From the Helm
Review of the Fleet Marks Official Start of 2017 Season
The Commodore Says: Appear at the 2017 Review of the Fleet
What is a Review of the Fleet? It is the official start of the 2017 boating season. Every yacht club has it in one form or another. Ours is Saturday, June 10, this year. Officers, Past Commodores and Flag Officers are expected to wear blues and whites. Invited guests and members are encouraged to do so also. Deceased members are remembered, a wreath is taken to the Bell Buoy, Club officials and guests are introduced, cannons are fired, boats are reviewed starting at 3 p.m. and food served starting at 5 p.m. This year our Club is offering Pig Roast & Herb Roasted Chicken for $16, $13 in advance, with discounts for the little ones.
YOU ARE COMMANDED TO APPEAR!!! Gather your family, friends and crew and attend. If you don’t attend, you will have to put your boat away for this year and spend another three months in WINTER.
Time for a New Fence
Now is the perfect time for a new fence. The parking lot will look NEW, our SSYC Club House looks NEW but our surrounding fence looks OLD. Grounds Director Gary Johnson has obtained quotes and has renderings showing what a new fence would look like. The looks are GOOD and the cost isn’t BAD. For that reason, the Board is seeking a special assessment not to exceed $35,000 at the June General Membership meeting. (See related article and photo, just below.) Staining or painting the existing fence would, in my opinion, just be fooling ourselves, and repairing or replacing the fence later could make us liable for damages to newly installed County landscaping.
Parking Lot Project
Slip Director Greg Gaitens and his team have been putting in “overtime” representing our Club’s interests with the parking lot project. Many, many meetings, phone calls and emails have been made with the County, engineers and construction crews working on the endeavor, in order to keep us up to date on the project and make sure South Shore Yacht Club's voice was heard when the opportunity arose . Give Greg a “thumbs up” when you see him.
Bell Buoy Memorial
The Bell Buoy Memorial is now on our website. Paul Bargren, our Publications Director has posted it at the Members Section http://www.ssyc.org/green-buoy-memorial It will be updated monthly. Please send the Names, DOB and DOD of the people that are interred and you want listed to me at
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Grounds
Assessment for New Fence Will be Sought at June Meeting
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| This rendering shows the new paneled vinyl/steel fence proposed as replacement for the current wooden fence.
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The Board of Directors will seek approval at the June 15 General Membership meeting for a modern and durable paneled vinyl/steel fence to replace the aging wooden fence around the Club grounds. Specifically, the Board is recommending a special assessment not to exceed $35,000 for the project, which works out to about $70 per active member. Notices went out to all members earlier.
Grounds Director Gary Johnson recommended the work be done by A to Z Quality Fencing, based on bids he obtained. The assessment covers the bid cost plus incidentals. Member payment would be due August 1.
As background, the Board learned that the poor condition of the current fence requires repair now. The County will complete construction of the new parking lot by June 30, and landscaping will be finished at about the same time, including grading and plantings along the fence. The Club fence will require replacement soon in any event, and if the Club replaces the fence later and damages the County’s landscaping, the Club will be liable for the cost of replacing the landscaping. The proper time to replace the fence is in connection with the County's parking lot completion.
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2017 Queen's Cup Race
Less Than Three Weeks Until Queen's Cup Gun Sounds
 By Jerry Kedziora
Special Events Chair
The 2017 Queen’s Cup Race is less than three weeks away. We have nearly 100 boats signed up for this year’s Queen’s Cup Race.
It would be great to see more SSYC boats register for this year’s race. SSYC boats are very competitive and are typically successful in the Queen’s Cup Race. Quite a few SSYC boats placed in last year’s race including Hobgoblin, Blue, Ode to Joy, Heat Wave and Rogue.
This year’s race is going to finish in South Haven, which hosted the finish for the 2015 Race. It’s a great place and the South Haven team has a number of great events planned.
SSYC also has some great events planned. On Wednesday we will be featuring a steel drum band and rum tasting, and as usual we are planning a great party Thursday night that besides a popular band will also include more rum tasting.
As a reminder, for those of you who have not yet registered, your entry should be postmarked by Monday, June 12, to avoid the $50 late fee. We will not be accepting any entries after June 19. The race will be on June 23, and we are planning mid-afternoon starts.
Join the fun and get your competitive juices flowing. For those of you that have never sailed in a Queen’s Cup Race it’s a great opportunity to learn and experience what offshore distance racing is all about, meet new friends and have stories to share when you get back.
