2017 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

This post is a brief summary of our 2017 season.  It accompanies the 2017 sailing awards post that follows, and the many 2017 photos in the Starboard Column (smartphone users will have to click on the "view web version" to see the full blog with port and starboard columns)

We had a really good 56^th season, but it was bittersweet because we lost three mainstays of the Yacht Club:  Wayne Truex, then Joe Voelz, and then John Sohn.  Joe Voelz was one of the original founders back in 1961.  These were special people. We toasted them with heartfelt esteem at our final protest meeting.

Wayne & Arlene

Joe and Phyllis

John and kids

On our 10 race days we had 46 race participants nearly half of whom were not sailors, but volunteers on the officiating boat or “committee boat”.  In an average race we had 10 sailors and 5 volunteers. 

In 2017 our fleet of sailboats was in the process of catching up to the significant number of new sailors that joined us in 2016 and a couple of new sailors this year.  That catching up process took a while as boats were fixed, traded or acquired.  We should realize the full benefit of more boats and sailors on the water in 2018.

Our overall champion was wind-reader Jim Voelz again this year. 
Jim accumulated nearly 70% more points than the next-closest competitor! 

Jim Voelz (right) accepts 2018 Overall Champion trophy from Race Chairman Kevin Preuss

He also won 1^st place in the Laser Class.  

Peggy Voelz won 1^st place in the International Class,   

and our 1^st place crew was Paul Hass. 

(The post that follows this one has photos of all those who won awards and some of the fun we had at the final protest meeting of the year)

We had a number of unusual events this season:

• We joined a nationwide hygiene movement among yacht clubs all over the country by burning our winter socks after the first race.  Bet you didn’t know that sailors wear the same pair of socks all winter. A photo of this event was published in the Republic Newspaper.  

  

  P.U.!

• The Republic also ran a feature article on the Club in September with lots of great photos. 
  
  Here is the link to the article: http://www.therepublic.com/2017/09/19/sailing_away/
•  Matt Bartlett was our first windsurfer competing in a race in nearly twenty years. 
•  We think we set a club record with 30 capsizes on an epic race day on June 25^th – check out the exciting post for that race. Here is the link http://grandviewsailing.blogspot.com/2017/06/flip-flip-flip-fast-fun-and-furious.html
  
  
•  And we had our first paddle board race which was conducted along with the kayak race at the 4^th of July breakfast. – Thanks to Max Henry for coordinating.
  
  
   

Our Spring Social, Holiday Breakfasts and Post-Race Protest meetings remain popular based on attendance.  Thanks to our hosts:

Margaret Powers – Spring Social

Hostess Margaret greets Mike during cocktail hour at the Spring Social

 

The feast before us at the Spring Social

Steve and Marisa Willment – Memorial Day Breakfast

Memorial Day Breakfast

Mark Cassidy and Dianne Fisher – July 4^th Breakfast

July 4th Breakfst

Steve and Vicki Zeller- Labor Day Breakfast

Labor Day Breakfast

We recognized the "Labors" of our GLOA Board and Committee Members.  Here Frank Reindl thanks Brad Arthur for his 9 years of service as Board President at an important time for the lake.

and of course Arlene Truex for all those Protest Meetings. 
Thanks to Beth Auld, our Committee Boat Chairperson, Lisa Duret, our Secretary/Treasurer, and Kevin Preuss, our Race Chairman. And thanks to the 50 families that are members of the Yacht Club.