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Date: 9/2/2024
Subject: September Mainsheet
From: Grande Maumelle Sailing Club



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Commodores Corner – September 2024

by Mary Michaels

 

With Labor Day officially behind us and the summer winding down, we turn our attention to a busy fall at our club. Please be sure to visit our GMSC Website to see upcoming events and join in on the fun!  

 

Proud Moment for GMSC- Hosting the Championship of Champions!

 

In partnership with US Sailing, GMSC is hosting one of the most prestigious regattas in the United States, the Championship of Champions! Check out our landing page on the website for helpful information: GMSC.org/champions

 

The CoC regatta is scheduled for October 2-6, 2024 (races October 4-6). Hosting this regatta is an honor and a privilege for our club, presenting an opportunity to showcase the stunning beauty of Lake Maumelle and all that makes our club special. 

 

Background: The Championship of Champions (“CoC”) brings together up to twenty competitors who  have demonstrated exceptional skill and achievement by becoming the current national North American or World champions of their respective classes as well as one mystery guest!  The race determines who is the CHAMPION amongst the champions!  

 

Our CoC Committee, led by Drew Daugherty, has done a phenomenal job planning the event – from finding sponsors, to planning every meal, lining up a first-class race committee, sourcing 20 Y-Flyer boats, and finding housing for the sailors. This will be a moment for our club to be to be proud and show these champions what a fantastic club and lake we have! 

 

If you are interested in getting involved in this event, here are ways you can help:

  • Provide housing for a competitor: We have strong demand from the racers to stay in homes versus hotels. If you have a spare bedroom and are interested, please contact Nicole Class Moore, who is our CoC housing coordinator. Not only is it fun to have a world-class sailor stay with you – you do not have to provide ANY meals!All of that is taken care of out at the club.
  • Help get our club in ship-shape – we are scheduling a clean-up day (stay tuned for info).In the meantime, make sure you slip, boat, trailer, the grounds in general, etc are clean and tidy.
  • Volunteer at the event – reach out to Drew if you are interested in assisting. There will be specific jobs from launching boats, assisting with spectators, serving meals, etc
  • Host breakfast one morning at the clubhouse

 

Racing Updates

We are now in the second series for Centerboard racing!  A big thank you to Jon Claas, who is running the races for the 2024 Centerboard season, as well as Greg Hamilton, who continues to coordinate RC volunteers and program needs. 

 

Racing is the lifeblood of our club and I would like to encourage all members to serve on the Race Committee.  Being on RC is fun, allows more racers to be on the starting line and provides a terrific opportunity to enjoy the lake and comraderie with fellow members! Race Committee Details and SIGN UP

 

Around the Club

You may have noticed that we have a new GMSC Sign!  Gone is the old faded one, replaced by a new bright GMSC sign on Highway 10 thanks to Jeff Olm!

 

Neil Jones has continued to perfect our website, adding a MARKETPLACE section, which includes classified ads for sailing gear you may want to sell or buy. Additionally, members are always inquiring about buying GMSC gear and now through the apparel site, Neil has made that easy. I just did a little early Christmas shopping! 

 

Save the Date:

 

Please mark your calendars for two important upcoming events! 

 

One of the highlights of the season will be the Fall Ball, scheduled for November 16 at the Marriot Hotel downtown. This promises to be a fantastic event where we will have a delicious meal overlooking the river, enjoy music, and celebrate our award winners.

 

Additionally, we will have our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at the Whole Hog in Riverdale. During this meeting, we will provide club updates and elect new flag officers. It is a fantastic opportunity to get involved and stay informed about the club's direction.

 

Get Involved!

 

GMSC is a volunteer run club, and we need all our members to make it be the best it can be!  If you are interested in a position on our board or serving on a committee, please reach out to me. I would love to discuss opportunities, large and small, with you!

 

If you are interested in a Flag Officer position, please reach out to Drew Daugherty, who is leading our nominating committee.

 

Thanks to all of you for making GMSC such a wonderful club!  I look forward to seeing you on the lake or at an upcoming event!

 

MM


Labor Day Regatta
 
GMSC hosted another great LD Regatta. Aside from racing, the Saturday night meal was a highlight - with Ben Guise making his famous peppercorn sauce, John Easby-Smith and Marshall Meggars serving as grill masters and Sherri Jo, Drew, Heidi, Tracy and Nicole making the twice baked potatoes!  As always, a big thank you to our regatta chair Roger O'Quinn and race committee led by Jon Claas and Greg Hamilton. 
 
Congratulations to the fleet winners!  

Y-Flyer National Championship

 

During the week of July 26-28, the Y-Flyer fleet had the opportunity to travel to Lake Carlisle in Carlisle, Illinois for the Y-Flyer National Regatta. We traveled with a fleet of five boats to compete among the 33 boats. Over the next three days, we had a wonderful time filled with exhilarating racing and great camaraderie.

 

Day one saw some shifty conditions during both races. Our stand-out performers on day one were Jeff Rodgers and Lisa Parker who ended the day with a 5 and 6. 

 

Day two saw some light but shifty sailing with Mark and Jill Barton having a great day finishing with a 4 and 10 which moved them up from 14th to 9th. Also moving up in the standings were Drew and Andrew Daugherty. 

