July 2021 Short Tacks

STAMFORD YACHT CLUB

SHORT TACKS JULY 2021

41° 1’ 46” N

73° 31’ 47” W

COMMODORE’S CORNER Greetings, I hope this note finds you well and enjoying the summer season at SYC. The return to normalcy in both our daily routines and Club life has been a welcome respite from the past year. Over the last several weeks the Club has once again resumed its place at the center of our social, sailing and racquet pursuits, all of which I believe are encouraging signs of good things to come.

As I indicated last month, demand for member dining remains strong, particularly on weekends and catering revenue continues to tick upwards. Our tennis programs are in full swing and interest in Pickleball has skyrocketed. Jr Programs are now fully underway with a record number of participants and member interest in sailing lessons, Ideal 18 certification and use of the Club owned Ideal 18’s has soared. All of which is to say, that summer life at SYC as we remember it, has returned in full.

In June I noted that even with the positive trends, there remains one industry challenge SYC, along with other clubs and restaurants in the Northeast still face, and that is a general labor shortage. The continuation of Federal COVID unemployment benefits through September has created a short fall in the work force and resulted in a very competitive hiring environment, particularly in the restaurant and bar industry.

I mention this only as a gentle reminder to please be patient when you visit the Club. The labor shortage has impacted many of our teams. With a significant number of new staff coming onboard in the past month we will experience a period of adjustment as everyone gets up to speed. Please know that our Executive team is working hard to address this situation and we will continue to fill gaps where needed during the coming weeks.

Earlier this spring, I spoke of my commitment to deliver a framework for a long-term strategic plan that will help ensure SYC maintains it prestigious and desirable reputation over the course of the next decade. Our long-term viability is dependent on meeting the needs and desires of a discriminating membership. In recent years, many private clubs have engaged industry consultants and architectural firms to help develop these strategic plans to ensure

they remain relevant to their existing membership and highly desirable to prospective members. Among them are Riverside, Noroton, Larchmont, Belle Haven, Nantucket Yacht Club, Woodway and Wee Burn among many others.

We will kick off the first stage later this month as the Board engages with the McMahon Group, a leading consultant in the private club sector, to develop and field a quantitative/qualitative member wide survey. The survey will help us better understand our current members views, what they seek from their club experience and most importantly gather direct input about SYC’s future programs and facilities. Working with the McMahon Group will afford us an opportunity to ascertain directional trends within the private club community, determine how best to enhance our member experience and provide your Board of Directors guidance on future long term capital planning around programs and infrastructure needs. The survey will be launched later this summer and I would encourage everyone to take the time to participate so your voices are heard.

July will be a busy month with many great events. We kick off this weekend with Family Fun Day on July 4th, Junior Blue Water on the 11th, Men’s Tennis Member Guest on the 18th, Margarita Night on the 23rd, Havana Night on the 24th and our traditional Port Jeff Rendezvous on July 31st.

With so many activities on tap, I would encourage you to make a reservation, gather your friends and join us at these upcoming events as they are sure to be a wonderful way of enjoying the warm summer days. I look forward to seeing you around the club and wish everyone a very Happy 4th!

Best Regards, John N. Hillhouse Commodore

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Please join me in welcoming the following new members to the SYC community.

Suzanne Malloy Zaleski Admissions Chair WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS! Stephen and Tina DeVoe Active Stamford, CT

Jim and Susan Kwik Active Stamford, CT

Eddie and Stacey Kreinik Active Stamford, CT

Brian Levine and Ellen Hamilton Active Stamford, CT

Caroline Simmons and Arthur Linares Intermediate Stamford, CT Theresa Cassidy and Peter Cholakis Active Stamford. CT Scott Karpf and Victoria Khazzam Active Stamford, CT Michael and Elizabeth Kmetzo Intermediate Stamford, CT

Adrian Pappas Intermediate Stamford, CT Spenser Sussan Intermediate Los Angeles, CA

from the house Dear Fellow Members, If you have been at the Club recently, you will have noticed that our entire campus is bustling with activity, and it’s a wonderful sight. We hope you also take note of some of our subtle, and not so subtle improvements, like the new fencing along the front walkway.

It has been encouraging to see the faces of so many new members around the Club. Be sure to introduce yourself and offer a warm SYC welcome when you do.

In high season, we also welcome our SYC junior members for camp and summer programming. They are our future athletes and leaders and we are proud of them. At times, however, the enthusiasm and carefreeness of youth does pose challenges, and we respectfully remind the parents of all junior members, not just those in our junior programs, of our junior behavior policy when on Club grounds.

If any of you have any concerns or questions, please direct them to house@stamfordyc.com.

Many of our popular summer events are available for registration on the SYC website or through Member Services. For these, be sure to reserve in advance, as well as dining, as we have been fortunate to see members turning out in record numbers so far this season.

For the young crowd, there’s the return of Junior Bluewaters and Tennis Under the Lights. For our adult members, the month of July brings Margarita Night, Havana Night, Cannon Cup and the Port Jefferson Pursuit Race and Rendezvous, just to name a few.

It’s a good time to be a member of SYC—I hope you agree!

Sincerely, John M. Greifzu, Jr. House Chairman

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Sailing Updates Women’s Sailing Fridays Join SYC Women's Sailing for a summer of fun on the Sound! Never sailed? No problem! We'll teach you. Expert sailor? Great! You can mentor or simply enjoy an awesome group of women on the water. Fridays are flexible - come every week or as often as you can.

