I hope you are looking forward to another great summer of sailing and social fun at the Delavan Lake Yacht Club.  Your Board of Directors has worked hard to maintain the great momentum we developed in 2007 as we began our new Operating Plan.  Our mission for 2008 has been to follow through and deliver the balance of the results we set out to accomplish in 2007.

 I am very pleased to report the completion of our enhanced technology initiatives for the DLYC computer system.  We now have our point of sale system and new hardware in place to maximize the efficiency of our food and beverage services and member billing programs.  Mark Hetzler, Dean Williams, Richard Beers and others from the Board worked diligently to deliver this great enhancement to our operations.

 The Executive Committee (Tim O’Keefe, Mark Hetzler, Jay Goethal, Lindsay Christy Ambroski and Josh Funderburg ) worked through a number of strategies to come up with a final solution to the ongoing food, beverage and club management challenges of the past.  The delivery of our new technology systems has been combined with the addition of a great new club manager, Steve Mestan.  Steve comes to us from a strong background in restaurant and bar management from his prior business, Ralph’s Steakhouse.  Steve is greatly supported in this role by his wife, Cathy.  Growing up on Delavan Lake, Steve had his first X boat delivered by Buddy Melges in the early 1950’s. Steve also sailed C boats and E boats, and currently owns an MC. The entire Board is very pleased to have Steve Mestan as our new manager.  He has outstanding food and beverage experience along with significant management expertise to deliver a well run DLYC operation for 2008 and beyond.

It has been my pleasure to work with a great group of volunteers again this winter to improve the middle room at the DLYC.  Greg Gifford and Pat Maher have spent significant hours helping me with a great transformation of that middle area of the clubhouse.  I hope you enjoy the enhanced space when you attend many of our exciting events this summer.

 Speaking of exciting events, please watch for updates about the new “Commodores End of Season Party” scheduled for Saturday evening on Labor Day weekend.  It is planned to be a very special change for the entire DLYC membership to enjoy and remember for the rest of the year.

 As the sailing season begins our commodore, Josh Funderberg, will be focused on our DLYC home lake racing programs along with the preparation for some great regattas hosted at the DLYC this season.  The ILYA Class “E” Invitational is hosted at the DLYC on the 50^th anniversary of the NCESA and the first year of its official conversion to an “Asymmetrical Class”.  What is very special about that is that the asymmetrical configuration started as a radical experiment on Delavan in 2002 contrary to the wishes of the national fleet.  Today that national fleet has completely adopted what we started on Delavan.  The other regattas hosted at the DLYC for 2008 include the “C” Worlds and the DLYC “E” Asymmetrical Fall Regatta.

 I am very impressed by the results of the current DLYC Board of Directors across many committees and special projects.  We have continued to see increasing membership, increased participation in DLYC sailing, improving operational infrastructure, appropriate capital improvements and an overall enhanced momentum for the future of the Delavan Lake Yacht Club.

On behalf of the entire DLYC Board of Directors I wish you all a great summer at the DLYC.

Sincerely,

 Tim O’Keefe   

Welcome back everyone,

I’d like to start by thanking Dave Everhart for his service to the club the past two years. Dave oversaw several regattas in his tenure, including the 2007 X Inland, which brought the club over four hundred sailors, parents, and guests. The regatta committee of Jana Cain, Wendy Lutrell, Heidi Buddig, and Ann Poole all deserve our thanks and appreciation for doing such a spectacular job on putting on a fantastic regatta. Thank you Dave and all that helped with all the sailing events last season.

Working with me this year are a couple of greatly devoted members. Pulling a double duty as Vice Commodore and Chief Judge again this year is Ed Clair Jr. Continuing his dedication to the DLYC Larry Kmiecik will remain our official scorer. 

Along with the X Inland last year we held two fall regattas. The very popular C Worlds that was attended by more than thirty competitors. Larry Kmiecik did a super job as PRO for this event, getting in all five races in with some tricky wind conditions. We also held the first ever Asymmetrical E open regatta. This was an amazingly successful regatta. There were thirty-two Asymmetrical rigs, and one symmetrical rig to take the line. The regatta saw boats from eleven different lakes coming from six different states.  Mark and Connie Hetzler put together a great regatta, and wonderful steak dinner that had everybody singing the praises of DLYC.

Saturday mornings will see a change at the starting line this year. The C fleet has voted to sail in the morning, in hopes of seeing some more favorable conditions, and avoiding all the afternoon motor boat chop. With three fleets on the line all the support you can offer to the Race Committee is greatly appreciated. Also DLYC will use the radios for all the fleets excluding the X fleet, as the ILYA prohibit there use in this fleet. This year the Race Committee will call the starting sequence, recalls, restarts, and changes to the course, all over the radio. This will allow better communication with the competitors and the Race Committee in the event of foul weather and dangerous conditions.

This year we see the return of the Inland Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) E Invitational, an honor we’ve not had since 1962. This will be a great regatta, with most of the competitors sailing the Asymmetrical design. The National Class E Scow Association (NCESA) voted last fall to move the entire fleet to the new design, which got it’s start right here at DLYC, November 4, 2001. Our current President, Tim O’Keefe, met with several of the E fleet members, E boat model in hand to demonstrate and discuss the asymmetrical design. They all agreed and voted to convert the DLYC E fleet to the new design. As a result of that vote, Tim’s leadership and dedication to the E boat and sailing, the rest of the NCESA and the ILYA have followed DLYC’s lead. Thank you Tim for not only your dedication to the E fleet, but your support of all of our fleets, and for the countless hours you’ve donated to the remodeling of the club so that all our members have more enjoyment this summer.

We are moving the Commodores Ball in a new direction this year, bringing back the band and the black tie. For years I have talked with members on how to make the last party of the year the best of the year. We are starting by moving it up a day to Saturday, instead of the traditional Sunday. This will hopefully make it easier for more of you to attend. We will have a sit down meal with table service and great food. Also there will be shortened awards ceremony, and a live band under the tent for music and dancing by the lake. With a black tie optional, this promises to be the classiest party of the year. The club is looking great and so should you. Please join me in supporting the club and enjoying this new end of season gala.

A happy sailing season to all.

Joshua H. Funderburg