 

The third and final day saw two hard-fought races with multiple changes in the course done by the race committee. Again, the major mover was Mark and Jill moving up another two spots. Mark and Jeff finished the regatta tied for 7th. Mark won the tiebreaker to claim 7th. 

 

At the end of the three days: Tracy Sykes & SherryJo McLemore finished 28th, Ben Guise and Kevin McKee finished 20th, Drew and Andrew Daugherty finished 12th, Jeff Rodgers & Lisa Parker finished 8th, and Mark Barton & Jill Barton finished 7th with the fastest wooden boat. As a whole, we all sailed well given the conditions we had. We came away with the top fleet award and our very own Tracy Sykes was elected Y-Flyer class president for 2025.

 

We would like to thank Carlisle Sailing and all the volunteers for putting on a wonderful regatta filled with six great races as well as off-the-water events, including the retirement party for Paul White, 35 years as class secretary. 

 

We all had a wonderful time and had the chance to see old friends and make new ones. The three days were a learning experience for all of us, and we are looking forward to the next Y-Flyer Nationals. In the meantime, we are preparing the boats to be used in the Champion of Champions. 


Sailing Education and Classes
Our Adult Intro to Sailing class on September 20th & 21st is full with lots of prospective members and new members!

 
Tiller Time is every Wednesday beginning about 5 pm. We have added a couple of new classes to the event calendar.

New Opportunities to Learn
Members only, that have attended the Intro to Sailing class and need more sailing skill development, sign up for the "Sailing Skills Development" class on 9/24 & 9/25. We will put 2 or 1 persons in a boat with a trainer. We will work to find trainers as needed so please sign up!

Members and non-members - do you want to crew on a keelboat this season and already have some familiarity with sailboats? Then sign up for our "Learn to Crew" class on 10/12. We need crews in both A and B fleet. If you are interested in being a sub, that is fine also because we always need subs. Take this opportunity to get more comfortable crewing on a keelboat. 
Links are below:
 
 

Membership Updates; Welcome to our New Members

Membership update covers this spring & summer.  Welcome to our new members! If you see them, say hello and ask the associates to crew for you!

Regular Members:
Drew & Kathy Hartwell and children Jackson & Briana. They join with a Vanguard 420
Brett & Melissa Trelfa and children Ella & Jack.  They join with a Nolex 30 on D dock and a Hobie 20.

Phillip & Erika Warriner.  Purchased Kirt Simmons Catalina 27 and slip C2. 

Paul & Brenda Pick.  Purchased the C&C 26 and slip D18 from Don Flegal and Steve Beck. 

 
Associate members:
Jonathan & Katelyn Nigus
Dr. Corey Scott and wife Rachel Wooten and children Holden (19) and Lucy (12) and Emma Murphy (25) 
Steve Burnett
Alejandro & Megan Hunter Patt
Austin Reitz
Aaron & Rachel Breitweiser
Kim Holder
Dalton Holder
JP Paul
Daniel & Vanessa White
 
We say farewell to Todd Kaschmitter, Brian Bauer, Shelby Ballew & family, Audrey Deleporte & Christophe Masson Sibut, Richard & Libby Schneider, Pat O'Donnell, Dana Klisanin, Gabriel Gifford & Maria Gomez, and Dennis Thomas.



“Hello from the Hunter Patt family! We are both excited to be new members of the sailing club. Alejandro is a certified flight instructor and Meg is in her second year of medical school. We both enjoy being outdoors and watching movies with our 3 cats and dog. We are excited to venture into the world of sailing and look forward to getting to know everyone.” - Meg and Alejandro 


Upcoming Events

September 15 - Centerboard Race
September 20, 21 - Adult Intro to Sailing class
September 24 & 25 - Sailing Skills Development class
September 29 - Centerboard Race
October 2-6 - US Sailing Championship of Champions Regatta
October 13 - Centerboard Race
October 17 - GMSC Annual Meeting at Whole Hog BBQ
October 26 & 27 - Centerboard Championship
November 16 - Fall Ball
 
Reminder: Tiller Time is Every Wednesday

Race Committee Support Volunteer Sign-Up Reminder

Please sign-up for specific dates using this link Volunteering and join the fun and support our racing program.
For more information on the race committee, please see the Race Committee page of our website.

You can also now quickly get to the link by clicking "Volunteering" on the "Volunteer" tab on the home page of our website. 

Looking for GMSC merch, check out the new apparel site and show off your GMSC pride.  

Looking for a Boat or Sailing Stuff?


Visit our website page and see GMSC Marketplace


Get the Full Website Experience

 

If you have not logged into our new website and activated your user account, do not miss the benefits.   The site is easy to use, and we would like for you to ensure that your information in our directory is current and give you access to the directory for ease of finding contact information of fellow members.  Also, this is the most convenient way to register and pay for club events.   Please go to the Login Page link below and then click "Forgot My Username/Password" to get your password reset.

 


Grande Maumelle Sailing Club is a non-profit organization formed to promote sailboat racing through educational, social, and competitive racing activities.

Please visit our website to find out more about our events and volunteer opportunities.

Mailing Address: PO Box 55237, Little Rock, AR 72215 USA

Physical Address: 12000 Maumelle Harbour Road, Roland, AR 72135 USA