News

Staff Commodore John Ellis (Commodore in 1958) wins a free drink at the CYC Bar for the July 13, 2022 Quiz.  Answers:

Alan Holt is the junior holding two 1956 awards.  In his

right hand, the Sears Cup – emblematic of the Junior

North American Sailing Championship – which has been

awarded since 1921.  To participate, Alan and his crew

Fred Ray and Steve Banks, had to win the local title, the

PIYA Regional eliminations and the Pacific Coast

Championship.  The competition was held just outside of

Montreal, Canada on a wide spot of the St. Lawrence

River in a variety of conditions, with the last of 8 races the

decider. The crew won on a tie-breaker, based on more

second places!   Reflecting the times, the sailors and

family members traveled to Montreal by train.

In Alan’s left hand is the Virginia Platt Trophy awarded to the outstanding CYC Junior Sailor for the year.  This trophy was donated by the I-14 fleet in 1953 to be awarded to a CYC junior based on sailing record and participation in Junior Club activities.  Evidencing the Holt family’s sailing skills, Alan’s brother, Dennis Holt, won this award in 1958. Other winners of this trophy include Brian Wertheimer, Carl Buchan and Derek Campbell. The Virginia Platt Trophy, unfortunately, has disappeared and is no longer in CYC possession!

(See below for information about Virginia Platt, a brilliant young woman with an extraordinary, if far too brief, a career.)

And Alan Holt’s boat, a Star named Ariel, locally built and rigged, was the first Seattle boat to participate in the Olympic Games! Alan and his crew Dick Gates won the Olympic Trials held in San Francisco, besting former Star World Champions Bill Buchan and Lowell North, among others, for the right to participate in the 1972 Olympic Games held in Kiel-Schilksee, Germany.

Virginia Platt, Seattle born, graduated from high school in 1940, studied architecture at Vassar College for two years and contemporaneously taught physics for the US Navy.  In 1943, she studied mechanical engineering at the U. of Washington, subsequently receiving her undergraduate degree in science and a masters in physics, and taught physics at the U from 1943 to 1952 (including while she was an undergraduate!).  Platt was one of the first women in the country to become a member of the Sigma Xi science honorary.

Platt sailed, owning a 21’ sloop named Pete-Too.  She joined CYC in 1948, and by 1950 she was on the Board as Secretary, a position she held until 1952, and she contributed occasional articles to the annual Helmsman.  She also was a member of Seattle Yacht Club.

While visiting relatives in Carmel, California, Platt contracted polio myelitis and died there in October 1952 at the age of 29.  She is buried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle.

The Helmsman for 1952 carried two tributes to Virginia Platt.  First, a comment by Commodore Francis A LeSourd: “We will not forget Virginia Platt.  No one was more devoted to Corinthian.  We remember her efficiency as Secretary, but what shall really endeared her to us was her great human interest.  As a gatherer of humorous and spicy information on Corinthian goings-on, she had no equal.  Her tragic death was one of the greatest blows to fall on our club.”          

And this Memoriam:

TO A CORINTHIAN:

              Whose service to her Club cannot be measured

              Whose infectious laughter and ready wit lightened many a dull moment

              Whose time was ours, when needed, with no reservations

              Whose dependability and efficiency eased the burdens of our officers

              Whose capacity to give or herself to any project was unlimited

              Whose interest in and friendliness toward people was boundless

              Whose lack of personal vanity in her achievements as noteworthy

              Whose strength of personality and genuine individuality was recognized instantly

              Whose friendship was a gift to be treasured

Who exemplified the truest tradition of sportsmanship, not only in sailing, but in her     daily living

TO VIRGINIA PLATT, this Memoriam is dedicated.

Many of you may already have known that Seattle Sailing Club has been actively on the market. After almost 20 years, Bob Ross will be moving on and welcoming a new owner of the Club at the beginning of August.

Bob’s impact on the PNW sailing community has been immeasurable. During his leadership at SSC, he introduced thousands of people each year to the sport of sailing through American Sailing Association sailing lessons, Club membership, Corporate Team Building Events, J/fest, his famous fun & free Sailfest events in August, racing programs, community events, and so much more.

