December 2022 Ditty Bag - Lake Canyon Yacht Club

December 2022

Click for 2022 Board of Governor’s Election Ballot

Commodore’s Report

by Bill Clark, LCYC Commodore

We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving and are now getting ready for Christmas. The year went by so quickly. We are going to be ending LCYC’s year in a very productive way.

As you all know by now, we have a unique club. Volunteerism is what keeps us going and makes our fees stay as low as the club can afford. For all of those who have volunteered: Thank You !!!

For new members and some old members who have just taken a little break, I personally would like to welcome you back and thank you for being so willing to step up and I encourage you to help in the areas you enjoy.

See you on the water!

Welcome New Members

Michael Martel, New Braunfels, TX

2022 Wurstfest Regatta Wrap

by Anu Day, Vice Commodore & Wurstfest Chair

LCYC, we did it again!! WFR 2022 was an outstanding success. We were blessed with good sailing weather on both weekends, and we received nothing but compliments all around.

A BIG thank you to all involved. It took an army of volunteers (almost 100 each weekend!). Opening ceremonies both Saturdays began with the Sea Scouts hoisting the flag, accompanied by Marty Chrisman and Fred Day leading us in the national anthem. This was followed by a short prayer by Pete Prados after which Wurstfest officials greeted us and reaffirmed our longstanding relationship with them. An auspicious start indeed.

Our Docks and Grounds staff did an excellent job of keeping everything picked up and running smoothly, while also providing transportation “up the hill” and helping haul small boats up and down the ramp. Kudos to Ron Popp and Jean Junker for launching and retrieving boats efficiently and safely.

Mindy Rogers once again outdid herself in the galley both weekends, with Bo and Dru Wright taking over my kitchen responsibilities on Friday nights. The Taddias provided breakfasts and we were treated to Margaret McGill’s delicious chicken salad for Sunday lunches.

Our raffle crew (Marty Chrisman, Beth Wells and Jean Prados) had lots of happy winners, thanks to our members who contributed items very generously. Terry Beasley sold our WFR caps and arranged for our musical entertainment, and Kathy Leubner kept track of our website and helped order our posters and banners.

For the first time this year, we had a sponsorship committee, headed by Pete Prados. A team of Past Commodores (spearheaded by Scott Wells) pitched in to contribute at the “Gold” level. These sponsorships helped offset some of the costs of hosting WFR, since prices shot up dramatically this year.

Commodore Bill Clark was available to pitch in when and where needed and I am very thankful for his support and assistance.

Chuck Begley did a truly remarkable job of coordinating all on-the-water activities, while Elizabeth Bentzen took care of registration. And Carolyn Popp made sure that all volunteers and sponsors had name tags.

Vivian Miller and our administrative staff worked hard behind the scenes to keep track of finances.

The awesome photos from WF1 and WF2 on our website are thanks to Glen Graham and Gwen Cunningham.

Needless to say we had a LOT of volunteers helping all the above mentioned. My heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. My apologies for not being able to mention each of you by name.

We have another successful WFR under our belt. Now we can focus on our annual meeting and the upcoming holiday season.

Series and Event Racing

by Chuck Begley, Race Director

The Wurstfest Regatta was a lot of fun. We had 52 Boardboats, 13 from LCYC, and great weather for WF1 with cool temperatures and moderate wind. Congratulations to Bryan Calk and crew for first place in the 14-boat Flying Scot fleet and to Mark Foster for finishing 5th. Also, kudos to Ash Beatty for 4th place among the 12 RS Aeros. LCYC Keelboat and Multihull registrants made up 27 of the 49 boats in WF2. The wind blew 15-25 kts Saturday and 10-15 Sunday so everybody got a good workout. Top LCYC finishers were Wayne Peacock and crew 4th in the J22 fleet, Jim Kizziar winner of the Non-spinnaker A fleet, Bill Clark first place in the Non-spinnaker Big Boat fleet, and Gustavo Medellin first place in the Spinnaker A fleet. Thanks to our great PROs – Joe McDonogh, Fred Lindsey, and Rick Mella on the Boardboat weekend and Mark Foster, Rick Mella, John Thompson, and Tom Dodd Keelboats and Multihulls – and all of their crew on the signal and chase boats the racing went smoothly despite the sometimes challenging conditions, and the sailors were very complementary. Check out the WF1 and WF2 photos on the website.

