After years, if not decades, of hard work to develop the juniors sailing program at CYC, the results during the last few years have been astounding. This year CYC has hosted over 370 participants at summer camps and managed a racing team with 60 members, representing more than 10 area schools. These achievements have also brought challenges. The resources that serve these programs have been stretched to their limits and beyond. In order to meet these challenges, at its September meeting, the CYC Board of Directors unanimously approved an action that has long been discussed: the creation of a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to house the juniors program. This organization, which will be known as CYC Community Sailing Center ("CYC CSC"), will provide a more effective means of meeting capital and operational needs of the program by expanding fundraising opportunities including tax-deductible donations and access to employee matching programs and charitable grants. The initial focus of CYC CSC will be on the Juniors Program but we anticipate expanding into other opportunities over time.
This is an exciting milestone for the club in its mission to "promote, advance and encourage the sport of Corinthian (amateur) sailing". The club's 2021 Strategic Plan called out the need for "establishing a tax advantaged foundation under the auspices of CYC to maximize outside funding". In March, a working group was formed by the CYC board to explore this goal and, along with the input of past commodores, board members, and professional consultation, created the proposal that the Board has approved. We aim to have CYC CSC ready by the end of year, in time to raise funds for the 2024 Spring and Summer programs.
Thank you to the members of the 501(c)(3) Working Group who have spent countless hours over the past 6 months researching and preparing this plan, including Michael Dougherty, Mark Bradner, Charlie Macaulay, John Hoag, and Remmert Wolters.
All club members are encouraged to read the full Proposal presented to the board. Questions, concerns, and sage advice are welcome, but most importantly, this is just the next leg of CYC's journey, we still have much to do, and we are always looking for crew!
– CYC Board of Directors
Resolution of the Board of Directors of Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle electing Jonathan McKee as an Honorary Life Member.
WHEREAS, Jonathan McKee has been an active member of Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle (CYC) since 1990 and an exemplary representative of the sport of corinthian sailboat racing through his activities, including:
WHEREAS, through the actions noted above and many more unlisted, Jonathan McKee has been and continues to represent CYC and the sport of sailing at its finest, be it declared that Jonathan McKee is elected an Honorary Life Member of Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors.
The CYC Clubhouse was full on Friday, January 27, 2023, to celebrate 2022 sailing achievements at the Club’s annual Awards ceremony. As former Fleet Captain-Race Matthew Woods commented, “It is great to see everyone together again, and when people sail, they are smiling, just like tonight.” Commodore Wanda Creitz, with the assistance of a number of current and former Club officers and directors, announced a series of nominees and winners of the Club’s various awards and also honored the many members, volunteers and employees who, although they often work in the background, are necessary for the Club to offer its outstanding racing – over 1,000 starts a year, a successful cruising program, its growing juniors operations as well as hosting a full educational/social events calendar.
The evening’s emotional highlight occurred early – while Jonathan McKee’s 2022 introduction to the US Sailing Hall of Fame was being celebrated (he joined CYC members Bill Buchan, Carl Buchan and Dick Rose in the Hall of Fame), Staff Commodore Charlie Macaulay read a resolution unanimously adopted by the CYC Board naming Jonathan McKee as a CYC Honorary Life Member! The Resolution can be seen here [Link]. Sustained applause greeted this well received announcement and Jonathan’s gracious remarks about receiving such a great honor. Jonathan joins Bill Buchan, Jim Miller, Derek Storm, Carl Buchan, and Dick Rose as the Club’s Honorary Life Members. Wayne Balsiger is anHonorary Life member as of the 2022 Awards ceremony. One sad note was the acknowledgement of the recent death in early January of Bill Lieberman, 100 years old, a Staff Commodore (1969), Honorary Life Member and long-time supporter of the Club and junior sailing.
Commodore Creitz spoke about the situation with the I-14 Fleet floats at Shilshole being closed by the Port of Seattle, which could adversely affect the Club’s junior program as it uses one of those floats to store its various boats. She said that meetings with the Port would be held shortly to find a resolution, and she would keep the Club membership informed of developments.
The Club’s Discretionary Awards are voted upon by the Board in a secret ballot upon nominations from members and others, with the winners known only to Commodore Creitz and a few others on a need-to-know basis – being nominated is considered a high honor. The winning Boat of the Year was announced by unwrapping a photograph – and it was “Pell Mell,” a Pt. Bonita 27 owned by Alex Simanis and Joe Grieser. Three J-105s were the other deserving nominees: “Insubordination” (Lenny Rezabek), “Moose Unknown” (John Aitchison), and “Peer Gynt” (Sara Billey and Paul Viola).
