Several changes were approved at the Fall Meeting in 2019.  I have put copies of the constitution on the website in both PDF and Word format.  The latter will be useful if new changes are made in the future.

PDF Format:

wlsc_2020_update

Word Format:

wlsc_2020_update

Below are the changes requested from the minutes:

Attached are subject minutes submitted today by Monika Boggs.  Please note and take action on the motion by Bill Murdoch shown at the bottom of page 1 to add “John and Billie Middaugh” to the Honorary Founders Lifetime Membership list in the Constitution, Article III, Section 2.  This motion was carried unanimously by the 42 members present.

We should also effect a motion in attached minutes from the 2017 Fall General Meeting to add the Outgoing Commodore to the Executive Board.  After I became Commodore for 2019, Bob Hebner, Commodore in 2018, asked me to have this done during my tenure. Therefore I asked Jeff in a recent email on Nov 6 to amend Article VI of the Constitution with wording according to the motion as follows:  “The outgoing Commodore will also serve on the Executive Board as a mentor; this position would be voluntary, not mandatory, and non-voting.”  This wording should be added right after the first sentence “The officers and Member-At-Large shall constitute the Executive Board.”

Dave Gurysh
Commodore 2019

 

As from a previous post, my Seaward 32RK left CYC marina in Knoxville on 4/1, with goal of making it to Walker Lake in AL and return. Rob Remme and I completed that half on 4/15, 2 days sooner than expected due to how fast we could move the 5 Ton boat with a month of provisions with 3 to 5 knot downriver currents pushing us at 7knots. We had never sailed this boat before, and we had some epic lake sailing, hitting more than 7 knots a couple times. We even had several 4 mile runs without a single tack on Guntersville Lake.

Marinas have been either closed or offer only limited items. We got diesel and water where we could,  and carried lots of extras lashes to the topside, including 2 solar showers. 

Joan changed out with Rob in Decatur, AL, for the upriver “half” of the 726 mile trip.  We knew it would be harder, but we had no idea. The worst was going through the gorge in Nickajack due to the epic rains in the TVA system this month. With my 30hp Yanmar maxed, we were doing 1.3 knots in a 9 mile stretch.  We got the coast guard warning about 4 miles into that. We were stranded in the Chattanooga area for nearly 4 days, as there is a fixed railroad brigade that was too short until the water dropped 2 feet,  which it eventually did.

We are now hunkered down in 30 knt winds anchored in 6 feet, having crossed a 2.8 foot sandbar to get back here. We have fully utilized the raising keel feature of this boat,  where it drops to 6.5 feet and raises to about 26 inches by pushing a button.

We have seen one daysailor and not another sailboat on the water in nearly a month. Not a single “looper”. In 8 locks, only once did another boat lock thru with us. The two marinas we stayed at (all the other nights on the 35 pound mantis hook) were flooded and otherwise deserted. One didn’t even charge us.

We hope to lock thru to Watts bar tomorrow afternoon and enjoy some sailing, and get back to Corona-land in several days.

Lots of lessons learned.  It beats sitting at home and watching bad news on TV. 

Hope all of you are well and safe, and if anyone wants to know anything else about what worked and what didn’t,  we would be happy to share.

All the best,

George R. Brown 

Joan Koelbel

I have created a new Gmail account for sending club announcements.  Unfortunately, many users have settings that block emails from this address.

Be sure to allow wlsc.announcements@gmail.com to be viewed.  Note there is a “period” in the address.  One can also send me email at this address.

We don’t have any activities currently planned, but hopefully, things will change in the near future and we will inform you of updates.

Due to family and business conflicts, Scott Fagley has stepped down as Commodore.  We hope that he will have more time in the future and will join us for races and other activities.

Billy Becker, Vice Commodore, has assumed the responsibilities of Commodore.  We really appreciate Billy being willing to serve in this capacity as “Acting Commodore.”

I am taking over the email distribution for the club, so be sure to tell me if there are any problems.

James Little

Race Captain

We got more than normal news coverage for the event this year including interviews, videos, newspaper articles, etc.  Must indicate not a lot happening this New Years in the Tri-Cities.  However, I think it is useful in attracting new members.

Ed and Sue Lockett mailed me the following article from the newspaper:

Content:  Weather, Captains Participating, Winners, News Links, Horn Failure’

We had great wind (>10 mph) and temperatures in the mid 40’s yesterday for the race.  Probably some of the best conditions that we have experienced in the 20 year history of the race.  The following link shows the weather profile.

https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/tn/blountville/KTRI/date/2020-1-1

I was worried that not many people would participate, but was pleasantly surprised!  12 boats started and finished the race.  Captains participating were Mike Johnson, Bob Hebner, Jeff Arnfield, Billy Becker, Brandon Bragg, Carter Quillen, Skip Green, Bill Murdoch, Warren Lamb, G. Weber, Wayne Catoe, Bill Smith.