2023 LCYC Membership Directory

by Kathy Leubner, Directory Editor

The 2023 LCYC Membership Directory will go to print in early January. Please check your current information to make sure there are no changes/corrections. If you should need to submit additional information, please use the fillable PDF form located on the Info/Membership page of the LCYC website or click HERE. The complete form should be emailed to Directory@lcyc.net

Formatting changes to the 2023 Directory

The membership roster will no longer list the formal names of members. Where nicknames are included in the current listing, that name will be used for the 2023 listing. The member number index will continue to list the member’s formal name.

Example Membership Directory: Leubner, Raymond L. will be changed to Leubner, Ray
Example Member Number Index: 903 Raymond L. Leubner

The LCYC Fleet Roster will only list those boats that are berthed, stored and/or used at Canyon Lake. We will continue to list all boats under individual member names.

Ordering Additional Directories

One copy of the membership directory is provided to each member account. Additional copies will be charged $10.00 plus $3.00 postage. This amount will be billed to your monthly statement. The deadline for ordering additional directories is December 15th. Click HERE to complete an online order form.

All questions/clarifications should be addressed to Kathy Leubner, Directory Editor.

Nominees for 2023 Vice-Commodore and 2023-24 Board of Governors

by Jim Kizziar, Chair, Nominations Committee

For 2023, the vacancies to be filled include the Vice-Commodore and five Governors on the Board of Governors. The LCYC Nominations Committee considered many qualified members for the 2023 Vice-Commodore and five 2023-2034 Board of Governors positions. The nominations submitted by the Committee were unanimously approved by the LCYC Board of Governors and are recommended to the membership for election at the Annual Meeting.

Nominee for 2023 LCYC Vice-Commodore

Glen Graham

Glen served in the USAF as Historian for the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and was rated the top Historian in the 15th AF during his final years in the service. After graduate school, Glen worked as a Relocation Coordinator for Merrill Lynch and as a staff real estate appraiser for J. Wyatt & Associates in Houston, Texas. In 1989 he founded Glen Graham & Associates Real Estate Appraisers, which conducted residential and commercial appraisals in the Houston and San Antonio/Austin markets. He was also an adjunct professor for Houston Community College throughout the 1990’s. He closed his business and retired at the end of 2020. Glen was a member of the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (now a part of the American Society of Appraisers) and served in local officer positions including Houston Chapter President and assistant State Director.
Glen and his wife Elsa learned to sail through the LCYC adult sailing classes. They have continued to learn a great deal over the years through participation in the club’s racing program. They also enjoy sailing just for the sheer joy of it and go out in their boat as often as possible. Since joining LCYC, Glen has enjoyed volunteering in the kitchen for many events, co-hosting breakfasts, helping on club work days, and serving on race committee and in chase boats. Glen has served on the LCYC Board of Directors and was the Personnel Chair in his final year.

Nominees for 2023-2024 LCYC Board of Governors

Bill Cook

Bill started sailing at Grapevine Sailing Club in 2006, where he met his wife Ann. At Grapevine, he raced a variety of keel boats as well as their Flying Scot. In 2009 Bill and Ann relocated from DFW to design and build their home near Canyon Lake. Currently they sail and occasionally race their Catalina 28 Girolata. Bill is an active LCYC volunteer with the Sail On program, Race Committee, Work Day, Adult Sailing, Adaptive Sailing and event co-hosting. Bill has been the Ditty Bag editor since 2017. Bill spent a 40-year engineering and business management career with Bausch & Lomb, Eastman Kodak and others. Post-retirement he taught at Palo Alto College, where he started the industrial instrumentation program. While not working on the boat, Bill enjoys travel, camping, hiking, design/build, natural landscaping and reading.

Laurie McGill

Laurie and her husband Chuck Begley joined LCYC in 1988. Laurie holds a master’s degree in Public Health. Before retiring in 2013, Laurie’s professional career involved high-level administration in a non-profit health care corporation. Laurie first sailed on Lake Pontchartrain as a teenager, enjoys cruising, and has occasionally crewed in LCYC races over the years on her father’s and husband’s boats. She has twice served as LCYC Secretary, has served as Wurstfest and Leukemia Cup meal coordinator, and helps with Wurstfest registration each year. Laurie has also managed the Leukemia Cup silent auction. Laurie has spent innumerable hours as chair of the LCYC Budget Committee for five years. She has participated in the SEW-MAD Regatta and has spent many hours behind the counter in the galley, most recently co-sponsoring the Commodore’s Breakfast.

