A BIG thank you goes out to Charlie Teat and Jesse Murphy for planning and setting a magnificent race course. The racers did take a “tour” of much of Canyon Lake. A special thanks to Bill Webb for allowing me to use his Seaward 25, Allegro, as the Race Committee boat and for assisting me with the Race Committee duties. You guys are the best race committee a girl could ever have! I also want to congratulate Terry and John O’Connor who arrived on the race course in their new Corsair 28R trimaran, Weapon of Choice. Welcome back! The third race of the regatta was abandoned due to no wind and time constraints. At the end of the day, the first place trophy for the non-spinnaker fleet was awarded to Pete Macler. The first place trophy for the cruiser fleet was awarded to John Jenson. And first place in the big boat fleet went to Jim Kizziar; with second place trophy going to Jon (and Janet) Lockhart. Congratulations to each of these skippers. The “Wild Turkey” Regatta results are elsewhere in the newsletter.

Once again Charlie Teat and Jesse Murphy handled the chase boat duties flawlessly. Thanks guys! A big thanks also to Eve & Sam Fisher for allowing us to use Carolina Babe II as the race committee boat. And a special thank you to Marty Chrisman for acting as the assistant PRO (Principal Race Officer).

Well, my one-year tour-of-duty has come to an end. A year ago I promised to devote myself to a first-class racing program and to encourage more sailors to race. The HCYC membership came through, and we awarded 29 trophies in ten regattas in 2007. (The only scheduled race that had to be cancelled this year was the “Midnight Madness” Race in July – during the period of high water). Speaking of trophies, I want to thank Jeff Walne for being the HCYC trophy captain this year. Jeff chose some of the most spectacular trophies ever awarded at Canyon Lake, and I am certain that all the winning skippers have their awards proudly displayed.

The time has come for me to pass the baton.

Marty Chrisman

I want to give special recognition to some club members who went above and beyond the call of duty to be helpful to me during this past year. There is a huge learning curve to performing this job accurately, fairly, and by the rules. First and foremost, my gratitude to Charlie Teat who taught me how to determine what racecourse to set depending upon the weather conditions, etc. Also thanks to Charlie Teat and Dick Edwards for their guidance and patience in teaching me the rules of racing and how to enforce the rules fairly; and to Bubba Horner, the master race chairman, for teaching me how to efficiently conduct a sailboat race. Of course, 2007 would not be one for the history books without the capable leadership of our Commodore, Dave Herrington. Thanks for all your support, Dave! Last but not least, I want to thank the all the HCYC and LCYC members who participated in our races.

I also want to extend my thanks to all of the power boaters who helped our racing program succeed this year. Without sailboat races we would not be a yacht club, but without the assistance of our power boaters, the sailboat races could not take place. Thank you Barry Berkovich, Beverly and Rob Henwood, Bryan Lindsey, Jesse Murphy, and Charlie Teat.

Finally, I want to thank the entire HCYC membership for allowing me to serve as your 2007 Rear Commodore for Sail. The knowledge I gained about racing and running a race is invaluable! It was an exciting, challenging, and entertaining year at Canyon Lake, and I will cherish the memories always. Jeff, Maggie, and I wish all of you the happiest of holidays and our very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2008.