Please support our great sponsors: North Sails, Harken, Forespar, Mount Gay Rum and Pirates Lair. In addition, the SSYC Auxiliary will once again be selling tee shirts, hats and other great stuff.
For questions or race documents, look under the Queen’s Cup tab on our website. Or contact me at or 414-218-7076.
If you don’t register you may miss a good race.
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Power Boaters
 Try Thursdays Under the Tent
By George Graubner
Rear Commodore
The Under the Tent series sponsored by the Power Boaters started off in great fashion. Ed Halhbeck did a great job setting everything up. A big thank you needs to go to the group that helped him with Italian Night, including Russ & Mary Berg and Leo & Sue Wagner.
Coming up next is the Chili Dump & Flare Shoot on Thursday, June 8. Dispose of your old flares by shooting them off safely. Mike Wiedel and Craig Lake will be there to help those who may need assistance. Also enjoy some of the Club's great chili. I understand that there will be a variety of types. For $8, you get all you can eat chili and Italian bread, and a glass of wine, beer or soda.
At our Power Boater meeting May 24, we discussed a number of topics. These included the upcoming SSYC/LYMA open house July 7-9. We will again have the flea market and our Auction as important aspects of promoting the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Milwaukee. We will be raffling a grill, TV, wine basket, and liquor basket. Your SSYC Grill Team will be preparing the famous Ham Scramblers for breakfast, and lunch will have a great selection of hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken breasts to choose from. Of course the evening with be wrapped up with the annual steak dinner and music for dancing. There will be more information to come later.
One other aspect that came up at the meeting was possibly changing the venue for the Gambling Getaway. Stay tuned for any additional changes.
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Juniors
Juniors' Season Swings into High Gear
There's a lot happening with the Juniors as the sailing season swings into gear. Here's an update.
The Parking Spot Raffle is SOLD OUT. The drawing will take place after the Review of the Fleet.
The Juniors have new fundraiser items for sale. A Mini First Aid Kit that fits in the navigation station or glove department is $5, and a Coffee Mug with a bell bottom design is $15. These will be on sale at the Review of the Fleet.
The May 14 Mother’s Day Brunch was a success. Some 120 adults and 21 children enjoyed a fantastic brunch prepared by Chef Sam and his staff. Thank yous go to the full crew of adults and Juniors who volunteered. A special thank you to Jo Randerson for all the preplanning and organization for Mother’s Day.
The Juniors participated in the Grounds Clean Up this past weekend. After the event, boats were assembled for the upcoming season.
The Juniors will be sailing each Tuesday with the Lightning Fleet. They will also compete in the upcoming District Championships in June.
The SSYC Juniors program was exhibited at the Trowbridge School of Discovery and Technology in May. Kay Putney represented the SSYC Juniors at this Community Event.
Upcoming Dates for a Busy June:
o June 10: Review of the Fleet – Parking Raffle Drawing
o June 12: Sail Lessons Start
o June 14 - 17: Boat Safety clinic. We’ll have about 15-20 kids at this course put on by the Coast Guard. Not all are members, so this is good Community relations for the Club.
o June 17 -19: Lightning Midwest Regatta
o June 26: Lake Beulah Regatta (Optis)
o June 28-29: Wente Cup/2017 Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation Youth Championship, Sheridan Shores Yacht Club: All boats
o June 30-July 2: Chicago Race Week (All Chicago Yacht Clubs) - 420s, Optis, and Lasers
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Slips
 Safety Reminders for Slips
By Greg Gaitens
Slips Director
With boats in the water and occupying the slips it’s good time to remind members both old and new about dock safety. Please keep the docks and finger piers clear of lines, dock boxes, steps, ladders, water hoses and electrical cords. Our finger piers are only two feet wide which is all the more reason to avoid trip hazards and attaching things to the top of the finger piers.
Please be considerate of your dock neighbors by assuring your wave boards, ladders and steps, pulled up for the Winter, have been installed or removed to allow unrestricted access of the finger pier.
Please be aware that SSYC’s insurance provider requires that only marine shore power cords be used on the docks and slips. A 30A, 50' cord, is by far the most common cord in the U.S. The contacts on the plug will only fit one way into the receptacle, which prevents polarity problems and also provides a secure connection when the plug is twisted slightly clockwise. The use of a non-marine extension cord as a shore power cord, adapted to the electrical pedestal outlet, is not allowed.
This is the only kind of cord allowed
If you have any questions about your slip as received or appropriate wave board construction, please contact me or the office. Relying on well-intentioned Club Members for advice and direction can often lead to the dissemination of incorrect information.
