We have a much more complex project for next year and that is to replace all of the main dock deck boards including a center stringer and new poles where required.  More to come about this project as we get closer to next season.

Below are a couple of pictures, courtesy of Bob Hodgins, that show what the water level is between shore and our main dock.  In all my years at the club, I have never witnessed water levels this low.  The lake itself is almost as low as the chart datum.  I know you probably won’t want to hear this but we need some snow this winter to help bring the levels back up.  I don’t foresee any danger of high water (2017/2019) happening again.

Anticipation for 2025 is high! Less than two hundred days until the first race on June 5th!

Trophy Races for 2025 You can plan on it!: July 12 - Henri Cup Invitational, August 9 - Lakeside Race, August 30 - Ketchup Race

Summer Sailstice is June 21, 2025: Held on the closest Saturday to the Summer Solstice, sailors all over North America take this day as a celebration of summer and sailing! This event is as informal as you can get. If we can get a bunch of boats out on the lake that day for a daysail, great!

Notice to Racers: The Racing Rules of Sailing is published every four years by World Sailing, the international authority for the sport. These rules, amended by US “prescriptions,” govern sailboat racing in the United States. The Racing Rules of Sailing for 2025-2028 take effect on January 1, 2025. All racers should have a paper or digital copy on board when racing and be familiar with the changes.

There are annual holiday parades in both Medina and Albion that Youth Sailing has entered a float in years past. I won’t be able to coordinate these this year, but if anyone is interested in doing it, let me know and I can send you the information.

Becky 

Call or text 585-813-7259

The bills are paid and except for the final quarter sales tax filing, December’s bills will just be the utilities.

If you have a question, feel free to call/text me at (716) 432-1421 or email me at treasurer@ooyc.org.

This was not the season I had envisioned when I accepted the responsibility of the Vice Commodore, but the experience was great, and we had fun running a restaurant for the first time.

We were fortunate to have help from Larry and Carol Travis in picking up and putting away the food order almost every week. A huge thank you to them for all the help! We couldn’t have done it without you.

I also want to thank all of the staff that worked hard to provide a good experience for our members and guests. Thank you to everyone that waited tables, tended bar, cooked and washed dishes (it’s hard to explain how many dirty dishes there were!).

The work has been ongoing for a couple of months looking for a good, dependable restauranter to provide food and bar service for 2025. Thank you, Bob Hodgins, for leading the charge and talking to several restaurant owners that could provide the food choices and quality we are looking for. At this time, we have a couple of owners interested in continuing communications with us. We’re hopeful we will come to an agreement and get a signed contract in early 2025.

There is still a vacancy in the Vice Commodore position. If you are interested in filling this role, please reach out to John Zimmerman, Bob Hodgins or myself. I will be available to share my experience with anyone who would like more information.

Thank you,

Jeff and Chris Thuman

2 of them had been racing crew in previous years and want their own boat

4 of them are friends / family of existing members

3 of them learned about us from the website and either inquired for a tour or just showed up at the club one afternoon and informally met with whoever was onsite that day. 

2 of them started racing on Wednesday nights after becoming a prospective member

1 joined the club based on buying an existing member’s boat

3 of them have limited experience as dingy sailors, do not own keelboats and are looking to grow their sailing knowledge

2 are powerboaters, the rest are sailors

Age distribution:

                Under 40 – 3

                40 – 60 -  4

                Over 60 - 3   

 There were an additional 18 serious inquiries that were discouraged or turned away because there wasn’t a good fit.  Most of these were people just looking for a cheap dock and not really interested in being part of a club.  Some balked at the cost, membership requirements, or were deemed to be total nutjobs.  There was more interest this year than in a long time. 

Genesee Yacht Club has gone from an aging club (majority of members over 60) with dwindling membership to a growing club.  They attribute their growth entirely to their Newby program in which anyone can sign up through Meet Up for a boat ride and get connected to a club member who will do a very brief safety orientation and then take them out.  They get 6 – 8 people each week. I don’t have numbers, but anecdotally, my contact thinks a majority of participants are under 30 but new members are 50 +.  I believe the program is free.  They have 135 members and 12 provisional members (a year during which they have to “earn” membership) out of 150 allowed.

Olcott Yacht Club

I don’t have a contact at OYC and information on their website is limited.  Perhaps someone else has a source of information?  The fact that they offered half price memberships in 2024 indicates that they had/have a membership problem.

Trish 

MarketingDirector@OOYC.org

It’s getting awfully close to the holiday season and most all the boats are put to bed for the upcoming winter. Thanks to all who came out for the club closing. I appreciate all the help.

We’re not going to have another work party to manage the leaves. Up until this weekend the trees haven’t been in a hurry to shed their leaves. Now that they are, it's time for some turkey and lots of lousy weather so they’ll be there next spring.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and we’ll see you in the spring. We’re dreaming of some sun and warmer weather. Maybe it’s time to head south and see what kind of mess the weather made of the gulf coast of Florida. I think I hear my fishing rod calling me.

Since there has not been a contested election in years, and likely will not be again this year, the board can vote the slate at the December board meeting. There is still time to volunteer for the open positions. If no one offers to fill those spots, the board can appoint someone to fill them anytime they have a candidate.

Commodore               

Vice Comodore

Rear Commodore                   Larry Beneway

Treasurer                                Tim Quirk

Membership Chair                  Kim Hofmann

Dock Master                           Larry Travis

Fleet Captain                          Darren Leonard

Fleet Captain Education         Becky Almeter

Marketing                               Trish Brantingham

Website                                  Carl Engle

Executive Secretary               Betty Benoit

Senior Director                       John Zimmerman

Marketing group – A new group had a first meeting recently to brainstorm about how to grow membership. Many good ideas came from that first meeting. That group included Darren Leonard, Dan and Amanda Butler, Kim Hofmann, Trish Brantingham and myself. We concluded that we cannot just keep doing what we have been doing and expect any better results, so it is time for bold action. Most of our marketing focus for the coming year will be social media based with the expectation of large returns for minimal cost. It will also target a younger demographic than currently exists in our aging membership. Proposals that came from that meeting that were then approved by the board are:

-Eliminate the requirement for work hours. We have always called ourselves a “working club” and do not see that changing. The fact that we require new full members to contribute 20 work hours has become a barrier to signing up new members. Our current system of attempting to track those hours and then billing members at year end for unworked hours is a hassle and then causes ill will, and not everyone billed pays their obligation. In other words, the system really does not work well. We will still have our regular workdays and encourage ALL members to come and help maintain our club to keep dues low. The workdays can be fun and a great way to get to know your fellow members.

-Include a Social membership to any parent that registers and pays for a child to attend youth sailing class. We have always extended this verbally, but we will now make it official by giving them a membership card that is valid for the entire season. The idea is to try and get the families to be a part of the club, as opposed to just dropping off the kids.

-Establish a class of membership for Intermediate Members. We used to have a membership class called intermediate, but it got dropped along the way. It is a class used for anyone wanting to be a full member that is of legal age up until the year they turn 40. The annual dues will be $500 which is between the cost of Social membership and full membership. They will have the same privileges and rights as full members, but at a reduced cost.

-We are offering an “Introductory Special”. This will be available to any new full member that rents a dock, 50% off for the first year. This is a big deal; it makes a membership and dock cost combined the lowest on Oak Orchard for any dock. It may attract new people to give us a try and lure them from other more expensive places. If they return for a second year they will pay full price. It will be our mission to welcome them and make them feel at home, so they see the value in our club.