Hello again from the Hat.

As I write this from the balcony outside my condo it is currently 68 degrees (I've had to change this number three times already) and there isn't a cloud to be found. Spring is here and I can almost smell bottom paint and boat wax. Sailing season is coming up soon folks and the Officers and Board Members have been working hard to make this the best season we can for you.

As promised in the last "news" we have set up a PayPal® account for CYC and many members have paid their dues easily and conveniently using it. We will make this simple and secure process available for all upcoming events from Regattas, to T-shirts, to dinners, parties and more. So in the future save yourself a stamp and pay with your own credit card through PayPal.

In the survey we asked you to participate in during January and February, many of you asked that we do something to improve the old Commodore's Cup Regatta. And we did. In fact, we've eliminated it all together in favor of starting a new tradition at the Lake called the Carlyle Cup Regatta. It's now a two-day event again and we plan on promoting it throughout the region with posters created by our own in-house artist, Tom Aquino. More news about this will be forthcoming, but circle the dates of June 19th and 20th if you'd like to participate in racing, helping out with the party, Race Committee or simply would like to come crew with one of the many boats we hope will attend.

And speaking of the survey, we will be publishing the summary of the results of it in a couple of weeks. 1852 answers from 100 participants gave us a lot to think about and we want to have suggestions as to what we as officers can do with some of your requests before we submit it to the membership.

If you haven't already paid your club dues, please either do so on line or by sending the completed membership form from the club website to John Grunlee.

The complete club calendar is posted on this site and, with the exception of a heart safety class being sponsored by Tradewinds Yacht Club in May, it is accurate. We will alert you to any changes if they come up but we really don't expect many, if any.

We have been working on finding new venues for the Holiday Party and will ask you to choose one of several when we've made the final cut. So please be on the lookout for that survey as we need to decide where you want to have the party sooner than later. Thanks for all your help, Linda Aquino!

Again, we are going to be aggressively promoting club membership this year and those who haven't already, can help by sending in your membership form and by asking those folks in boats on your dock to join as well. We will have a membership booth and more at the spring tune up event.

And finally there have been two delightful events at the Lake already this year and if you missed them it was your bad. I can say that because I had never been to either of these events before and didn't have a clue as to what I was missing. The Mardi Gras party in February was fun, tasty, and a good reason to be a member of CYC. It reminded me of what a great bunch of folks are in the club -racers and cruisers alike, who came together for socializing with those who have one common passion - sailing. Same with the Burn Your Socks Party in March. If for some reason you think you don't know many people in the club you owe it to yourself to come to these events. Good food, good company, terrific hospitality and a really good time. Thanks to Barb Uhlman and those thankless volunteers who helped her with both of these events. See you at both of those events next year.

So, here's to a wonderful, safe, and fun year of sailing this year for all. See you in the boat yard and then on the lake!

Steve Puckett
2010 Carlyle Yacht Club Commodore