The slip committee welcomes volunteers for future Slip Committee work parties. If you would like to support your club through the Slip Committee work parties, and are not already on the email distribution list, please let me know. I can be reached via email at or on my cell phone (414)232-5758.
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Waterfront Services
From "Boat Yard" to Yacht Club
Watching our Club transform from a "boat yard" to a yacht club is always an exciting time of the year. This year we were met with a few more challenges than normal. The parking lot rebuilding meant fewer parking spots, a different location for dumpsters, and not having the ability to move skids to the "skid lot". The members met the challenges and were patient and cooperative.
Thank you to all the members who helped with the docks, tender, and other Waterfront Services work parties. Our Club would not function if it weren't for our many dedicated Members who volunteer their time and talents each year.
Tender is Running
The tender is up and running. It has passed the United States Coast Guard five year inspection. The tender was also surveyed in the spring and showed no areas of weakness in the hull. All good news.
High Demand, Limited Space for Storage
Please note – as reported earlier -- that the Club will be creating a seniority list for fall storage. Owners who stored on the grounds in 2016-17 will be added to the list. Members who did NOT store their boats during 2016-17 and want to be added to the list MUST contact the office by the end of June. The 86 members with the most seniority will receive storage contracts.
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House Committee
 You've Got that Boating Feeling!
By Craig Depies
House Committee Chair
Boating season has started, and it’s time to truly enjoy one of the main reasons you are a member of the Club. I understand there are several Members who have not arranged to get their membership cards. Why? Without the card, entering the Club is more of a challenge, and you will not be allowed to house charge. Please call the office at 414-481-2331 today and arrange to get your card.
We have a nice facility and beautiful view of the water and the city skyline. The bar is a great place to bring friends and potential members. The club does not post hours of closing because we want to offer flexibility to our Members. It is cost prohibitive for the club to be open at late hours with no Members in the bar. This common sense approach helps hold down dues. If you are planning to go to the club after 10 p.m., please give a quick call to insure the bar is open.
Anodyne house blend coffee will be featured in the bar beginning Saturday, June 10. The House Committee members did some taste testing and found this one a nice blend to start with. The cost for coffee will not change at the bar. Milwaukee is full of great coffee purveyors, so we may switch them up from time to time. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
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| The House Committee says, "Keep it classy, SSYC!" |
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From the GM
June is a Great Start to Summer
Greetings,
In spite of the ongoing parking lot construction, we are having a great spring. Thanks to all of our loyal Members for supporting SSYC.
Music , Music , Music
This summer will feature some great live entertainment for Members and guests.
June 10 - Review of the Fleet with Pig Roast and music by Hat Trick
June 17 - New Revue
June 21 - Caribbean Night featuring island music from Pangaea, great food and a Mount Gay Lounge
June 22 - The Annual Queen's Cup Party with a Pig Roast and music by Generation Z. More details to follow.
July will showcase Bluegrass, Jazz and the Blues on selected evenings. Details to follow.
August 12 is Corn Roast Time
This is just a sampling of events.
Don't miss out on the fun; it is going to be a great summer!!!
Quiet, Please
On a serious note, please respect your fellow slip holders by limiting music volume after 10 p.m.
We have already had several complaints and continued violations can lead to board action.
Pat
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Membership
New Members Join Club
Four new Active Members were accepted by the Board of Directors at its May meeting. They are Dennis Dostie, Robert Menger, Tim Overmyer and Brandon Holton.
Membership By The Numbers:
Active Members – 486
Applications Received - 16
Associate I – 6
Associate II - 7
Life Members – 174
Non-Resident - 87
Life Surviving Spouse – 44
Active to Non-Resident – 1
Resignations: 1 Active
As reported earlier, Past Commodore Royce Komor died recently.
Open Houses in April and May attracted good crowds and resulted in a number of applications, TRY memberships and indications of interest. A "bring-a-friend" event is being planned for a Wednesday night this summer in connection with SS-SSS.
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Parking Lot
As Parking Lot Enters Final Phase, Inconvenience Continues
By Jerry Kedziora and Greg Gaitens
Directors
The Club is now fully immersed in the 2017 boating season at the same time as the County and its contractors are fully engaged in the parking lot construction project. As we reported earlier, there was going to come a time in the project where SSYC members were going to be inconvenienced.
Now is that time.
As the updated schedule posted at ssyc.org shows, the June 30 completion date has not changed, and the overall project remains on schedule.
However, the most recent work included paving the lot with its initial under-layer and pouring the concrete entry way at the Club’s main gate and dumpster gate. Until the main gate concrete fully cures, Members will need to use the old North gate near the junior clubhouse for a few more days.
