October 2022 Ditty Bag - Lake Canyon Yacht Club

October 2022

Commodore’s Report

by Bill Clark, LCYC Commodore

Wurstfest is almost here!! I want to personally thank Anu Day. She has been organizing all year, and putting in a lot of hours. Please sign up to help any way you can.

The Styrofoam removal is moving along at a great pace. Thank you, Dock & Grounds Crew – Pete, John, Dave, and Kyle. Between that and all the other work you have to do to keep the club looking great, you make an outstanding team.

The long-distance racing that the club is doing is a great way to dip your toe into the racing world and enjoy sailing. Please try to make an effort to join us so the event continues to grow. The racing director and others are putting a clinic on Saturday, October 22nd, if you would like to learn more and feel more comfortable for that first race. On that note, J-22 Fleet – Where are you? We are looking for a lot of boats for the keel boat series.

Budget update: The club’s board members and all the committee chairs are doing everything possible to be good stewards of the money being spent to maintain our very unique club. With prices going up for everything else in our economy, we are committed to spend wisely. More to come in November.

The weather is perfect for all members to be using your boats and enjoying our club.

See you on the water.

Welcome New Members

Walker and Susan Taylor, Houston, TX
Bryan and Sharalee Calk, San Antonio, TX
Russ Ansley, Marion, TX – Welcome Back!

Wurstfest Regatta

by Anu Day, Vice Commodore & Wurstfest Chair

Registration for WFR 1 and 2 will open soon. This is a signature LCYC event, and we are ready once again to have a full-fledged regatta with racing, food, entertainment… but in order to accomplish this we need a lot of volunteers. Please think about how and where you can help and contact the appropriate committee chairperson. If you are not completely sure about how you can help, please contact me at wurstfestregattachair@lcyc.net or contact volunteer chair Carolyn Popp at wfr-volunteerchair@lcyc.net There are plenty of opportunities to participate, and we appreciate and welcome all volunteers.

If you have items you would like to contribute to the raffle, please contact wfr-raffle@lcyc.net Raffle committee chairs are Beth Wells, Marty Chrisman and Jean Prados. You may also contact one of them or me directly. Remember the raffle is held on both weekends, so the more items, the better. We try to keep the registration fees at a reasonable level so more sailors can participate. Proceeds from the raffle help offset the cost of the event.

This year, we will be selling attractive LCYC Wurstfest regatta baseball caps for $20. They may be purchased when you register or in person during the event.

Last, but most least, if you or someone you know would like to be a sponsor for this event, please contact Pete Prados, our sponsorship committee chairperson, at wfr-sponsorships@lcyc.net

We are looking forward to showing off LCYC at its finest during WFR. Let’s show the sailing community that we are a club that works together to put on an awesome regatta.

Flying Scot Regatta

2023 Budget Process is Underway

by Vivian Miller, Treasurer and Laurie McGill, Budget Committee

As mentioned in a previous issue of the Ditty Bag, the budgeting process for the Club’s 2023 finances has begun. For the Club, a budget is developed to estimate or forecast expenses that will occur in 2023 or that may be related to subsequent years but will require some amount of funding in 2023.

The volunteer committee that drafts the Club’s budget, and the Board of Governors, which reviews and ultimately approves the final budget, including the dues and fees that will fund the expected expenditures, have the common goals of maintaining a strong financial position while meeting the needs of both current operating expenses and maintenance, repair, and replacement of the Club’s physical assets.

As of the end of September, the committee members have completed the following:

Reviewed 2022 year-to-date expenditures
Estimated the expenditures through the remainder of the year
Estimated the expenditures for 2023 based on assumptions, including price changes for labor and materials, and amortization of funding for major repairs and replacements that may be required in future years
Compared current revenues to expected 2023 expenditures
Analyzed the expected 2023 expenditures for compliance with the limitation imposed by Bylaws Article II, Section X
Evaluated options for reducing expenses or increasing revenues
Agreed on the proposed budget to be presented to the Board of Governors

The economic situation is challenging. In 2022, the club has had significant increased costs in replacement of encapsulated flotation, insurance, delivery fees, fuel, and many other items that you may have faced as individuals. While it might seem that a single inflation factor could be applied to all expenses, the unique nature of our marina repairs, replacements and insurance does not make that approach feasible.