Bob’s #1 rule (next to, “staying on the boat”) has always been to have a good time (what’s the point if you’re not?)!  Through his entrepreneurial leadership, empowerment of others, and engaging demeanor, Bob has cultivated a vibrant community that embodies just that - Fun! His tradition will be continued for decades to follow. Thank you for all of the memorable times, Bob!

Although his era at SSC is ending, we’re pleased to hear he won’t be going far, in fact, he’ll be staying next door to SSC at Sail Northwest and will continue to sell brokerage boats, new J/Boats, Alerion Sailboats and MJM power boats. Stop by and say hi!

Some of you may already know the new owner of SSC, Steve Neidhardt. Steve has been an ASA Instructor at SSC for a number of years, a yacht broker at Seattle Yachts, and an active sailor in the Pacific Northwest community. Steve’s wife, Wendy, also an active sailor in the community, recently participated in CYC WoWSA events and has been sailing in CYC’s Take Your Time Fridays on their Catalina, Naive Melodies. Steve & Wendy will be working with the SSC team (who are staying intact) to ensure a seamless transition. SSC looks forward to continuing to foster the growth of new sailors, support the great PNW sailing community, and continue Bob’s tradition of having fun!

CYC Low Tide Cruise to Blakely Rocks

We had a fun cruise to Blakely Harbor for the Low Tide Cruise this past weekend with 10 boats participating. We rafted in small groups of three boats and gathered in the evening in small groups for dinner or happy hour.  Everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch on the Rocks and time to explore the tidal areas. The beach has moved significantly and parts of the areas we have explored in the past to look at various sea creatures, were covered with sand from the beach.

Participating boats: Solstice (Peggy and Ron Watt), Altair (Suzette Connolly and Paul Baker), Tula (Bob and Margaret Liston), Ete(Hans Reinhardt), Wind Dancer (Chris McMuldroch and Crew), Outlaw (Derek Storm and Cindy Gossett), Island Time (Tom Kohrs and Cary Purvis), Equilibrium (Nathan, Vanessa and Evelyn Kundtz), Shaker of Salt(Tana and Bio Graham) and Gusto (Beth Miller and Holm Albrecht). Half of the Fleet was from K Dock.

I

Sailfest is a fun, FREE event hosted by Seattle Sailing Club (webpage HERE) with support from Sloop Tavern Yacht Club & Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle. After racing, crews are welcome back to the promenade outside of Seattle Sailing Club at Shilshole Bay Marina for a fun community potluck with grilling, beverages, and more fun! In the spirit of building community, SSC will be supplying drinks and hotdogs. Every participating boat is asked to bring 1 or 2 potluck dishes to share.  Come join the fun! We are also looking for crews to volunteer to help run the post-racing activities on the evenings of the 12th, 19th, and 26th. A big thank you to J/105 Creative & Avalanche for volunteering on the 1st night! Come join the fun!

Who:

Everyone is invited to participate - no experience required! We encourage boat owners in Shilshole to take their boat out to race, as well. This is an inclusive sailing community event!

What:

An evening of fun sailboat races for every level of experience. After the races, participants are invited back to the promenade outside of Seattle Sailing Club for shore-side festivities, a potluck and beverages! Please plan to bring a dish to share after the on-the-water race!

When:

Friday evenings August 5th, 12th, 19th, & 26th

Starts:

7:00pm - Flying Sails

7:05pm - Non-Flying Sails

Where:

Seattle Sailing Club & Shilshole Bay! Depart by 6:30pm to make the 7pm start. The red Seattle Sailing Club Zodiac, will be calling the start of the race @ 7:00pm.  After the races, head back to the promenade with your dish for shore-side festivities, food, and drinks!

On Saturday, June 25, 2022, due to promotion by San Juan 24 skippers Jeff Kendal and Sean Busby, the SJ 24 fleet “hosted” a Lake Washington long-distance race, restoring a CYC tradition of Lake long distance races often to its northern reaches.  This year’s 13 nautical mile version ran from Leschi to past Sand Point and back, with all boats going through the east end of the 520 Bridge in both directions.

Eight boats participated in the no-fee no-awards (other than a hearty “well done”) event: 4 SJ 24s from the Lake Fleet and 2 SJ 24s from Lake Union were joined by a J-24 and a Thunderbird. 

