April 30, 2008

Dear Grand Lake Yacht Club Members,

Another winter has passed and the (particularly deep) mountain snows are melting which means another year of Grand Lake Yacht Club Sailing School is just around the corner. As the new Sailing School Director, I am tasked with filling the rather large (figuratively) shoes of Cathy Campbell. Cathy did a terrific job and left me with all of the tools to go forward ably and adeptly. The best tools left to me are our returning Co-Head Instructors, Hilary Harrington and Nicole Ruske. I am thrilled that both of these US Sailing trained Grand Lake veterans are coming back to give us one more year of instruction before they move on to "real world" adventures. Hilary and Nicole will lead a team of returning instructors who all have US Sailing training and Grand Lake experience they are ready to impart to your sailing students. This is the most experienced, Grand Lake tested instructor team the Sailing School has ever had and promises to deliver great instruction and knowledge to your children.

The GLYC Sailing School schedule for 2008 falls nicely into the summer schedule. Our first week kicks off on July 7th, following the Fourth of July weekend. We will fill in each following week (July 14th, July 21st, and July 28th) leading up to Regatta Week 2008 beginning August 2nd. As always the school will run Monday through Thursday with a Parents/Grandparents BYO/BBQ each Thursday evening. On Fridays we will have our July Optimist York Cup series the first three weeks. Our Race Week competition will be on Saturday, August 9th with both Junior Laser Atlantic Cup racing and Optimist final races. We look forward to a great summer of learning, camaraderie, and competition that the Sailing School brings each year.

We will again be contacting our generous members who loan the Sailing School boats each year. It is important you realize how grateful we are for the use of these boats and know that we could not accomplish what we do without your generosity. We will work hard to take good care of the equipment you allow us to use and to update and upgrade the rigging and sails as the opportunities allow. There are some exciting new developments on the horizon that will provide great opportunities to acquire boats and equipment for the school. More on that as the information becomes available.

Our goal at the Grand Lake Yacht Club Sailing School is to develop the skills that lead to a life-long love of sailing and sailboat racing, particularly sailing and racing on Grand Lake, in a safe, organized, fun environment. We encourage healthy competition and sportsmanship among your children as they learn and grow into competent sailors. We greatly endorse parents and grandparents participation as cheerleaders and supporters when your sailors are on the water.

We look forward to seeing you and your sailors on the water. Good Sailing!