-season and the sailing season! Goodbye Covid!

• Social Stuff

  First up is a Chili Cook Off social event. Festivities commence at 5:30pm on Friday the 20th of January for a fun get together. The location has been sent to all CSYC members via email. So dust off your world famous chili recipe and get ready! We’ll all be voting on our favorite Chili recipe and prizes will be awarded. 

  Please RSVP to: social.director@CSYC.org with the number in your party and what you’ll bring to the potluck. Side dishes and something to put out the mouth fire are also encouraged.

   Other social events are planned as well and we’ll notify all via the email blasts from the website. The calendar page on our website also has the dates and details of all the events we have planned for 2023. Just click on the event title to get all the details of that event. So check that out.

• Sailing Stuff

  Another fabulous racing season will kick off on Saturday April 15th with the annual Skippers meeting at Seagull’s Restaurant in the Chatfield marina. This year we are planning a practice ‘Rust Remover’ race on the Wednesday following the skippers meeting, April 19th. It’s an un-scored opportunity to get out on the water and practice. The spring series keelboat racing begins on April 26th.

  One initiative you’ll be hearing more about this year is a ‘rules refresher’ to help us all be more aware and competent at applying the Racing Rules of Sailing while on the course in the heat of competition. Most Importantly the rules keep us all safe. They also dictate our actions during a race to insure a fair competition. We all agree to abide by these rules whenever we enter a race. So, it is incumbent on us all to have a detailed working knowledge of our rights and responsibilities while racing. To help us all gain that working knowledge, your Board of Directors has developed a training requirement. It’s new this year and will be required of all helmsmen and Skippers in order to participate in racing. This refresher training will consist of watching a few short video presentations online and taking a short quiz. We are ironing out the details and will post the requirements on the CSYC website  and send an email blast in the near future.

• Regatta Stuff

Other big news this season is that we are back in the regatta business!  Dean Lenz, our 2022 Commodore, is spearheading the planning effort for an ‘Autumn Winds Regatta’ sponsored by CSYC on Chatfield Reservoir the second weekend in October. This event will require a large cast of volunteers.  We’ll be calling on all members to pitch in and help pull off a great season ending event

• Communications

  Finally, I want to encourage all our members to go to the CSYC.org website and sign up for the email news blasts. It’s our best tool to get Club info to all our members quickly and efficiently.

   Happy Holidays 

   Looking Forward to a great season,

      Mark Lindeman

      Commodore

Our Skippers’ Meeting for the upcoming race season will be Saturday, April 9th⋅10:00 am to noon at the Seagulls Restaurant at the Chatfield Marina

The meeting will cover the latest news on the racing schedule and the NORs & SIs. Also you will be able to sign up for RC & Burgers, pay racing fees and meet other sailors and crew members. Safety and RC procedures will be reviewed.

The CSYC Board has established the policy that every CSYC racer must have a new PHRF certificate at least every third year.  It has been three since all racers were required to submit a new PHRF certificate.  Details on the CSYC PHRF Policy and how to apply for PHRF certificate can be found here.