To assist in estimating the timing and costs of replacing our major assets, the Board of Governors has authorized a study that will assess the current state of our physical assets and estimate the replacement cost and timing in the context of our reserve funds. The results, expected in December or January, will assist in determining the budget for reserve contributions and projects over the next several years.

The Club’s budget committee performs an important task – the thoughtful and candid appraisal needed for the Club to fund operating expenses and repairs to physical assets – in short – to keep the Club operating at the level we expect as Club members.

Lifetime Service Awards

by Sandra Lindsey, Lifetime Service Chair

What are the Lifetime Service Awards?

These awards are designed to honor those club members who have served LCYC for multiple years in multiple ways. Factors to consider when nominating someone for a LCYC Lifetime service award are: long term volunteerism (20 or more years), consistent support of club activities, effective service in elected or appointed positions and demonstration of leadership, sportsmanship, and cooperation. The next time you are at the club, stop by and look at the awards board. The names engraved on the plaques all exhibit those qualities. When it is time to make nominations think about those nominations. Nominations will be open in October of 2020.

How do I nominate someone for the Lifetime Service Award?

Submit nominations to the LCYC Club Administrator by email (clubadmin@lcyc.net) or in writing (Lake Canyon Yacht Club, P.O. Box 18554, San Antonio, Texas 78218-0554) by October 26, 2022. Include the Nominee name and membership number, reasons the person should receive the award, and your name and membership number. Your name will be removed from the submission before it is forwarded to the nominating committee. You may begin submitting nominations October 1, 2020. Nominations must be submitted by October 23, 2020. Send you nominations to LCYC Club administrator.

How are LCYC Lifetime Service Awardees selected?

A committee appointed by the Board of Governors will review and evaluate nominations, and make recommendations to the Board of Governors, who will make the final selection. The nominator’s identity is not revealed to the committee or the Board. Who is on the nomination committee? The Board of Governors will appoint at least 5 committee members, only one of whom can be a current board member. A requirement for committee appointment is club membership for at least 10 years.

How many awards will be given? The number of awards is not limited and there is no minimum or maximum.

May I nominate myself or someone in my family? Yes, and yes.

May I nominate more than one person? You may nominate as many people as you believe deserve the award. Usually only one person in a married couple is a voting member.

May I nominate both? Yes.

Can posthumous awards be made? Yes

Nominations are accepted by the LCYC Administrator through October 26. 2020.

For those of you who have submitted nomination, the Board of Governors thanks you. Each of your nominees will be submitted to the committee for review. Members who are selected for the Lifetime Service Award will receive an award in a manner that is befitting this honor.

Series and Event Racing

by Chuck Begley, Race Director

The Labor Day Long Distance Race was on Sunday September 4. Congratulations to Gustavo Medellin and Phil Davis for finishing first and second in the Spinnaker Fleet and to Bill Clark, Steve Wilson, and Skip Klement for finishing one, two, and three in the Non-Spinnaker Fleet. The first of the Fall Series races was September 17-18, and the third LDR in our annual four-part series October 2. Turnout of series racers continues to be good overall particularly in the PHRF Non-Spinnaker fleet on Saturdays and the Flying Scots on Sundays. We miss the big J22 fleet that used to sail with us. Our Race Committee teams are doing a great job of race management thanks to PROs Fred Lindsey, John Thompson, Phil Davis, and their crews. Next up is the second Fall Series races October 15-16 and our Fundamentals of Racing Clinic October 22 to get us ready for Wurstfest 1 November 5-6 (14 boardboats already registered) and Wurstfest 2 November 12-13 (9 keelboats registered so far). On-The-Water volunteers are still needed to manage the races on both weekends.