The new parking lot design includes eight traffic islands and three bio filtration areas. We’ll need to watch out for these, because the traffic flow is going to be slightly different than before. Overall, the new design is going to be quite an improvement over the old parking lot. There will be more efficient lighting and there will be plantings including trees on the islands.
One of the drawbacks to the new design is that we are going to lose parking spaces. The old design had about 247 spaces. The engineers count 209 spaces in the new design. They had originally offered the same number of spaces, but they would have been narrower, and the Club suggested the wider spaces be kept to allow easier unloading and pedestrian traffic.
With the reduction in spaces, it’s important that members and their guests park carefully. Members should keep their guests and crews informed.
There are still going to be some challenges to Club access before June 30, because the lot still needs the final layer of asphalt to complete the final paving, and then the lot will be striped. According to the latest schedule, final paving and striping will be completed sometime in mid-June. In the meantime try and park in neat rows and please don’t block anyone in. Until the lot is striped, please take only as much room as you need. Sloppy and careless parking will further reduce the number of spaces. Being considerate will help the parking situation and maximize the number of cars that can park in the lot.
We will continue to go to the construction meetings held every week and will continue to keep members informed according to the weekly schedule we get from the contractor and Milwaukee County. In the meantime, think of a parking space just like a slip when you pull in: keep it in the middle.
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Fleets - LMSRF
Register Now for the LMSRF Area II Championship
  The Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation has finalized their list of qualifying races for their Area 2 Boat of hte Year chanpionhip, and it includes three SSYC races!
They are: The Queen's Cup, the Commodore's Regatta and the Port Washington Race.
Click here for the official entry form.
The entry deadline is June 15. There is no entry fee.
If you need assistance contact the LMSRF Area II Vice Commodore, Eric Jones, , 920.938.2233, or the LMSRF Office.
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Fleets - SS-SSS
SS-SSS Starts the 2017 Season
Wednesday nights mean the South Shore-Social Sailing Series fleet is racing at South Shore Yacht Club. The first races were May 31, a warm night with flat water and a good if gusty breeze. Bruce Nason photos.
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Fleets - SASS
SASS Season Begins
The Saturday Afternoon Sailing Series entered its second year on June 3, sailing in two divisions on its fixed course in connection with the Skelding Series. Eight boats competed in two divisions. Results (and skippers):
Division 1
1. Nature's Touch (David)
2. Reckless Abandon (Pease)
3. Snowball's Chance (Ernst)
4. Jolene (Jones)
5. Sanity Check (Griffith)
Division 2
1. Odyssey (Gaitens)
2. Chance (Kraus)
3. MasTakeela (Bushman)
Detailed results are here.
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Fleets - MBOS
Skelding Series Launches 2017 MBOS Season
Thirteen skippers and crew from South Shore Yacht Club and Milwaukee Yacht Club answered the gun for the two-race Skelding Series on Saturday, June 3, beginning the 2017 Milwaukee Bay Offshore Series. The end of the day found MYC's Hooligan atop Division 1 and Bounder from SSYC leading Division 2. Find detailed results here.
Skelding Series Summary (with tiebreakers applied):
PHRF Division 1
PHRF Division 2
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Clean-up Day
Cleaning Up the Winter Grime
Seniors, Juniors and everyone in between volunteered at the Club on May 25 to wash, sweep, garden and generally get the grounds shipshape for the 2017 season. Club Photographer Bruce Nason recorded the activity (and, as the second photo shows) was part of the work crew, too.
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USCGA
Safety Inspections June 10
The US Coast Guard Auxiliary will offer voluntary Boat Safety Inspections from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 10, before the Review of the Fleet.
Coffee and donuts will be available to participants.
Boat owners are reminded to have their valid boat registrations and current dated flares on board. Both are common causes of a "didn't pass."
Call Erv Bluemner at 414-425-2479 with any questions.
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Membership
New Members Join Club
Four new Active Members were accepted by the Board of Directors at its May meeting. They are Dennis Dostie, Robert Menger, Tim Overmyer and Brandon Holton.
Membership By The Numbers:
Active Members – 486
Applications Received - 16
Associate I – 6
Associate II - 7
Life Members – 174
Non-Resident - 87
Life Surviving Spouse – 44
Active to Non-Resident – 1
Resignations: 1 Active
As reported earlier, Past Commodore Royce Komor died recently.
Open Houses in April and May attracted good crowds and resulted in a number of applications, TRY memberships and indications of interest A "bring-a-friend" event is being planned for a Wednesday night this summer in connection with SS-SSS.
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