March 2021 Ditty Bag - Lake Canyon Yacht Club

March 2021

Commodore’s Report

by Scott Wells, LCYC Commodore

My fellow LCYC members. I trust you have all pulled through the recent winter storm and have completed repairs to your personal property, your family is safe and the water and power are back on. The club property overall weathered the event fairly well, but we have incurred some damage to exposed PVC water lines on the docks that is currently under repair. Docks and grounds is adding a connection for compressed air to assist in evacuating water from the horizontal piping that does not drain completely to help ensure less damage the next time 8F comes to town.

In March, your Board of Governors will be considering options for the next step of re-opening the club and returning some sense of normality to our sailing and social activities. Several topics are being considered. Don’t expect a full re-opening just yet, but think more along the lines of a few steps that we might be able to take in that direction. Thank you to everyone who has done their part to keep members, our grounds, staff and guests safe while visiting the club. Please continue to do so.

Youth Sailing: The chairperson for youth sailing is stepping down in May. Good progress has been made in adding race-oriented instruction. Thanks to member donations and donations from the Canyon Lake Sailing Foundation new equipment has been purchased for the youth fleet. In March, your Board of Governors will be considering the future direction of the youth sailing program to ensure we introduce sailing to all children of the general membership and the community. Sailing is racing, it is cruising, it is time on the water, it is time with family, it is time with friends, it is therapy, it is so many things.

The club is also responding to compliance inquiries from TCEQ and the US Corps of Engineers. The cost of compliance with TCEP regulations is increasing and is taking much of the staff and leadership’s time. Discussions are underway to understand our options going forward with respect to TCEQ. Compliance with US Corps of Engineers request is more routine and is also underway.

The long awaited observation deck and handicap parking area has some direction now. The next step will be to acquire a complete design stamped and sealed by a State of Texas registered Architect. A fee proposal for design will be requested.

Planning for updates to E-Dock and building the Small Boat Work Area are underway with hopes that both projects will be complete this year.

So there is quite a bit of activity at the leadership and board level. Docks and Grounds is busy keeping your club running ship shape. Administration continues to do a great job for us managing the business, collecting your dues, paying the bills, keeping the lights on and ensuring the decks are clear for all.

Make new friends; make time to volunteer.

Just Go Sailing!

LCYC member Ulf Balldin – the “Flying Swede” – is an enthusiastic private pilot as well as a sailor. Ulf recently did a fly-over of LCYC and shot these images.

2021 Leukemia Cup Regatta – May 22-23

by Ray Leubner & Phil Crane, LCR Co-Chairs

With the peak in Covid-19 seemingly behind us now, planning for the Leukemia Cup Regatta for 2021 is looking a bit more promising. Planning continues for the LCR, albeit with an eye towards the March Board of Governors meeting which will decide the social and race programs for the Club’s second quarter of 2021. The traditional kick-off for the LCR is at the April Commodore’s Breakfast, which may or may not be held; if the breakfast is cancelled, there simply will not be a formal kick-off. As stated in the February Ditty Bag, given the general state of uncertainty, there will not be any promotional items this year.

Phil Crane and I are Co-Chairs this year and will lead the Fund-Raising Committee. So far, we have been successful in signing up 5 fund-raising teams to date vs. the 15 teams +/- that have historically signed up. We also have our first donation! We need all those active fund-raising teams and sponsors back again who have made past LCYC Leukemia Cup Regattas so successful.

Joe and Lonna O’Brien have again signed up to help with BBQing, leaving the Food, Silent Auction, and Race Committee positions still open. Volunteers will be needed for both on-the-water and on shore activities. All of this is of course contingent upon the BOG’s decision in March.

Please call me at 512-633-4434 or Phil at 210-289-3620; you can also email us at LeukemiaCup@lcyc.net if you want to help in any way.

Welcome New Members

Roger & Kathi Goodfellow, Tomball, TX

Docks and Grounds Update

by Pete Prados, Docks and Grounds Chair

Please join us in welcoming Scott Moon to the D&G staff. Scott has lived and worked in the area and brings a wide range of experience that will benefit LCYC. Scott replaced JJ Herrera who made a fine contribution to D&G this past year, but recently resigned to take a position more to his liking in the San Antonio area. We wish JJ much success in the future.

The US Corps of Engineers completed their annual inspection of leased property. This mainly included the marina. The club received minor infractions i.e. outdated life rings, some trash cans did not have lids, vegetation on some of the styrofoam flotation. These issues have been resolved and/or are in the process.