A sunny day, 10-15 knot warm northerly winds with gusts approaching 20 knots, all the mountains out - nothing could be finer. Just after 11 am, Kendall’s SJ 24 “Fancy” led a well-received rabbit start.  Staff Commodore Denny Vaughan’s J-24 “Habanero” led the fleet north, with the rest of us jockeying back and forth clearing the Bridge in a group led by Ellie Ungar’s SJ 24 “Green Fleet.   On the North side, the winds increased with the strong gusts rewarding the SJ 24’s with the smaller No. 2 headsails up.  Almost all boats followed “Habanero” to the west side of the Lake near Laurelhurst, north around San Point and then west to a turning mark (a “speed” buoy) just off the Sail Sand Point Boating Center, and return.  A reach along the north side of San Point, one jibe and then up with a spinnaker for a fast if bumpy starboard run all the way to the bridge and back to Leschi – no more jibes. 

The gusty winds continued and coupled with waves from the many power boats made for exciting travel.  On “Grauer Geist,” we recorded several stretches above 7 knots, with a high of 7.5, well beyond a SJ 24s hull speed!   Nearing the 520 Bridge meant more power boats and wakes, and Kyle Roethle on the SJ 24 “Cake or Death” reported:

“Had a unique whoopsie near the bridge entry when two large power boats just pushing water at 10-15 knots converged big wakes on us that really weren’t manageable - positioning the port stern quarter on the first wave was met with an opposing wave on the starboard bow and we literally were twisted into a crash gybe. The wave momentum was strong enough to leeward collapse everything and once the water calmed for a few seconds we still had enough water moving across the rudder for a large turn hard over and popped the rig back onto the wind. Pinned not by wind but by wake, don’t know I’ll ever experience that one again.”

The entire run took most of the fleet about an hour or less, compared to the 90-100 minutes upwind half of the race, with all boats finishing between 1:35 and 2 pm.  Vaughan’s “Habanero” crossed the finish line first, with Staff Commodore Ken Johnson’s SJ 24 “Grauer Geist” second and Brendan Gilbane’s Thunderbird “Rowdy” finishing just ahead of a gaggle of SJ 24s.  Using a very rough informal handicap, the adjusted finishing order was: (1) Grauer Geist, (2) Habanero, (3) Sweet Jesus, (4) Fancy, (5) Great Escape, (6) Rowdy, (7) Cake or Death and (8) Green Fleet.

Irrespective of where they finished all enjoyed a wonderful day on the water.  As one crew commented: “Thanks for putting on such a fun event…. it was a nice change from the standard buoy racing, and the rabbit start just added to it.”

By Chris McMuldroch:  Five boats cruised to Port Orchard on Saturday, June 25th, including Wind Dancer, Serendipity, Those Guys, Dulcinea, and Shaker of Salt.  We had 16 to 20 knots of Northerly for a downwind sail from Shilshole to Restoration Point, and then a very fast reach across to Rich Passage, where the flood pushed us along to Sinclair Inlet.  After visiting the farmers market and an early dinner, we enjoyed the Port Orchard Fathoms of Fun street parade. We then later took the foot ferry across to Bremerton. 

On the Bremerton side we walked through more fair stalls, and out to a little park overlooking the Manette Bridge.  At 10:15 the fireworks began.  From the wide base of the bridge, the fireworks were fun to see.  Plus, they had fireworks that appeared to float on the water, and then a wide waterfall of fireworks from the bridge deck.  It was a cool sight!

Sunday was another beautiful and warm day, but not the over 100 degrees we had last year!  In the morning we socialized on the dock getting to know each other better: long time CYC cruisers, and new to CYC cruising boats too.  Then one by one the boats untied and left Port Orchard to head back through Rich Passage before the maximum flood.  Coming back around Restoration Point we were greeted with a 16 to 19 knot Northerly, so up wind this time. Shaker of Salt enjoyed a fast sail tacking up the sound, while the sunbaked lazy Wind Dancer crew motored home upwind.  It was another double red letter day with both Baker and Rainer on display. 

If this sounds like fun, put it on your calendar for the last weekend of June 2023.

