Spring, 2006

 Dear Fellow Sailors and Friends of Sailing,

 Now that Christmas and New Year’s are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about the 2006 sailing season.  There are a number of issues, changes, and other items of interest that will affect our racing program this year, so please READ ON.

 DUES NOTICE:   No increase if you pay early

The annual Dues Notice is enclosed.  There are no increases for dues received prior to May 1, 2006.  Dues will increase by $25.00 (per boat) for those who choose to pay after May 1, 2006.  As always, you must be paid up in order to be scored and eligible for a trophy.  Please remit your dues promptly to our Treasurer, Barbara Griffin.

 RACE SCHEDULE:   Dates, duty roster, & seminars

The Race Schedule is enclosed.  On it are assignments for Principal Race Officer (PRO), Committee Boat Captain, Patrol Boat Captain and his/her assistant.  Please check the schedule carefully to determine your duties for this summer.  If you cannot serve on your assigned day, you must find a qualified substitute and notify the other members of the “team” for that day.

 Note that a PRO Seminar will be held May 13, 11:00 am, at the Turkey Neck Club.  If you will be serving as PRO, don’t miss it!  Note also that the first Skippers’ Meeting of the season will be May 27, 11:00 am, at the Turkey Neck Club.  With the many changes in store, it is extremely important that all PROs and racers attend these events so that everyone will be fully informed.  There are plans to offer a Race Patrol Seminar for both new and experienced patrollers at the Fleet 6 Picnic in early June.

 Deep Creek Lake, Fleet 6, has been approved as the site for the 5th annual Silver Piper Regatta, to be held Sept. 16 and 17.  Frank Meehan is the Regatta Chairperson and Harry Carpenter will serve as PRO.  This will be an exciting regatta, as this is the first time it has been held at a site other than the Chesapeake Bay.  We hope to draw many more competitors with this new venue.  To be eligible, the Skipper must be 60 years old.  More details to come.

RACE FORMAT:   Changes in store for all

We are going to try using standard geometric race course configurations instead of our present "zone" system.  The first use of the geometric course system will take place over the Memorial Day weekend for the Steiding Cup race and the Becker Cup Regatta.  There will be several possible standard courses, such as: windward-jibe-leeward-windward-leeward-finish and variations of that system that will be designated by letters posted on the Committee Boat.  After the awards ceremony on Monday, the general membership will be asked for their feedback about the use of standard courses.  The new system could continue to be used for races after Memorial Day (Regattas and/or Series) if response to the new system is positive and has the support of our racing participants.

Lasers will have completely separate courses and PROs for their regattas:   Becker Cup, Laser Invitational, Firecracker, and Commodores’ Cup.  During Series races, Lasers and Scots will start in sequence on the same line, but the Lasers will race shorter courses created with additional, unique Laser marks set at shorter distances to windward and leeward than the Scot marks.  This setup will provide Lasers with more reaching and shorter courses that can be run back-to-back. We hope these changes will attract more Junior sailors to racing, as well as make it more interesting for our experienced Laser racers.

RACER IDENTIFICATION:   Make your presence known

A reminder that to be scored, all racers must hail the Committee Boat clearly announcing their boat number, fleet, and crew members each time they come out to compete.  Every boat must also display a colored ribbon or streamer on the leech of its mainsail to identify its fleet.

Streamer colors are:

            Championship Gold – Orange/Red

            Championship Silver – Black

            Masters – Green

            Challenger – Blue

            Laser Full Rig – none

            Laser Radial – Black

Hailing the Committee Boat and flying the streamers aids the Race Committee during the prerace check-in and in recording finishes.  Failure to meet these requirements may result in a boat not being scored.

 TROPHIES:   Something new

Stephanie Mahan is now in charge of trophies.  She is planning to follow through with Joan Coraor’s proposal to obtain wooden plaques to which engraved plates for earned awards will be attached.  The details of this new scheme will be revealed at the first Skippers’ Meeting.

 APPEAL FOR FUNDS:   more money always needed

One of our Board members who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) has proposed that an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) be kept on the Committee Boat for medical emergencies.  He emphasized that in emergencies in which an AED could be used to save a life, time is the critical factor, and having an AED close at hand could be a matter of life or death for one of our own.  An AED could cost as much as $2000, but there is currently not enough money in our budget to buy one.  Therefore, DCYRA is putting out a plea for donations to purchase this very important item.   Any amount would be greatly appreciated and will help bring us closer to our goal.  Everyone’s health and safety on the water continues to be a top priority for DCYRA.

 CLASS MEMBERSHIP:   Your organization needs you

I strongly encourage you to join your National Fleet Association.  Your membership supports your newsletter, website, promotions, attention to class rules, administration, and, equally important, boat re-sale value.  A special bonus is that you become part of a community of like-minded sailors, connected by your enthusiasm for a specific one-design sailboat class.  Application forms to join the organizations for both Flying Scots and Lasers are enclosed.

 WEB PAGE:   DCYRA info online

In an effort to make DCYRA information more widely available to our members, it will be posted on our web site and updated as changes occur.  Please check it out.  The URL is: http://dcyra.org/.

Heidi Kammer