The D&G crew has been working diligently to resolve problems that resulted from the recent freeze. Water has been restored to the cabanas, broken pipes have been repaired so that the clubhouse and restrooms are now useable, and potable water lines to the marina are being repaired.

The club is fortunate to have skilled workers on the staff and they deserve to be commended for their efforts.

LCYC Covid-19 Guidelines

by LCYC Officers and Board of Governors

Lake Canyon Yacht Club (the “club”) desires to continue its events to the extent possible while requiring enhanced safety measures to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and comply with applicable legal requirements and governmental guidelines. These guidelines apply to all individuals at club events or on club property, regardless of their status as members, guests, employees, volunteers, or otherwise.

Club leadership may approach event participants or attendees, or any other person on club property, who are not abiding with these guidelines and request their compliance or departure. Individuals who violate the guidelines, or other club requests for enhanced safety measures, are also subject to sanctions as set out in the club bylaws, club rules, and employee manuals.

Social/Physical Distancing

Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet (about 2 arm lengths) from people outside of your household while on club property and at club
Comply with limits on the size and location of group activities, gatherings, and events, as directed by the Commodore or other appointed or designated club leadership.
Avoid enclosed places where distancing is not
Respect the social distancing needs of

Hygiene

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after being in a public place, and after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, or using the
If soap and water are not readily available, use self-provided hand sanitizer that contains at least 60%
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed
Avoid physical contact (including hand shaking, hugging, or sharing food or utensils) with persons outside your
Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, if possible, or cough and sneeze into your elbow.
Wear a face mask when physical distancing is not

Symptoms, Suspected COVID-19 Infection or a Positive Test for COVID-19

Do not come onto club property or attend club events if you are experiencing any communicable illness or any symptoms of COVID-19, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A current list of COVID-19 symptoms is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.
Promptly notify club leadership and those with whom you had contact while at the club or attending club events if you test positive for COVID-19 or experience symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours of being on club property or attending a club event. Individuals who should be notified are those with whom you had contact within 48 hours of taking the COVID-19 test or experiencing symptoms.
Any individual who (i) has symptoms of, (ii) suspects he or she may have COVID-19, or (iii) tests positive for COVID-19 must not come onto club property or attend club events until the individual has completed all of the CDC’s requirements to be around others. These requirements are set out on the CDC website at “When You Can be Around Others After You Had or Likely Had COVID-19,” which is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/end-home-isolation.html.

Sponsored Events

Comply with these Guidelines, all supplemental club COVID-19 guidelines, and rules posted on club property or communicated by club leadership or the organizers of a club event (e.g., racing, social, training).
Comply with cancellation or modification of events by event organizers, the Club Board or Commodore if they determine that the event previously scheduled could not be conducted safely.

Members and Guests

Members must be present with their invited guests at the club. Club rules regarding unaccompanied guests have been temporarily

Members are responsible for the conduct of their guests and must advise guests of COVID-19 recommended behaviors before coming onto club property or attending a club event..

Series Racing

by Rick Mella, Race Director

US Sailing has published the new racing rules for 2021-2024, all future races will be under these rules so sailors please become familiar with the new rules. A few changes from the old rules concerns “Exoneration”, Rule 18.1 (Mark Rounding) and Protest Forms where US Sailing organization has developed a Racing Rule App to make access available anytime. This App can be downloaded from rules.ussailing.org

2021 Winter Long Distance Race

On Saturday, January 23rd, 2021, LCYC held the first Long Distance race on Canyon Lake for the year, where 14 boats registered for a trip down the lake on a weekend afternoon. The Pursuit Start race was started at 12:00 noon, where each skipper had a specific start time based on their PHRF rating. During the Skipper’s meeting Friday night before the race, the decision was made to sail course #4, which would take sailors down to WORD mark #9 and back covering 9.66nm. At start time, wind conditions were very light making it very difficult for some sailors to make their pursuit time across the starting line. From the 14 skippers, 8 registered as PHRF Spinnaker, where light wind conditions favored this type of sail configuration enabling boats to track down the lake before Mother Nature changed the weather with a cold front moving through the lake dropping wind speeds further and introducing FOG as an added challenge for sailors to make it home.

