A lot has happened since my last Commodore’s Corner!
August 12 - F Dock Social
Vice Commodore Sean Leengran put on his chef hat and smoked some pulled pork and grilled ribs and sides, and it was delicious! A special thanks to all who pitched in and helped make F Dock’s social a success. And of course DJ Scott, who kept us all dancing into the night!
Sept 16 - Membership Meeting & D/A Dock social
After an intense and passionate membership meeting to discuss our building lease options, our HBYC membership overwhelmingly voted in favor of the board to pursue the revised lease with SHM. Details of the lease terms can be found in the “Members Only” area.
For the social, we had a 1980’s themed Dance Party. BubbaRocks Meats provided the roasted chickens, and D-Dock prepared the sides. It was a great meal to celebrate the vote, and a great primer for singing and dancing with Venyx LTE; they were Phenomenal! We all had a blast, and thanks to killer tunes and some rainbow colored costume jackets, everyone hit the dance floor at least twice! We’re hoping to book Venyx LTE for an event next year, they were a huge hit!
Sept 23 Cigar Night was cancelled and may be rescheduled to a later date.
Cruising:
HBYC Cruising Fleet takes up Vermilion Water Works Marina. Thanks to Benjamin Lowein for drone pic!
We had many cruises this season, Kelleys Island, Middle Bass Music Festival, Extended Cruise East, Pelee, Extended Cruse West, Huron, and Vermilion. We had great food, drinks, and times at all these cruises. Thank you all who helped plan and organize these cruises and events we had. The reason to have a boat is to get out and go, and our cruising is one reason I encourage people to join, especially those new to boating, or traveling on the water to new ports. Join in with our cruises and enjoy all the great destinations with great people!
Racing:
This season has been a great one for racing, with our two Cruisers Fun Race in the Bay, our Stein Hospice Race, (which resulted in our largest donation ever given to benefit Stein Hospice), ILYA Bay Week Races, and our Cruisers Fun Race to Vermilion. The weather didn’t work out in our favor a few times, but that didn’t keep us from having a great racing season. Special thanks to Larry Hurst for all his efforts as Race Coordinator this year!
AYC:
On Sept 20th, Mike & Julie Rigot from Ottawa River Yacht Club in Toledo came to steal our burgee, as part of the AYC fun. Russ Marcks was there to exchange burgees with our new friends.
Upcoming New Board & Bridge
Our new Board was selected, This will be official at the Winter Rendezvous. - but they are the ones to ask about 2024 plans. 😇 New positions/roles are designated with an asterisk (*)
Welcome the Bridge and Officers of 2024
*Commodore: Jessie Homer
*Vice Commodore: Sean Leegran
*Rear Commodore: Benjamin Lowien
Past Commodore: Rick Billheimer
Trustee: Brian Homer
Trustee: John Liederbach
*Trustee: Chris Malott
*Trustee: Mark Phillips
Secretary: Janice Hearst
*Treasurer: Ken Smith
*Social: Carla Smith
Cruise Director: Marianne Eggett
Racing Director: Larry Hurst - but we are searching for another to carry these duties!
Building Chair: Nick Lewis
Membership Chair: Sharon Meszaros
Webmaster: Chris Malott
I-LYA Liaison: Larry Hurst
AYC delegates: Rick Billheimer, Brain Homer
*Ship’s Stores Coordinator: Karissa Kubacki
*Blue Gavel: Rick Billheimer - unless I see hands to volunteer!
Save the Dates
Feb 2-4 HBYC Winter Rendezvous - Sawmill Creek Resort, Huron Ohio. - This event is for our official “Changing of the Watch” for the club. Friday night is a social night, and Saturday is our formal ceremony/dinner celebration. This event is a great one to help break those “Winter Blues” and hang out with your HBYC friends! More details to follow.
Feb 16-18 AYC Ball - Detroit MI. - The Associated Yacht Clubs put on one heck of a party for their annual ball. HBYC will have a limited # of tickets. More details to follow.
We are starting to haul out and the 2024 plans are getting started for next year. Docks are already being reserved for some of our cruises. Some AYC clubs are planning trips to visit us for next summer. It's going to be a great, maybe even a “24K Golden” year in ‘24!
Rick Billheimer, HBYC Commodore 2023
“Believe in 23!”