Jordan Merson

Jordan’s fascination with sailing started at a young age when caught out in a gust in an Aquarius 23; Jordan was in the cabin clinging to the first washboard as he jumped up and down with joy, while his mother professed her belief that they would soon be coming to a watery end. Unfortunately, his sailing career took a long hiatus after that incident, as the demands on his father as an Air Force Officer did not gybe with sailboat ownership.

Jordan moved with his family around the country, to Europe, and finally settled in San Antonio. His global adventures continued as he was afforded opportunities to live in South Africa and Mexico through academic pursuits. Ultimately, he returned to San Antonio, where he has lived the bulk of his adult life. Through an introduction to the IT world, Jordan began his real career. He works for the San Antonio River Authority as the Database & Development Administrator. In this role he maintains the web systems, database servers, cloud infrastructure, several enterprise applications, and serves as one of the “old guys” in the agency who understands how everything is put together.

Jordan’s re-introduction to sailing came through sailing in the Hobie fleet at LCYC and attending periodic fleet planning dinners. After crewing on various boats, Jordan acquired a C&C 24 and then started racing an RS Aero. While it was hard for Jordan to volunteer for the race committee when he found himself on a boat for every race day, he has participated in other volunteer opportunities, including work days, helping with the new dinghy dock planning and design, working the race committee, acting as the scorer for the Race Committee, drafting NORs and sailing instructors, managing the Regatta Network events, and scoring every race. He has taken on the role of technical administration of the LCYC and Wurstfest Regatta websites and handles the technical needs of the site and consults on the content management and presentation.

Carlos Rosende

Carlos Rosende became a governor on the LCYC Board of Governors in November 2021 to fill the unexpired term of resigning Board Member John Ruiz, who had accepted employment with the Club as the Property Supervisor. Carlos also served as a Club Officer (Secretary) from January 2021 through December 2021. Carlos has been nominated for a full two-year term as a Governor.

Carlos first sailed as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973. Sailing took a hiatus after graduating from the Academy as Carlos went through medical school, internship and residency. Carlos resumed sailing after moving to Norfolk, Virginia, and introduced his wife Karen to the pastime. They have sailed in Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay, the Virgin Islands and on Canyon Lake. After retiring from the Navy in 1999 and relocating to San Antonio. Carlos joined the faculty of the University of Texas Long School of Medicine. Carlos served as a Professor of Ophthalmology, the Executive Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs and as the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology. He also served as the Executive Director of UT Health Physicians, the school’s 900-physician multi-specialty medical practice. In March of 2022 Carlos retired from the UT School of Medicine, ending his 40+ year medical career.

Carlos has been an active participant and volunteer in many LCYC activities since joining the Club in 2007. Although he is a “cruiser,” Carlos also enjoys crewing in LCYC races. In addition to his service on the LCYC BOG, Carlos has served on other boards, including the Board of Directors of the Bexar County Medical Society, the Board of University Physicians Group, the Board of Regional Physicians Network, and the Board of Directors of the Medical Services Research and Development Plan. He has held leadership positions in the Association of Academic Medical Group Leaders and in the Group for Faculty Practice of the American Association of Medical Colleges.

Terry Tomko

Terry is a long time sailor and LCYC club member. He is married to Gail Garrett. He has been sailing since grade school on Lake Michigan and other inland lakes and raced with his brother on a National One Design Sloop. Terry has taught his 3 sons to sail and race, passing on his own and his father’s love of racing.

Terry is a graduate of Truman University in Missouri with a Business Administration degree. He previously worked for the Boy Scouts of America as a District Scout Executive. He has been a merchant and an Innkeeper throughout his career. He retired after 23 years with Drury Inn Hotels as a General Manager, including training numerous general managers in property management and cost controls.

Terry’s LCYC activities include hosting club social events, including Shrimp Boil, Steak Nights, the Jimmy Buffett parties and over 17 Wurstfest Regattas, heading up the breakfast Galley crew. Terry serves on the club’s Long Range Planning committee, served on the Board of Governors in 2013-14 and continues to work on Spring & Fall work weekends. Terry received the Club’s Lifetime Service Award in 2020.

Now a part time cruiser with a Catalina 25, Terry has sailed numerous boats including Windmills, NOD, Hobie 16, Hobie 18 as well as bare boating in the British Virgin Islands. Gail and Terry follow son and grandson, John & Dylan on the racing circuit throughout the USA.

Nominations Committee

The Officers and Board of Governors appreciates the service of the 2022 Nominations Committee, including Chairperson Jim Kizziar, Elizabeth Bentzen, Sandra Lindsey, Chris Powers, and Commodore Bill Clark. Vice Commodore Anu Day served as a non-voting participant in Committee meetings.