October 13, 2004

Dear Fellow Racers:

As I sit here contemplating fall taking over the lake, I feel a certain sadness that sailing is again over for the season. All that seems to be left is the putting away of our crafts. But that is not really true; we have the Annual Awards Dinner on November 6, at which we can celebrate the past season

I think we have a lot to celebrate this year. The racing was excellent thanks to our 2004 Race Committee chaired by Steve Wiseman. For the most part, the weather cooperated and we lost very few races to storm or calm. The three fall regattas went very well. The No Sweat, held much earlier in September, had lovely warm weather, as attested to by Linda Norton’s bikinis!!! The Hot to Trot had great weather also, with moderate air both Saturday and Sunday morning. The Flying Scots could have used more air on Sunday; but they did have a great turnout and a lot of fun! Our thanks again to the Race Management teams that made these events run seamlessly.

Since the Racing was in the capable hands our of Race Committee, The Board of Governors turned their efforts to more social events. Brian Hawkins introduced the group to Whirlyball before the season began; everyone agreed we must do this again. We also had two outings to the Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea. We saw Underpants in May and Duck Hunter Shoots Angel in July. The second play was especially well-attended. We also sponsored a Pizza Night pontoon boat party for the small boat fleet after the race on June 29; the weather was great; we watched a full moon; and a good time was had by all. We finished with the traditional Progressive Dinner in late August, organized by Carole Moody. The weather almost didn’t cooperate but improved at the last minute. Thanks go to Suzy and Todd Moore for hosting the salad course and providing entertainment, to Carole and Dave Moody for hosting the steak and lobster main course, and Donna and Tom Terhune for hosting the dessert and entertainment. It was a great event!

The Board of Governors again ran a race instruction clinic. Colleen Hughes and I organized this program which ran the four Monday evenings in June. About 15 persons attended one or more of the sessions. David Ford, one of the attendees has been crewing for various people during the latter half of the racing season. We hope some of these instructees will sign up for racing next season.

Our annual Awards Banquet will wind up the season (but not the social events). It will be held at PYC on Saturday, November 6, starting with cocktails at 7 p.m. Please plan to attend, share stories and make plans for next season.

Lastly, I again would like to thank the Race Committee, the; Board of Governors, the PYC Staff, and all those who helped with our regattas and social events.

See you at the annual Awards Dinner.

Felicia Cathey
Commodore