Next, six CYC cruisers are already registered to anchor out July 3^rd in Poulsbo for the boat parade and many fireworks from shoreside homes.   Then on July 16 we plan to anchor in Blakely Harbor with a view of Seattle for our low tide brunch on Blakely Rock!

Seeking a boat and trailer delivery driver to accomplish deliveries to Southern California during early July, and to Massachusetts during September.  Delivery vehicle will be provided, and all costs will be paid for.  If interested, please call Dave Watt at: 206-245-4774, to discuss the specific deliveries plans and schedules, and required compensation.

By Geoff Pease, Star Districts ‘22 Principal Race Officer and David Watt, event organizer

The Stars came out during the weekend of May 14^th and 15^th.  What was to be a dreadful day of sailing during Saturday, May 14^th, turned out to be quite beautiful.  The Wind Gods blessed us with 8-18 knots of oscillating breeze from the SSW and kept the Rain Gods away.  Playing off these long period oscillations was the key to doing well.  Boats heading both directions (port and starboard) up the course just to pass either other – great for the PRO to see. After one hour-long races, the competitors were all finishing with in minutes of each other!  Just after the second race finished, we had about a one hour timeout as the northerly and southerly convergence zone visited us, and killed all of the wind. Fortunately, the wind came back and we got a heavy air race in just before the day’s starting time limit expired.  Saturday evening’s dinner, which was provided by Hey Jude Catering’s Judy Hebert, was super good and a well-balanced meal.  During Sunday, the conditions were very, very wet with no wind in sight. After about a one hour postponement and waiting for the next weather forecast update, the competitors decided there were better things to do during a  Sunday afternoon, so racing for the day was cancelled and the regatta’s awards were handed out with Danny Cayard and Jamie Buchan winning this Blue Star regatta. Thanks to Dave Watt for organizing the event, and to Danny Cayard for working on the SIs and NORs. And a big Thank You to Catherine Picha as a RC volunteer!

Of the many elements that contribute to CYC’s success and well-being, having the right physical assets in good working condition ranks very high on the list. Without things such as the clubhouse and the club’s fleets of power and sail boats it simply wouldn’t be possible to offer the programs we do. Therefore, it is equally critical to have a plan to fund the maintenance, repairs, and acquisition of these capital assets.

              In recent years, these types of expenses have been funded primarily from two sources. One is the club’s annual operating budget, which also serves as the source for items such as salaries, moorage, insurance, and everything else that keeps the doors open. Second, truly extraordinary expenses, such as those recently seen with the clubhouse remodel, have been paid for primarily with donations from club members and supporters.

              The challenge with respect to capital expenses is that they tend to be “lumpy” – meaning that even while relatively predictable over the long term they can vary significantly from year-to-year - so they don’t match either of these funding models particularly well. While the generosity of members is greatly appreciated, we don’t want the club to be overly reliant on donations. At the same time, because the specific timing of capital expenses – when a new furnace is needed for the clubhouse or a new mark set winch is needed for a whaler – is impossible to predict, relying on funding from an annual budget introduces a problematic level of uncertainty.

              In considering all of this, CYC’s Board of Directors decided, as part of the strategic plan that was adopted last year, to institute (or, for those club members old enough to remember, to re-institute) a capital fund from which capital expenses can be paid. The goal is to build the capital fund to a level at which it can be used to pay for whatever capital expenses might arise in any single year, up to and including major repairs on or even, someday, a replacement for the clubhouse. To kick off the fund, 100% of the increase in member dues this year is being allocated to the capital fund.

              That, however, is just the start. The early years of the capital fund will be especially challenging because we will need to fund the expenses that arise while also growing the fund itself.  Since these are unavoidable expenses if we are to continue providing the high quality Racing and Juniors programs for which we are known, we will be accessing some of our operational reserves to pay for them.  The biggest demand for capital expenses this year comes from the support boats for the Race and Juniors programs. We have invested considerable funds in servicing, repairing, and upgrading those vessels in the last six months – well over $50,000.  These investments supported by a strong maintenance budget will maximize the reliability of the equipment supporting our programs.  Because of these investments, we have added an option for racers to add a contribution to the capital fund with their registration if they want.  Expect to hear about other avenues for adding to the capital fund in the future.

Thank you for your support of CYC and its programs.