www.LHYC.org January 2008
Mission Statement:
The objects of the Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club shall be to encourage and promote interest in, as well as to foster the art and enjoyment of, the sport of sailing by providing the opportunity and means for the development of individual skill and knowledge, encouraging excellence in seamanship and navigation, and by providing participative events wherein these qualities can be exercised under the aegis of the LHYC burgee.
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The flurry of activities for the holidays are long past, the club’s Annual meeting recapping our activities for 2007 is behind us, and by now, I’m sure that the oscillating cold snap/warming trends are something we want to leave in the dust as well. With the changing of the guard on January 9, we are well on our way to launch Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club’s 2008, or 42nd season. In case you couldn’t tell, I am extremely excited to serve as your Commodore and work with the talented and committed individuals who have stepped up to serve the club. The officers and board of directors will work to maintain the quality of our events and the traditions that have come to identify us as the premiere racing, sailing and cruising club that we are! To the many members who attended the annual meeting at Mangiamo’s earlier this month, I had expressed my thanks for being involved in the club’s activities; I also shared with the membership the sense of pride that I have hailing from LHYC and the fact that our club and sailors are known and respected down both ends of the Sound. We can all share in that feeling, that which is our club.
There are many competing demands on our time and many factors that unfortunately work against us to grow our ranks, further our racing programs and prevent us from taking the two week cruise that many of us would love to do to recharge our batteries. I would suggest, however, that despite these busy times, due to the efforts of our flag officers and active membership base, LHYC is able to weather the declining participation numbers and general malaise that effects so many other clubs and allows us keep on conducting well run races, cruises, parties and raft-ups. In large part, our club’s flag officers and directors deserve the credit and thanks. Accordingly, I want to thank and introduce the following who are on deck to keep the club moving in the right direction: Joe Scarpulla – Vice Commodore, Steve Laporta – Rear Commodore, Gary Victorson – Fleet Captain, Mike Olsen – Treasurer, Theo Novak- Secretary and now PC Leigh Sterflinger, John Storck, Phil Walters, Lee Feore, Don Rave and Dave Willis who are our Directors. They deserve our thanks, support and constructive input for the work that they have done and are prepared to do for the upcoming season.
We will also be looking for assistance from the membership for various projects along the way. An ongoing task is the design and production tasks needed for our different YRA race advertisements and complimenting tee shirts. Along the same lines, to further promote our club’s events, some of them charitable, a public relations person is needed who can spread the word, perhaps through our local community newspapers and Newsday. And having recently celebrated the club’s 40th anniversary, there is much history of the club that needs to be gathered, recorded and archived so that our history and progress through the years is recorded for posterity and made available for the edification of our more recent members. We are looking for a few good men and women who have an interest in these areas and are desirous of getting involved.
As I also stated at the annual meeting, the fate of many yacht clubs is jeopardized by them trying to become something they are not – we at LHYC know we have a good thing going, and we can all be proud of our history and assured of the course that we will steer to take us into 2008 and beyond.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rich Rubel
LHYC Commodore
What’s Doing in the Near Future:
Annual Ski Trip: The weather is cooperating and the buzz is on for our annual jaunt to the slopes of Jiminy Peak on February 9. This is always a fun trip, with a light breakfast on the way up, a day on the slopes and then a party on the bus on the way back home. Personally, I am always curious as to who amongst us from the sailing world has dropped the old fashioned poles, boot and skis, in favor of boarding! Would that be those in the J 24’s or sport boats perhaps? The best way to find out would be to sign up ASAP with Joe Scarpulla and join us for a great day of spills and thrills. Jean Claude Rubel will be there working the bunny hills.
Spring Speaker Series: This is always a favorite for our club and the Huntington fleet at large, because it convenes the sailors for an informative discussion and the start of the sailing season isn’t far behind. Keep Thursday, March 13 open; plans are being made and flyers announcing the event will be out shortly.
Frostbiting: Sailing has not ended for a few intrepid souls; Centerport’s JY 15 Fleet #104 is going strong and has just wrapped up the Fall Season, the New Year’s Eve Regatta and started the 2008 Spring Series. The Fall Series was won by the LHYC team of Rich Rubel and Doug Vaughn, edging out Roy Sherman for second by just one point. Joe Scarpulla placed fourth and Pete Zarcone fifth out of the 11 competing boats for the series. On New Year’s Eve, a champagne toast was raised by the team of Doug Vaughn and Leigh Sterflinger who won having sailed flawlessly, collecting four bullets. There are still two months of frostbite action left, with the requisite post race thawing out, re-hydration with grain beverages and post race debriefing, to which all are welcome. You can contact either Rich Rubel or Crash Boat/Frostbite PRO Chris Schneider if you are interested in sailing, volunteering to help or participating in any fashion your core body temperature will allow.
2008 LHYC Event Schedule
Jan 9 Wed Annual Meeting
Feb 9 Sat Ski Trip
Mar 13 Thur Winter Speaker – to be determined
Apr 26 Sat New Members Cocktail Party
May 18 Sun Spring Series at Target Rock
23-26 Fri-Mon Memorial Day Cruise
26 Mon Commissioning
28 Wed Summer Series #1
30 Fri Women’s Spirit Race – all Female crew
31 Sat Huntington Bay Championship-Lloyd’s Trophy
June 4 Wed Summer Series #2
6 Fri Commodore’s Cup
11 Wed Summer Series #3
18 Wed Summer Series #4
25 Wed Summer Series #5
27-6 Fri-Sun 4th of July Cruising
July 2 Wed Summer Series #6
9 Wed Summer Series #7
12 Sat Women Skipper’s Race
16 Wed Summer Series #8
19 Sat 36th Annual Stratford Shoal/Make-a-Wish Regatta
23 Wed Summer Series #9
30 Wed Summer Series #10
Aug 1 Fri Clash of Champions
6 Wed Sunset Series #1
10 Sun Little Brown Jug Race
13 Wed Sunset Series #2
20 Wed Sunset Series #3
27 Wed Sunset Series #4
Aug/Sept 29-1 Fri-Mon Labor Day Cruise
Sept 3 Wed Sunset Series #5
13 Sat Katrina & Winkle Cup Races
Oct 4 Sat Fall Series at Target Rock
5 Sun Decommissioning
Nov 8 Sat Awards Dinner
Dec 14 Sun Holiday Party
Jan 14 ’09 Wed Annual Meeting
Past Telltales