2020-2021 Winter Series

LCYC 2020-2021 Winter Series is the final regatta for 2020 and a start to racing year for 2021. Dates for this winter series started on December 12th, 2020 for Keel Boats, Board Boats started a day later on December 13th, 2020, mid-term racing on January 16th, 2021 for Keel Boats and January 17th, for Board Boats, and finishing the series on February 20th, 2021, for Keel Boats and February 21st, 2021 for Board Boats. Over the three months, both the keel boat fleet and board boat fleet experienced sailing conditions from no wind, with races postponed or winds exceeding 22 mph, gusting to 26 mph. For Keel boats, only four out of six races were scored due to light winds as shown below for January 2021. On Saturday, February, 20th, 2021, Keel Boats had to manage sailing in wind speeds ranging from 16 to 20 mph, with many Spinnaker boats planning downwind to the leeward mark prior to finishing their race (see February 2021 Keel Boat Planning below).

Board Boats started the winter series on December 13th, 2020, with winds measured at 5 to 7 mph, where a weather front from the West blew across the lake during the race changing winds instantly from 5 mph to 16 to 20 mph within minutes where board boat sailors struggled to complete the first race. Out of the three scheduled for Sunday, Dec 13th, only one race was completed with the Race Committee abandoning all racing for that day due to severe wind conditions. Mid-term brought different racing conditions to the board boat fleet in January 2021, winds conditions were barely above 4 mph, making light air sailing the norm for two races, and the third race schedule for Sunday cancelled. Finally, Sunday, Feb 21th, Board Boats started in winds at 4 mph, dropping to 2 mph after the first starting setting up the same conditions board boat sailors experienced in January but with an added twist. During the last race, with cloudy conditions, Fog rolled in making ghostly conditions challenging for Race Committee volunteers tracking sailors rounding the leeward mark or finishing in the heavy fog.

Any information about the LCYC Race Events can be found on website www.lcyc.net, or an email sent to racedirector@lcyc.net

TSA

by Chris Fogle, TSA Representative and Travis Grahmann, Youth Regatta Chairperson

The 2021 Texas Sailing Association (TSA) Youth Racing Circuit schedule is officially published, and we’ve already had some impacts due to the recent winter storm. The kickoff regatta scheduled for February 20-21 at Lakewood YC in Houston was cancelled at the last minute. They will look for new dates with the hope of rescheduling it.

That means LCYC’s Canyon Chaos (previously Spring Fling) Regatta will now most likely be the kick-off regatta for the circuit. Our regatta is scheduled for March 27th – 28th. Contact Travis and Litz Grahmann at youthregatta@lcyc.net if you would like to volunteer to help with race committee and safety/mark-set boat duties.

For the 2021 Circuit, the only major change has been to the race conditions, and it affects the season awards. Sailors are no longer required to compete in a minimum number of regattas in each region to be eligible for a season award. This change was made in response to challenges families have with scheduling and travel, and to better accommodate unforeseen regatta cancellations and postponements.

Despite the pandemic and now routine disruptions of normal life, sailors and their families are ready to race. We anticipate a very active racing season, as the sailors have a lot of tiller-time to make up!

Stay tuned to the Ditty Bag for more updates as the season progresses. You can also check out the TSA website at https://txsail.org/ for more information, or check us out on the Facebook TSA Junior Sailing Page (www.facebook.com/groups/172730702754870/).

2021 Texas Sailing Association (TSA) Youth Racing Circuit Dates

Check the TSA website for updates.

Canceled	TSA Kickoff Regatta	Lakewood YC
27-28 Mar	Canyon Chaos Regatta	LCYC
8-9 May	Silly String Regatta	Grapevine Sailing Club
5-6 Jun	Roadrunner Regatta and Alumni Regatta	Austin YC
19-20 Jun	Rockin Rockport Regatta	Rockport Yacht Club
TBD	TX Youth Race Week
24-25 July	Round Up Regatta	Texas Corinthian YC
11-12 Sep	Rock the Rock Regatta	Corinthian Sailing Club, (White Rock Lake)
25-26 Sep	Jr. Ol’ Man of the Sea & USODA Mid-America Champs	Fort Worth Boat Club
9-10 Oct	Pirates of the Corinthian	Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club
30-31 Oct	Chocopalooza	Rush Creek Yacht Club
20-21 Nov	TSA End of Year Regatta: Changes in L’attitude Regatta and KO Sailing Texas State Optimist Championship	Corpus Christi Yacht Club