Mother Nature looks like she’s going to cooperate and give us a pleasant night for sailing tonight. Forecast is for mostly sunny skies and WNW winds around 8 mph. If the forecast is correct, we will be sailing. Remember to dress warm since the water is still really chilly! We meet at Brewster’s afterwards. Even if you’re not ready to sail yet, come by Brewster’s and say hello and catch up with everyone!
Category Archives: News
News items related to fleet activity.
Spring Series Week 1 – May 7, 2019
Tonight is our first night of scheduled racing – first race start sequence is 6:30 pm. Rain is supposed to stop, and we’re looking at cloudy skies with temps in the low 50’s with ENE winds of 5-10 mph. Windchills will be possibly in the 40s and our latest water reading was 57 degrees at a dock.
Soooooo…..stay tuned to see if these forecasts are correct and a decision will be made after 5 pm as to whether we race or not. Sunshine might help – just sayin’. Remember to plan to wear your cold water gear – wetsuits and booties. Stay tuned to the ALCA Fleet 519 Facebook site or your e-mail Inbox for any news of cancellations.
Committee boat is the Dunlap/Rubino pontoon with Dave Dunlap race chair for the night, and myself as assistant, along with Keith and possibly Dixie. Our Principal Race Officer, Julie Lenczycki, will be watching the conditions carefully, and any questions should be directed to her as PRO. We meet at Brewster’s regardless if we race or not, and it’ll be a great opportunity to come out and join (if you haven’t already). Julie has race stickers for current fleet members if anyone needs one.
Additionally, as the weeks go on, I will be trimming the e-mail recipient list to current and 2018 members only; unless I hear from you that you would like to remain on our list, your name will be removed.
Spring Meeting Update
If you missed the fleet meeting on Saturday April 27th – here’s what you missed:
- Spring Series: May 7th – June 25th One portsmouth fleet (one start) unless there is sufficient B-Fleet attendance the first three weeks that are sailed
- Summer Series: July 9th – July 10th Two portsmouth fleets (one start)
- Gather at Brewster’s after racing or sooner if racing is cancelled
- Committee boat sign ups will be on Google Docs as well as hard copy each Tuesday night after racing. A link will be provided in the near future. We are set for the first 6 weeks for pontoon boats and for people at least the first 2 weeks (May 7th and May 14th). Thank you in advance to Keith Mortlock and Dixie Stiemsma for their help on committee boat! If there is a week without a pontoon to use for committee boat, racing will be cancelled.
- Saturday May 4th is the rescheduled date for the Tuning seminar. 10 am at the Austin Lake Public Access.
- A Hobie Worlds (Captiva Island, FLA) update was given by Lori Mohney – looks like an awesome event is taking shape, however the Youth Division may not happen due to lack of registrants.
- We discussed the possibility of designing rashguards (UV shirts) commemorating our 35th year of Fleet 519. Stay tuned.
- CRAM update: Michigan City (3 day regatta, June 21st, 22nd, 23rd) is also a Hobie Pts Regatta (Fleet 126)
- Hobie Fleet 126 also plans to host a series of 1 day sailing events: July 20th, August 17th, Sept 1st. at the same venue as MIchigan CIty regatta, stay tuned for further details. the following days after each have been saved as rain/weather dates.
With all this fun stuff going on and socializing, we did not get a change to hold our auction! We have lots of great prizes, so stay tuned for the officers plans – either a 35th Anniversary party or maybe a weekly drawing after racing.
Lastly, after the meeting was adjourned, we had a volunteer to fill the vacant Vice Commodore spot. In order to make this official (by-laws), we have to gather for a short meeting to agree as a fleet (or vote this person in, in the event there are others who are interested). This will occur Tuesday May 7th at Brewsters, either after racing or instead of racing if we are cancelled.
The Dunlap/Rubino pontoon will be our RC boat for the first two weeks, launching from Jeff Daane’s. Stay tuned to e-mails and Facebook in the event of an uncooperative Mother Nature.
4-27-19 Boat Tuning Seminar Postponed
The Hobie boat tuning and rigging seminar scheduled to begin at 10 AM at the Austin Lake Public Boat Access on Saturday, April 27th has been postponed to the following Saturday, May 4, 2019 at the same time and location. The postponement is due to the forecasted inclement (cold and rainy) weather.