The Sailor of the Year award attracted an extremely strong field, with Staff Commodore Denny Vaughan being named over nominees Dalton Bergan, with two 2022 World Championships and several dinghy race wins; Jay Renehan, perhaps the only skipper to win, on successive weekends, the Spring Regatta small boat regatta in a dinghy and the Spring Regatta big boat regatta in his keelboat, and with winning/top finishes in numerous other races; and Alex Simanis, winner of the California Offshore Race Week and class wins in Center Sound. Vaughan, at 83, sailed a chartered J-24 in the European Championships in Ireland, won two races and was second in the over-50 old championships and ninth overall.
Bob Combie was named the Hans Otto Giese winner for his extensive volunteer work, especially in boat maintenance, with Staff Commodore Ken Johnson being recognized for his contributions to the Awards Show and leadership in the San Juan 24 fleet. Mara Buchan Barckert, in announcing the award, added some humorous Hans Otto stories as well as noting that the first winner of the Hans Otto Giese trophy was her grandmother, Ilo Listen.
The Junior Awards winners were preceded by a tribute to Annie Sorensen, the Club’s Junior Sailing Director who, after three plus years, will be moving on mid-year. Under her leadership, the number of junior sailors participating in the sail camps and junior racing camps has more than doubled, with the Club’s juniors participating on 8 different high school teams in 2023. 2023 summer camp registration is now open to CYC members and race team registration will open shortly. The George Spalding Memorial Trophy for Junior Inspirational Award had co-winners: Francesca Dougherty, a member of the all-teen crew that successively completed Race to Alaska as well as a driving force in the CYC juniors race team, and Arden Rathkopf, captain of the Ballard HS race team that won the NW Regional keelboat championships and active in the juniors program and a whaler operator. The Garrett Horder Memorial Trophy recognizing a junior’s active and successful racing program went to Dieter Creitz, winner of the RS Aero 5 Worlds and top finisher in many other junior and senior events; the other nominees were AnTe Lin, excellent Optimist sailor, and Jacob Posner, winner of the Junior Sabots Nationals over 141 other sailors, top 420 racer in the NW yacht racing circuit and high finisher in several national events.
The Greig Memorial Trophy for cruising leadership and sailing was awarded to “Wind Dancer” and Chris McMuldroch and Jennifer Lathrop, while the Boating Family Award went to Scott, Shelby, Sailor, Kate, Ryan and Barret Milne – Scott, Shelby and Ryan competed against each other in the 2022 J-24 Worlds in Texas in three different boats! And as well as in the competitive local Lake J-24 fleet. Ryan is a top Opti sailor, and the entire family cruises together on the family’s lovely S&S 57 “Lightning”.
A palpable sense of relief throughout the attending crowd was felt when it was announced that no one had “fessed-up” to any sailing mishaps in 2022 and thus the Dog House Trophy did not add a 2022 “winner.”
The Club’s Performance Awards go to winners of specific races and regattas. The 2022 winners of the Commodore Trophy, the first race of a weekend destination event, was Jenny Heins and Tim Huse of CYC on “Those Guys” while the returning Gibson Trophy race was won by Al and Jane Johnson of CYC on “Charlotte”. In the Center Sound series, Steve Travis of CYC on “Smoke” won all three races in the IRC class while Andy Mack of SYC won the Blakely Rocks and Pully Point races on “Grace” and Paul Butler of PMYC sailed “Dos” to a win in the Possession Point race. Andy Mack and “Grace” won the Werner Ohmes Foghorn Trophy for best overall result in Center Sound while Paul Butler and “Dos” won the Northwest Challenge Cup for best overall result in Center Sound, CYC Spring Regatta and PSSC. The Bill Lieberman Trophy for the best result by a Junior CYC member in the Optimist Northwest Regionals went to AnTe “Andrew” Lin.