Congratulations to all who participated and their hearty crew!  For the first time, we split the race into two classes:  the “A-racers” and the “PC-Cruisers.”  These same classifications are used in our Spring/Fall Race series.  The winners were:

“A-Racers”: 1st Skip Greene, 2nd Billy Becker, 3rd Wayne Catoe

“PC-Cruisers”:  1st Carter Quillen, 2nd Bill Murdoch, 3rd Brandon Bragg

We had excellent TV and newspaper coverage the week preceding and the day of the race.  I have included a small sampling in the links below.  The first shows video coverage by Angelique Arintok from WCYB from Dennis Anthony’s boat with some commentary by Alex Lindsay.

https://wcyb.com/news/local/setting-sail-watauga-lake-sailing-club-starts-the-new-decade-with-frostbite-race

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/annual-frostbite-race-held-on-watauga-lake/

https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/sports-sailing/2020/01/01/Frostbite-Sailboat-Race-had-perfect-wind

https://www.elizabethton.com/2019/12/31/sailing-club-to-celebrate-new-year-with-race/

Unfortunately, when I tried to blow the start horn, the temperature of the gas was too low and no useful signal was heard by captains.  Very Sad..  Next time a whistle and flag backup will be used.  We were able to pass the time on by haling, but I know it did cause some of you to start late and please accept my apologies.  Thanks for your patience.

Great way to start the Fall race series. Billy and Sue Becker along with Paul Rovegno cooked up a mess of pancakes and sausage very tasty. John Rice held a race clinic on overlaps and strategic mark roundings, great information thanks.

Race started at 2:06 winds variable, and John Rice was committee boat with 7 boats racing.

A Racers
1^st Skip Greene
2^nd Wayne Catoe
3^rd David Wolons
4^th Billy Becker

Performance
1^st George Brown
2^nd Scott Fagley
3^rd John Middaugh

Next race Sept 21^st come join in the fun

WLSC Race Captain
Rob Remme

Ahoy WLSC sailors!

The sunny weather could not have been nicer for the weekend events.  We had a fantastic turnout of 49 people for the delicious salmon dinner on Saturday evening!  Many thanks to Dennis Anthony and Alex Lindsay for cooking the salmon to perfection, Billy and Sue Becker for the preparing the baked potatoes and potatoe salad, Patti Gurysh for bringing the cole slaw and salad, and the W. Catoe’s, Lockett’s, Remme’s, Rice’s, and Frensley’s for providing the delicious desserts.  And thanks to all those who helped set-up and clean-up the deck after the dinner.

During the afternoon prior to the dinner, it was white-capping on the lake and several members were out cruising.  Monika Boggs even had her Laser out for 3 hours enjoying the ideal sailing conditions.

On Sunday at noon, Bill Murdoch, Billy Becker, Clarke Lucas, and Brandon Bragg set-up the buoy line near the dam for the afternoon raft-up.  Members hiked up to the top of the dam for a picnic dinner and to take in the beautiful views in the early evening.  They later retired to their boats for an overnight raft-up.  All in all, ~17 people participated in the raft-up and/or the picnic on the dam.  Many thanks to Bill for organizing this event.

Sail On My Friends!
Commodore Dave
commodorewlsc2019@gmail.com

Spring Race Results

A Racers

1st Skip Greene Batting Average 1,000
2nd Rob Remme Batting Average 571
No other qualifiers 3 race minimum to qualify.

PC Class

1st Place Clark Lucas Batting Average 1,000
2nd Bob Hebner Batting Average 600
3rd Place Scott Fagley Batting Average 455

Rob Remme
WLSC Race Captain

Ahoy WLSC Sailors!

The following events are planned for Labor Day weekend as follows:

Saturday August 31:

• Laser racing, Skipper’s meeting at 1:00pm on the docks.  Member’s children who have been to a WLSC Youth Sailing Camp are invited to participate, as are interested adult members.  Start of the races at 2:00pm, off-shore from the Captains Table restaurant.
• Dennis Anthony will be cooking his famous and delicious Salmon Dinner with baked potatoes, salads, desserts, and refreshments at ~5:30pm.  Cost is $5/person. Please RSVP to me by 8 PM Weds August 28 latest on how many in your party will attend the salmon dinner on Saturday evening August 31.

Sunday Sept 1:

• Picnic on the Dam and Overnight Raft Up, organized by Bill Murdoch, as follows: 
• Buoy line to be set-up by 1-2pm Sunday afternoon near the shoreline at west side of dam.
• Anytime after that come over, raft up, and chill out.  We need a few dinghies so let me know If you can bring a dinghy or small motor boat.
• At 5:30pm we will use the dinghies to shuttle over to a spot on the shore near the Appalachian Trail.  From there we’ll walk the quarter mile trail to the top of the dam.  You’ll need to bring a picnic blanket and something to eat and drink (no alcoholic beverages allowed on the dam since it is TVA property).  There is no shade on the dam, so you will need sunscreen and a hat.  The views from the top of the dam are great.  On one side you can see the river disappear into the power tunnel only to emerge from the two turbines at the power house on the headwaters of Wilbur Lake.  On the other side you have Watauga Lake spread out before you.  Bill will provide some interesting facts about the dam construction, etc to spur your interest.
• We will keep the buoy line up for an Overnight Raft Up for those who choose to stay. Pack something for breakfast and spend the night with us.  It’s a place few people get to see.

So come out to the lake and join us on Labor Day weekend for 1, 2, 3, or all 4 of these events!

Sail On My Friends!
Commodore Dave

Attention all Sailors!
Fun race Sat July, 20th at 2:00 PM skippers meeting at 1:00. This fun race will be a staggered start around the island and back to the start mark for hopefully a exciting finish. All sailors are welcome, hope for wind. Potluck after race, or if no wind a potluck instead of sailing. Hope to see you there.

WLSC Race Captain
Rob Remme