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SOUTH MANHATTAN BEACH | P.O. BOX 544 | MILFORD, IOWA 51351 | 712-337-0121

Welcome to the Okoboji Yacht Club

Skippers, Crew, Junior Sailors, Race Committee...

Sailing Season Starting Soon

Are...You....Ready?

Prepare yourselves for the upcoming season by attending the North U Rules Seminar. You'll learn how the rules work and how they have changed the game. Using North U's 2009-2012 Racing Rules Seminar Workbook, you'll see and solve situations on the racecourse and develop a sharper rules sense.

2012 Racing Rules Seminar

Hosted by

Okoboji Yacht Club

Saturday, May 26, 2012    9am - 5pm

OYC Clubhouse

Registration fee of $20.00 includes lunch and seminar workbook.

Please register by May 20, 2012

Register Now



ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Summer 2012 Social Calendar is now posted on the EVENTS page. Check out the great sounding Friday and Saturday evening socials. New for 2012...Cocktails from 6-9 pm with food being served at 6:30 pm.


OYC is celebrating 80 years of sailing, family and friends this year. Bring your stories of time spent on the water and summers at Okoboji to share with all. Our historian, Kelli Farrar, has put together some photos that should spark some great memories.  OYC History Album

WEATHER LINKS


OYC Sailors and Race Committee                                          
Click these links to find the latest changes and updates for the sailing fleets

US Sailing Rule 26 Starting Sequence

ILYA changing course designations

Use of automated horn system for race starts

Head Judge Updates 2011


FROM THE COMMODORE’S COCKPIT

   What a winter everyone has had in every part of the U.S.!  Record setting temperatures were abundant everywhere.  Here at Okoboji, 75 degree days were the norm!

   The ice went out on March 17th, so our dock and hoist businesses are getting an early start to our grand summer season at Okoboji.  Hopefully our summer will be as nice as our winter.

   As usual, our busy race schedule will begin Memorial Day weekend with tune-ups.  Phil and Stuart are planning a “Rules Seminar” sometime that weekend also.  

   This is the 80th year celebration for the Okoboji Yacht Club.  Jeanne Sieh  has put together a fun-filled social calendar for Friday evenings and a couple of Saturday evenings.

   Big “Thank Yous” go out to Tootie Powers for keeping the ScuttleButt going and Jacque Schwartz for all her work on the website.  A lot of time and effort goes into these publications for our enjoyment.  Please thank them when you run into them.  As we change as an organization, and our environment changes, the website will be our tool of communication in the future.  Please check it out (oycia.org) for all the sailing, social events and other pertinent information for the OYC. 

   I am honored to be serving as Commodore for 2012 and look forward to celebrating our 80th year with all members on the race course and at the social events.

Sheryl Jones

Commodore 2012




Honor bestowed on local sailor

In his prime, he was one of the best sailors in an elite class of Midwestern yachtsmen. Although still active in regattas today as a septuagenarian, Bob "Boober" Schneider of Okoboji ruled the sport in the late 1960s.

As such, Schneider and fellow sailing comrade William"Smiley" Freytag of Geneva, Wis., were inducted into the Inland Lake Yachting Association's Hall of Fame on Feb. 11 in Fontana, Wis. Schneider, a lifelong sailor who was drawn to the wind-blessed expanses of West Lake Okoboji early on and learned the sailing craft there, was humbled to receive the honor.

"We never dreamed of such recognition decades ago," Schneider said. "Sure, we were competitive, but mostly it was about the thrill of sailing, being on the water, reading the wind and having fun."

Schneider won three consecutive ILYA C-scow championships from 1967-69, notable feat given that he won those titles against many sailors who have already earned Hail of Fame distinction. Schneider's crowns came during a time considered by many in the sport to be the Golden Age of C-scow sailing in the Inland.

Schneider forged lasting friendships in sailing circles that endure today, including one with Buddy Melges of Geneva, a sailing giant whose racing resume includes World Cup and Olympic gold medal experiencesMelges Boat Works manufactured some of the most respected sailboats in the industry, including the famous Melges C-scows,the northern white cedar planked beauties that Schneider raced and promoted in Okoboji.


TRIVIA QUESTION: What other sailor from OYC has been inducted into the ILYA Hall of Fame and what year did it occur? First correct answer emailed to JACQUE SCHWARTZ wins a SLAM tech cap to be given out summer, 2012.

 




MARINE RADIO INFORMATION

How To Know the Racing Plans
The best way know the racing plan is to monitor the VHF Marine Radio communications used by the Okoboji Yacht Club. Wind speed, wind direction, storm forecasts, and starting line location are discussed on the radio. Competitors are to be on channel 68 at all times. Announcements to the racers will always be made on channel 68. The Race Committee will switch to channel 72 for race communications after the first Preparatory signal. The Race Committee uses channel 72 so that sailors with radios do not gain an advantage with wind change information by listening to the race committee.
 
Spectators can scan both channel 68 and 72. If you have a radio scanner include 156.425 and 156.625 in your scan list. During regattas, we will probably use channel 68, 72, and 74 along with other channels depending on regatta requirements. Click button to read the rest of the article.  RADIO




Is the "Fundamental Rule" still relevant?
Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.


Peter Wilson, a US Sailing umpire and senior judge, writes a thought provoking article on this topic Scuttlebutt



A,B,C...X,Y,Z...1,2,3
How Well Do You Know Your Racing Flags?
       

RACING SIGNALS


Check this out...Okoboji's Steve Avery is sailing in the 2012 Australian Masters Lasers Championship, March 4-7, out of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. Seven races are scheduled. Follow how Steve's doing on the results page. Congrats to Steve...placed 7th overall...4 Americans in the top 8.



What kind of sailboats are those? What are they doing on the lake? What are all the guns, horns and flags? Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council has a great article describing the classes of sailboats that race on Lake Okoboji, the racing format and the starting sequence. Check it out and come watch us race.    Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council

                     
                   TIPS
    Minimizing Risk on the Racecourse
       1. Learn the racing rules
       2. Check over your boat and gear
       3. Study the NOR and sailing instructions
       4. Practice boat handling maneuvers
       5. Keep your head out of the boat
                                                           

We are very pro
ud to offer our new website that allows for member management, on-line payment of events and increased flexibility for managing our site. 

To familiarize yourself with our new site, click on the link and you will be given an explanation of each menu at the top of the page.


OYC Merchandise Now Available Online
Click Here

         
          S A I L I N G   G E A R
    Stuart Gerhold Jacque Schwartz
    402-649-5555 303-819-4895
                         10% Discount to Yacht Club Members
     
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