The Club’s Honor Roll of Champions includes winners of world and national championships or achieved honors of a similar nature. The 2022 additions are:
The Club leadership recognized the many members, volunteers and employees who make the Club the leading sailing club that it is: Race Committee PROs Charley Rathkopf, Troy Childs, Egor Klevek, Geoff Pease and Jared Hickman; the many Race Committee scorekeepers and volunteers and whaler drivers/markset operators; protest judges headed by Wayne Balsiger and Jeff Snell for the Lake and Sound, respectively; the Boats Committee headed by Bob Combie and Mark Bradner with special attention for the work by Brian Watkins with a whaler renamed the “Brian W” in his honor; Jen Hobden for her work on the CYC website, Leigh Donovan for the TellTale, Melanie Edwards for race registration and Derek Storm for race management and scoring; Karen Sheide at the bar; and especially our excellent General Managers, Cindy Barrett for the first 9 months of 2022 and Becca Brocard joining CYC last fall. Also thanked for the many fine photographs shown in the slideshow accompanying the awards were Jan and Skip Anderson of “Jan’s Marine Photography.”
All in all a festive fun event and a great start to the 2023 season.
Come to the Clubhouse January 27th for the 2022 Awards Ceremony!
Learn the history of those shiny objects in the Trophy case !
This event is always well attended and a great opportunity to meet the community.
The Bar opens at 6:00 pm and the Ceremony begins at 7:30 pm.
Please RSVP here: https://cycseattle.org/event-5101652
Monday, December 19 we held the Annual CYC Christmas Lunch in person for the first time since 2019 and for the first time at the renovated clubhouse. It was a wonderful gathering of 65 CYC Staff Commodores, Officers, Directors, Past Board Members, and Members who assembled to celebrate the holiday season, reconnect and remember those members who passed away in 2022. Everyone enjoyed the traditional CYC Christmas Punch (leaded and unleaded) and a delicious lunch catered by Buca di Beppo. We were fortunate that the snow held off so everyone could get to the club and back home relatively easily. We might have had a very different outcome if we had had Tuesday's winter wonderland when we awoke on Monday. As with any CYC event, it takes a village to make any event happen and be successful. Mary and Joel Thornton stepped up to coordinate the catering and serving of the lunch. Mary also made the centerpieces for each table and designed the wrapped silverware in napkins at each place. Staff Commodore Martin Seelig prepared and presented remembrances of the members who passed away. Many members pitched in to make this event happen and we're so glad to have had CYC Bartender Karen Sheide at the bar and CYC General Manager Becca Borcard providing pre-event support. We hope everyone has a joyous holiday season and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
We will have two membership meetings this year. The first, the traditional Annual Membership Meeting, will be at the CYC Clubhouse on Thursday, 17 November. The Board will present highlights of 2022 and a look forward to 2023. Details can be found on the event page.
The second meeting will be held on November 29th for the election of officers and directors and to vote on a proposed bylaw amendment. Notice and details of the Special meeting can be found here.
We have no post-PSSC Write-up to share. But here are some great photos from PSSC taken by member Dave Sinson who was working as Race Committee: https://lase.smugmug.com/2022-CYC-PSSC/
2022 CYC PSSC - Lase
This gallery hosted by SmugMug; your photos look better here.
lase.smugmug.com
September 9 – 11, 2022 - Jakob Lichtenberg: Tremendous Slouch defends their Western Regional title over 11 races.
The Seattle J/24 Fleet hosted the J/24 Western Regionals out of Leschi on Lake Washington this past weekend. 12 teams from San Francisco, CA, Sandpoint, ID and Seattle, WA competed for the Western Regionals trophy as well as a berth for the upcoming J/24 World Championship to be held in September 2023 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
The regatta was the first ever major J/24 regatta on Lake Washington and the racing was excellent. Saturday’s racing was combined with the Lake Fall regatta for the Thistle and San Juan 24 classes, offering six races in a northerly 6-12 kts. The J/24s sailed without the other two classes on Sunday racking up additional five races; this time in a southerly and about same wind as Saturday (last course being mega race SAXXBZBZF).
Tremendous Slouch with crew Scott Milne, Tom Niccoli, Jim Barrett, Chris Walker, and Rob Green dominated with 6 bullets over 11 races. They defended their win from San Francisco Bay in 2022 and proved they can perform in all conditions. On Sunday Slouch even managed to secure a convincing last place finish demonstrating their come-back-ability.
The very Tremendous Slouch crew Tom Niccoli, Jim Barrett, Scott Milne, Chris Walker, and Rob Green with the perpetual J/24 Western Regionals trophy. In the background those that make it happen: PC Wayne Balsiger, RC Troy Childs and Catherine Picha and our BBQ master Remmert Wolters.