NOTE: The ALCA Spring meeting is still on the schedule for Saturday, April 27th at 5 PM at Brewster’s Pub on Portage Road.
Spring 2019 Kickoff Meeting & Boat tuning
The season-opening get together and Spring Fleet meeting with be held on Saturday, April 27th, at Brewster’s Fine Food and Spirits on Portage Road. Important dates and the exact format for racing this year will be decided by the fleet at this meeting – don’t miss it!
Schedule of events:
- 5:00 pm arrive, socialize, order beverages and turn in membership forms (appetizers will be served)
- 5:30-6:30 meeting
- dinner and auction (like last year – each person turning in memberships will be given ALCA Bucks to bid on various fun prizes)
- After the gathering at Brewster’s, we’ve been invited back to Julie & Andy Lenczycki’s house for a bonfire (weather permitting). BYOB and BYOC (Bring Your Own Chair). Their address is 9833 Woodlawn Dr, Portage (on Austin Lake).
Should be a fun time! A Facebook invite has also been sent.
Boat Tuning Saturday, April 27, 2019
There will also be a tune-up event the morning of that Saturday, April 27th. We have several seasoned sailors willing to share their expertise at the landing (or at your place, if your boat is on the lake). Event will begin at 10 AM at the Austin Lake Public Boat Access. A make-up date of May 4th (Otherwise known as Star Wars’ Day) is available if the weather turns ugly. Stay tuned! Please contact Dan Troup or Kathy Rubino if interested.
Watch this website or the ALCA Facebook page for the specifics, time and location for the Boat Tuning Seminar on 4/27/19.
2019 is our 35th year
As a reminder, 2019 will be a fun year for ALCA…it’s our 35th Year!!! Yep, some of us have been racing on Austin Lake since before others were even born!! Kathy and I have been going through old stuff and have some pretty cool things from the past!!! Does anyone know who Mr. Austin Lake is?? I saw him at the Kalamazoo airport a few weeks ago, we were on the same fog delayed flight to Detroit…or did you know that for the Austin Lake Regatta in 1998, you could rent an Airbnb before that name even existed…found my coupon for a free night’s stay!!
Given this, the new slate of officers for 2019 will be meeting in the upcoming days to start to get things rolling for the year. An upcoming FLEET meeting will be announced soon.
Good News/Bad News: Our 2019 fleet Vice Commodore, Austin Lee has graduated from WMU and taken a job in (and will be moving to) Petosky Mi. Austin is one of our fleet members who was born AFTER the fleet started in 1984. We wish him all the luck in his new job and location and look forward to seeing him at upcoming sailing events. It would be nice to have someone step up for Vice Commodore and run our education program to replace Austin.
Our 2019 Fleet Officers
- Commodore: Dan Troup
- Vice Commodore: need somebody to volunteer
- Race Chair/PRO: Julie Lenczycki will step up to coordinate but will lean on others for advice .
- Treasure: Faith Akert
- Statistician: Andy Lenczycki
- Secretary: Kathy Rubino
Save the Date of October 27, 2018 for Year End Party
Save the date of Saturday, October 27, 2018 for the ALCA Year End Party and Awards. Details to follow.
New pictures from 8-28-18 Tuesday Night Racing Posted
Pictures that Julie Lenczycki took when on the committee boat the night of August 28, 2018 are now posted on the Photos > 8-28-18 Tuesday Night Racing menu.
Summer Series Week #10 – Sep 11, 2018 – Last Week!
Our last week of racing for the Summer Series is upon us. Where did the year go? Today’s forecast calls for highs in the middle 70s inland and at the Lake Shore. Winds variable to SSW 5-10 mph. For tonight, winds SE 5 mph.
Depending on the actual wind conditions, watch for the possibility of an A-C course with an UPWIND finish line, or possibly an A-B-C (no gates – round all marks on your port side) course.
Summer Series Week #5 – Aug 7, 2018
David Dunlap is the Race Chair for this Tuesday night with Dixie and Keith and maybe Steve Brown, but could use one additional person to assist. The forecast is light winds so watch our FB page and email…it was pretty glassy flat tonight when I got home from work :(. Let’s hope the wind is in our favor….see you on the water!
As noted in the ALCA Pontoon Float Recap post, it was advanced, discussed and voted by present fleet members that we would extend the Summer series to the full amount of 10 weeks, as previously sailed in years past. This means we will be sailing past the end of August, to include September 4th and 11th.