Newsletter
January 2000
From the Commodore’s Desk
I am very excited about being asked to serve as Commodore for the Lake Saint Louis Sailing Club for 2000. I have big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of a lot of great Commodores. I trust you'll all be patient with me as I learn the ropes.
We've got a great team already working hard to make this a great year for the club. Dan Houseman will serve as our Vice Commodore this year, and John Heilmann will continue to serve as our Treasurer. Our remaining board members are John Beard, Karen LeBeau, Steve Easterwood, and Don Allebach (Past Commodore).
We have also begun to fill the various committees (often times these are one-person committees) that we need to function as a club. Paul Schattgen will continue to serve as Harbor Master. Norm West will serve as our Education and Youth Sailing Chairman. Lisa Buell will be this year's Membership Chairman, and John Ross will be our Publicity Chairman. Ray Grossmann will organize the On-the-Water Boat Show, as he has done in the past.
Only partially filled so far is our Social Committee. Generously volunteering their time to serve on the committee are Duane and Laura Wall. We are still looking for volunteers to join the Wall's in planning the social calendar for the year. Once this is done, we'll be looking for volunteers to plan the individual events. With the emphasis this club has always put on our social activities, I'm sure there are those of you that will volunteer to help plan for 2000. It is my intent to have the Social Committee oversee the entire year, handing off individual events to other members. So, please, take the easy way out and join Duane and Laura on the Social Committee.
I can tell you that the board is committed to not only keeping the club afloat for another year, but we are also dedicated to ensuring the long-term success of the club. We have already met twice to discuss our plans for 2000, and I think we've laid out a pretty aggressive plan to bring in more (and younger) members, and to introduce more Community Association members to sailing.
The first challenge we have agreed to undertake is to build upon the success of last year's Sailing Academy. What started as a one-week event last year will grow into a summer-long series of lessons and events in 2000. This program is being coordinated and managed by the Community Association. The CA will also be supplying three new Sunfish sailboats. We, as a club, will have the easy job, just show up and teach. We hope to have lessons for varying levels of skill, so those kids who wish to learn more will have the chance. If you can help with the teaching (no more than one day a week is required), please let me know.
Of course, many of us will try to apply whatever we think we have learned from watching the America's Cup to our own racing. Let's try not to emulate the number of protests though. I hope the cabin fleet will grow this year, as some of last year's new boat owners' accept the challenge to join us. I would also like to see the Sunfish fleet return, with lots of races and activities. This will not be limited to kids, so we adults should start our stretching exercises now.
Our On-the-Water Boat Show continues to grow in popularity. The dealers all seem pleased with the show, and the crowds are getting bigger. Ray Grossmann has done an outstanding job with this every year, and it has become the major fundraiser for our club. I know I can count on our members to help again this year.
We are also exploring the possibility of other events that will promote sailing in Lake Saint Louis. One idea we are considering is the hosting of a charity regatta. Besides the boost to sailing this could provide, it would also help promote Lake Saint Louis. If you have an interest in helping, please let me know.
So far, I have laid out (in fairly vague terms) what we hope to get done this year. I have also asked for your help. As a small club, we are wholly dependent on our members to keep us moving ahead. While some would prefer to pay our dues and enjoy the summer breezes (when they come), we don't have that luxury. If everyone chips in just a little time and effort, no one will have to do much.
Enclosed with this newsletter is your application for membership. You'll note that the annual fee remained unchanged. You'll also note that on the back of the form is a section about member participation. I ask that you please complete this section, so we'll know whom we can count on for help. Whether you'd like to teach kids how to sail (one of my favorite jobs), you'd like to help plan a party, or something else, we need you. Please take the time to fill out both sides of the membership application before you send it in. And please, send it in. If you know of anyone not currently a member who may be interested in joining the club, please let me know. We'll contact them right away.
Sincerely,
Pearson
Commodore
Year 2000 Full of Sailing Promise
Whether you believe that 2000 represents the beginning of the new millennium or not, 2000 is a big year. At least it will be for sailors. Globally, 2000 is an America's Cup year. Fans of yacht racing will be treated to televised racing by some of the sport's top racers.
Those of us who have been watching the Louis Vuitton Cup (the challengers' series) have already seen some amazing yachtsmanship. Conditions on New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf have tested both men and equipment. The number of shredded sails is too high to count, and the number of broken masts has been surprisingly high. You can even count among the victims one of Young America's yachts, which folded in half during rough sailing.
Some of us have even been foolish enough to stay up through the wee hours of the morning to catch the broadcasts on ESPN2. The smarter among us have been taping the races, to be enjoyed at a more civilized hour. Either way, it makes my cable bill seem reasonable for a change, considering the quality of the broadcasts.
At the time this is being written, Paul Cayard's America One was trailing Italy's Prada three races to two, in the best-of-nine challenger finals. The winner will go on to face New Zealand for the America's Cup. Let's go USA!!!
For the convenience of our members, I have included ESPN 2's published broadcast schedule for the America's Cup finals.
America's Cup 2000 broadcast schedule
Date Time Event/Show
(length in hours)
2/18 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 1 (2.5)
2/19 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 2 (2.5)
2/21 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 3 (2.5)
2/23 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 4 (2.5)
2/25 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 5 (2.5)
2/26 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 6 (2.5)
2/28 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 7 (2.5)
3/1 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 8 (2.5)
3/3 6 p.m. America's Cup 2000: Race 9 (2.5)
It's always more fun to watch sailing with someone who can appreciate it. With that in mind, we hope that club members will gather in the Community Association's Lakeside Lounge (bar) to watch these races together. The finals will be broadcast live, and at a reasonable hour, so this should be something many of us can fit into our schedules. Perhaps some of us will even learn something by watching the best sailors in the world as they go head to head for the most coveted trophy in sailing.
We're On the Web!!!
It's true. Thanks to John Heilmann, the Lake Saint Louis Sailing Club has a website. We hope to use this new tool to communicate with our members, and potential members, about all the things that make the Lake Saint Louis Sailing Club such a great organization.
On our website you'll be able to check race results, or the club calendar. You can review our bylaws, or get links to other sailing sites. If you want, you can complete our on-line membership application, or find out what's happening socially. In the near future you'll be able to find photos from club activities.
We also hope to use this tool to save the club a few dollars, by making our newsletters available on the website. Every newsletter we don't have to mail will save us money. If you have access to the internet, and an e-mail address, please let us know. We'll e-mail you whenever a new newsletter is published, so all you have to do is visit the website for the latest news.
To visit our website, go to:
http://www.heilmannpub.com/lslsc.html and you can e-mail us at sail.ho@gte.net.
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Lake Saint Louis, Missouri