Suspense helmed by Joe Petrucci finished 2nd in the event. They secured their spot with a bullet in the final race of the regatta with an impressive 3-minute lead.
Après race socializing with an excellent BBQ sponsored by Beecher’s Cheese and accompanied with cold beer from Valhöll Brewing offered a great opportunity to meet the travelling teams from California and Idaho and cool down after a long day of racing.
A big thank you to everyone that made it happen:
About the Seattle J/24 Class. This was the last J/24 event on the Lake for 2022. The Seattle fleet has had 60 local CYC races with up to 21 boats on the line this season. Our Seattle fleet has been at Worlds in Texas, Nationals in Dallas, and even in Ireland for the European Championship. The fleet’s final regatta is in first weekend of October at the yearly PSSC - Small Boat event out of Shilshole. Join us!
Look at the place we sail!!! Mount Rainier and our three news bots that secure straight lines and quick adjustments even under tricky conditions and on deep water.
Place
Boat Name
Sail Number
Skipper Name
Score
1st
Tremendous Slouch
5471
Scott Milne
25.0
2nd
Suspence
3421
Joe Petrucci
32.0
3rd
Hair of the Dog
5354
Jakob Lichtenberg
42.0
4th
Self Abuse
2845
Harry Dursch
52.0
5th
Atom Ant
1980
Bill Taylor
6th
Baba Louie
2365
Paul Bogataj
57.0
7th
Tundra Rose
3843
Carl Sheath
59.0
8th
Jailbreak
2171
Lydia Volberding
64.0
9th
Evil Octopus
5277
Jasper Van Vliet
67.0
10th
Irrational
3839
Bill Vlases
74.0
11th
Atomic
674
Chris Chambers
94.0
12th
Little Wing
4268
Robin Van Vliet
104.0
After four months of preparation, refitting water tanks, fuel tanks, wiring in new instruments, adding new sails, replacing all the running rigging and all the other sundry things that took hundreds of hours of crew time, Mist headed south to San Francisco in June.
Four days later we were in beautiful Schoonmaker Point Marina in Sausalito and doing the final prep. The day before our start, all the food on board, gear on board, crew well rested and starting to stack the sails and stow the gear, I was on deck when I heard Scott Roberts say: “That doesn’t look right! After pulling some sails to brick out of the bow he had a good look at the hull. Scott is usually right about things: He was very right. The #3 ring frame in the bow was cracked in four places and delaminated. Which is when we all remembered the very, very loud bang in the middle of the night when we turned upwind to drop the main just off the infamous “Potato Patch” near Point Reyes.
A frantic scramble to see if emergency repairs were feasible and if any carbon fiber experts were available for overnight work led to three conclusions:
The repair went perfectly. Paul Bieker dove in and provided a repair plan, with drawings and laminate schedules; KKMI in the Bay Area found a meticulous laminate specialist with AC experience to do the work in the water; we found Marin Yacht Care to run errands and get the boat prepped for the delivery back to Seattle.
And then, we found the something else.
We had planned to calibrate the autopilot in Hawaii, as we hadn’t had time before hand and wanted to get the crew miles of experience ocean sailing on the way down to San Francisco, so it was still in its box.
Finding a calm morning in the Bay, we shoved off the dock at Schoonmaker’s and put the boat in gear. No forward. No reverse. No prop. It seems that at the last moment docking at night in Sausalito, the prop had spun off and it was resting on the bottom, too damaged to be reinstalled. Drifting in the narrow, busy Sausalito Channel, with no sails on deck and anchors deeply stowed, we were rescued by a very strong paddleboard instructor who towed us in and got our bowline to a cleat. She paddled off with her class of beginners before we could do more than shout thanks. The crew on a nearby catamaran launched their dinghy and towed us several hundred yards back up to our slip.
So…If we had, in fact, scrambled to repair the frame even temporarily, the morning of the race we would have shoved off to motor to the start with no prop.
And PYI out of Lynwood got to sell us a new Maxprop!
Commander’s Weather found a brilliant window for a 5 day delivery back home and 130 gallons of fuel later, Mist is now back in its slip in Shilshole.
See you out there!
Steve J.
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.
[More Lives Lived]
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Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle7755 Seaview Ave NW Seattle WA 98117(206) 789-1919 (Main line)
(206) 402-6870 (Juniors)
office@cycseattle.org
juniorsprogram@cycseattle.org
47° 41.14' N 122° 24.22' W
