Some of the pictures that Julie Lenczycki took from the committee boat during racing on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 have been added to the Photos page of the ALCA website.  More pictures from that night will be uploaded as soon as they are reviewed.

Tuesday is the 6th week of the Spring Series, and the weather forecast is a real change from last week – 63 degrees, cloudy, and NW winds at 10-20 mph.  The water’s warmed up a bit, right?  Meet at Brewster’s following sailing.

This Tuesday, we’re looking at a sunny 85 degrees, with SSE winds of 5-10 mph.  We are meeting at Brewsters as usual, following the races and I will have membership forms for those who have yet to join. Hope to see you out there!

This week looks much more promising for sailing, with partly sunny skies, a high of 82 degrees and SSW winds at 7-11 MPH.  Perfect conditions (at least in my book)!

We have a new sailor on our mailing list, Stuar Casteel, who Is from Marquette, MI, has sailed the Hobie 16 – mostly on Lake Superior.  He is interested in crewing, so if you need a crew, contact him using the information below.  Welcome Stuart!  I will be including this crew list weekly now, and for anyone who either knows someone who would like to crew, or is available to crew themselves, please contact me and I will add the information to the list for that week.

Stuart Casteel:  casteelstuart@gmail.com     (269) 929-5092

Also, just a reminder, some have yet to join the fleet.  Please remember to bring your checkbook or money to the after sailing gathering at Brewster’s Junction on Portage Road.

Due to a complete lack of any visible signs of wind on the lake, racing for tonight (5/17) has been cancelled.  We will be meeting at Brewsters to make offerings to the wind gods.

The first scheduled racing for the Spring Series for 2016 is Tuesday, May 3rd.  Starting sequence will begin at 6:30 PM.

We will be meeting for results afterwards at Brewster’s on Portage Road once again.

Don’t forget your membership fees are due NOW!  You won’t be scored if you’re not a current member.  You can pay ALCA Treasurer Faith Akert at Brewster’s Tuesday night.

Watch here for updates on possible weather related delay or cancellation for Tuesday’s racing.

• The new by-laws were voted on unanimously by all members who voted, representing >50% of the fleet membership.  A big thanks to all who took time to go to the meeting as well as those who voted.
• These by-laws allowed for a PRO (Principal Race Officer) who will lead a team of weekly race chairmen.  Thank you Jerry Mohney for volunteering to be ALCA’s first PRO and coming up with this plan!  The PRO is a  newly added Fleet Officer, per the revised fleet by-laws.  Jerry will be managing three sign up sheets for the racing season:

1. Pontoon boats used for weekly races (typically, the owner/driver will be scored Help points for their time and volunteering their boat).  This person may be the weekly Race Chairman, but not necessarily.
2. Weekly race chairmen (who doesn’t have to be the pontoon  boat owner, who will be making the on-the-water calls for the night), who will also be scored Help points.
3. Committee boat volunteers.   Depending on the amount of help on the boat already available, this person may not be scored Help points.  Jerry will be the arbiter of this and you should know going onto the boat whether you are eligible for Help points or not.

We are pretty much set for the first month of the Spring Series.  You can refer to your new by-laws that had been sent out a few weeks ago for more details on the different responsibilities of the PRO and weekly race chairmen.  We ask all members help keep the races running – either by assisting on committee boat or by being a weekly race chair.  With this current system, you DON’T have to live on the lake or be a pontoon boat owner.  If everyone does a stint, then no one person needs to take all the responsibility for the season.

• Spring Series:  Tuesday May 3rd to June 21st
  Summer Series:  June 28th to Sept 6th   No racing on July 5th.  
• For BOTH Spring and Summer, we will be racing Portsmouth A and Portsmouth B, with one start.  The start sequence for the first race each Tuesday is scheduled to start at 6:30 pm.
• We will be going to Brewster’s on Portage Rd for the year – unless notified otherwise.  Thank you Win for taking care of this!
• We will set the dates for the Pontoon Float Party as well as the Year – End Party during the season.  Stay tuned!
• There may be a regatta in St. Joe in September – Cesar Santana and Jesse Ward will be forming a committee of fleet members to explore this option.
• Lastly, the Saturday before the season starts, April 30th, is not going to work for a boat tuning day.  This has been rescheduled for May 7th, at 11 AM at the Austin Lake Public Access.   More info on this to follow.