Newsletter
April 2000

From the Commodore’s Desk

Is this the first Sailing Club newsletter you have received this year? If so, it's probably because you are on our e-mail list. Rather than sending you information in the mail, we have been sending it to you over the Internet. We do this to save the club some money, and to get information to our members as quickly as possible.

Nonetheless, I suspect that at least some of you have not been getting our e-mails. Perhaps your e-mail address has changed, or you no longer have access. Or maybe you just never check your e-mail. Regardless, we want to make sure you get all the Sailing Club news and notices. So, if you have not been hearing from us until now, please let me know. If you would prefer to get your information in the mail, we'll make sure you are on our "snail mail" list. If you would like to get our e-mails, but haven't been getting them recently, please provide us with your correct e-mail address.

There are still a few members who have not registered for 2000. I'm confident that this will be a great year for the Sailing Club and a lot of fun for the members, so I encourage you to register as soon as possible. By registering, we are able to budget for the coming year, and we can keep you on our mailing list so you'll hear about all of the great social and sailing activities planned for the year.

You can register at the Sailing Club's website, www.lakestlouissailing.com, or by mail. If you use the website, you'll still need to mail your membership dues to Lisa Buell, our membership chairman. If you need a registration form, please contact Lisa at 625-2154. Registration forms and dues should be mailed to:

Lisa Buell
705 Scarlet Oak Drive
Lake Saint Louis, MO 63367

You can e-mail Lisa with any questions at lisabuell@gtemail.net.

Cold Duck

The Cold Duck Regatta and Pizza Party has been scheduled for Saturday, April 29. The Cold Duck is our first regatta of the year, and is a great opportunity to tune your boat, and your crew, for the coming year. It is also a lot of fun!

For racers, we'll have a skippers' meeting at Windjammer Point at 12:30 p.m. The starting gun for the first race will be at 1:00 p.m. There will be three races.

We will also have a second start for sailors who just want to sail around the marks for fun, and for any Sunfish sailors who want to get an early start on their season.

Please let Don Allebach (625-1911) know if you need a crew, or if you would like a more experienced sailor to sail with you.

Following the racing there will be a pizza party at Ruggeri's in Wentzville at 6:00 p.m. Of course, children are welcome, and you don't need to be a racer to attend. At the party we'll award the Cold Duck trophy, and we'll all get to know some of our fellow sailors a little better.

The price for adults is $10.00 each. Children are $5.00. The price includes salad, pizza, and tea or soda. Anything else is on you.

Please call Don or Jo Allebach at 625-1911 by April 26 (Wednesday) so we know how much pizza to order.

If you missed the Welcome Aboard Party on April 1^st, you should really try to attend this fun event. We had a great time on the 1^st, thanks in large part to Duane and Laura Wall, our social committee. Some of future events the Walls have been planning include:

Help Support Your Sailing Club

The Lake Saint Louis Sailing Club depends on its members to operate. With all of the activities and events scheduled for 2000, it is important that we each try to contribute some time. Some areas where your help is needed are:

Social Events- Duane and Laura Wall have been doing a tremendous job planning an exciting calendar for the year. They should be applauded for their work, especially since they are relatively new members, having joined the club only last year. They are looking for volunteers to help with specific events. Specifically, we could use people willing to organize, host or just help out with any of the great functions scheduled for this year. If you can assist with one of the parties, please contact them at 561-1343.

Sailing Education- The Community Association (CA) will be running Sailing Classes all summer, and Sailing Club members will be providing our expertise. The CA has purchased three new Sunfish sailboats for the classes. If you participated in last years teaching, you know just how rewarding this can be. You'll also know that the hardest part of the classes last year was borrowing boats and getting them to the little lake and back. This year the CA will be handling that for us. And they'll be registering the students and scheduling the classes for us. All we have to do is show up and teach (and that is the easiest part of the classes). Since the classes will run throughout the summer, we're looking for volunteers able to contribute any amount of time. We'll be meeting soon to set up the class schedule, so if you have specific times you can help we can work around your schedule! We'll be teaching both kids and adults this year, so this is a great opportunity to promote sailing at all levels in Lake Saint Louis. If you can help, by either teaching or with support, please contact Norm West at 561-1682.

On-the-Water Boat Show- This is our most visible event of the year. It is also growing in popularity among residents and boat dealers alike. The CA recently replaced the "L" shaped dock at Windjammer Marina, and the new dock is beautiful (if you like docks). It is very wide, so it will be very stable for people attending the show. We are looking for volunteers to do lots of things, from directing parking, to helping the dealers, to help with preparing and selling food during the show. It should be pointed out that this has quickly become the largest fundraiser for the club, thanks largely to Ray Grossmann and the many volunteers that help each year. The show is scheduled for June 10-11. If you can help, please contact Ray Grossmann at 561-4038.

Lake Clean-up Day - No sailor likes to run into logs or other debris in the lake. Each spring the CA hosts Lake Clean-up Day. Residents from all over Lake Saint Louis lend their time, energy, and sometimes their boats to this very important effort. This year's Clean-up Day is Saturday, May 13. As usual, the Sailing Club will gas up the committee boat and head out from Windjammer Point sometime early that morning as we do our part to beautify the lake. Please call Pearson Buell at 625-2154 if you can help.

For Sail

If you have a boat to sell, or if you're looking for a boat, let us know!

Racing Rules 2000

Racing Rules for 2000Race Chairman Paul Schattgen has prepared the race rules and schedule for 2000. We really hope that many of you will join us as we race this year. In addition to our cabin boat racing, we hope to have a lot of Sunfish racing too.

1. There will be two series. The first race each Sunday will be called "A" series. The second race each Sunday will be "B" series.
2. There will be 16 races in each series. The series will start the first Sunday of May (May 7) and continue for 7 (seven) weeks. There will not be a race May 28^th (Memorial Day weekend). There will be no series races in July and August. Each race series will continue for September and October (nine more weeks).
3. A skipper will need half-plus-one races to qualify for a series. This would mean that 9 (nine) races would be required to qualify of all 16 races in a series were completed. Each skipper will be allowed 2 (two) throw-out races in each series, so long as this leaves the half-plus-one races required for the skipper to qualify for a series.
4. Scoring will be Cox-Sprague, using Portsmith handicap schedule (the most recent available).
5. There will be two fleets, Blue and Gold. The Gold fleet will be the more experienced racers. The Blue fleet will be the newer racers. All fleets will race as one fleet, but will be scored separately. Each skipper may choose the fleet they will compete in, unless moved to the Gold Fleet by the scoring system.
6. The Lake Saint Louis Racing Rules will be followed.
7. The Fleet Champion shall be the skipper with the best core for the entire season of the "A" and "B" series, counting all races entered regardless of series. The Champion must qualify in at least one series.
8. "Cold Duck" is schedule for April 29, starting at 1:00 p.m. We will use low point scoring with Portsmith handicaps. This will be a three race series.
9. "Cabin Cup" is schedule for July 16^th. We will use low point scoring with Portsmith handicaps. This will be a three race series.
10. "Commodore's Cup" will be held November 5^th. We will use low point scoring with Portsmith handicaps. This will be a three race series. The race format will be Commodore's choice.

Race Committee Schedule