Friday program: 1000-1300 Chalk Talk & Sail 1300 Lunch on the Vineyard Deck & Debrief

Weekend Series Racing & BBQ new friday format Register on Yacht Scoring today for SYC's Weekend Series of races! All experience levels meet on the line for fun, competitive racing in spinnaker and nonspinnaker divisions.

Racers and crew enjoy a post-race BBQ on the lawn. Best deal on the Sound!

Join us for the entire series or just a few races. Sail for the Weekend Series Trophy (requires participation in half the races run plus one and active PHRF certificates required for eligibility) and Stamford Cup eligibility. Are trophies not your thing? Then just come out for the fun of it!

Friday July 9 @ 1830 Friday August 6 @ 1830 Friday August 27 @ 1830

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Sailing Updates Stamford Overnight Race

Friday, August 20, 2021

Register on Yacht Scoring today for the 2021 Stamford Overnight Race! Get your crew in shape for the Vineyard Race. This club favorite starts Friday evening, August 20. Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, Double Handed. Last year's fleet was the largest in over ten years. See you on the line!

Ideal 18 One Design Series Competitive weekend racing on the Ideal 18 fleet. Email John Troy to join at jtroyhome@yahoo.com Upcoming Dates July 10 July 25 September 11

Thursday night ideal 18 racing Racing takes place inside the harbor without spinnakers.

Enjoy dinner and a drink before or after racing.

Sailors must be Ideal 18 certified to skipper. If you are looking for a crew, email sailingdirector@stamfordyc.com.

1800 Gather 1830 First Signal

To register, visit the Ideal 18 page on the SYC website.

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IDEAL 18 Sailing Appeals To All Members Novices and experts alike enjoy the many benefits of our Ideal 18 Sailing Program! For more information, contact sailingdirector@stamfordyc.com * Open Sails* Once certified, enjoy a sail whenever you ‘d like. * Women’s Sailing* Join new and experienced sailors every Friday for fun & skills improvement. * One Design Series Racing* Competitive weekend racing for the Ideal 18 fleet * Thursday Night Racing* Casual in-harbor racing for all skill levels * Private Lessons* Private or semi-private lessons with sailing director or coach * Certification* Demonstrate your Ideal 18 sailing ability to qualify for unlimited open sails * New Member Evening* New members enjoy an introduction to Ideals, an evening sail & cocktails

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REGATTA EVENTS & CALENDAR* July 9

Weekend Series

Sept 5

Vineyard Race Awards

July 10

One Design Series

Sept 11

One Design Series

July 25

One Design Series

Sept 12

55th Denmark Race

July 26

Cannon Cup

Sept 25

Cow’s Trophy Race

July 31

Port Jefferson Pursuit

Oct 3

Double Handed Regatta

Race & Rendezvous

Oct 16-17 J-109 Fall Classic

August 6

Weekend Series

Oct 23

Yachting Awards

August 9

Dorade Jr. Regatta

Oct 24

Decommissioning

August 14 Annual Cruise Begins

*Dates are subject to change.

August 20 Overnight Race

August 27 Weekend Series Sept 3-5

86th Vineyard Race

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Tennis News FROM THE TENNIS COMMITTEE The competitive season is in full swing. After a week off for the 4th of July, the teams will be back in action the week of July 5th.

The draws for the Club Championships will be posted in early July and matches will start right away. The finals are played on or around Labor Day Weekend. There will be some great early round matches throughout July. Check the bulletin board for the full draw sheets.

The first event in over a year was held on June 19th with over 40 members participating in Caribbean Night. Couples Tennis Night is set for Friday night, July 9th. This is a mixed doubles event for all abilities. The Men’s Member Guest is Sunday, July 18th. All sign-ups are on the Events Tab of the online booking system.

If you have any questions, email tennis@stamfordyc.com or call the pro shop at 203 – 548 – 7845.

SOCIAL EVENTS The Tennis Reservation system (accessible from the SYC website) is the best way to book your court time and to sign up for the wide array of events we expect to hold. The tentative list of events and dates is below: July 9th—Couple’s Tennis Night July 18th—Men’s Member/Guest July 23rd—Margarita Mixer August 14th—Big $$ Scramble August 28th—Semi-Final Weekend September 4th—Finals Weekend

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Paddle News PADDLE BALL UPDATE This seasons participation for the men and woman's SYC paddle has been outstanding. For the first time ever the men had five teams participating in the Fairfield County Paddle League in divisions 2,3,5,6,and 7. This could not have been done without the captains who volunteer their time.

Woman's team captains: Maryellen O'Mahony/Claire Norton(A team) , Rachel Kilcullen(B team), and Barb Ryan(C team).

Men's team captains: Mark McEnroe/Ray Tellini/ Faris AbiNader(A team), Matt Talucci/Tom Singher(B team), Steve Schott(C team), Jim Barone(D team), and Tom Brennan (E team).

A big thank you to all of you!

With covid affecting so many things this year paddle was no exception. In order to keep the crowd size to a minimum the tournaments were played during the regular season with the finals being held in March. After combating the weather we were able to get the matches in.

Results: Woman's winners: Roopali Hall/Deirdre Smith Finalists: Maryellen O'Mahony/ Sherry Ramsay Men's winners: Faris AbiNader/ Josh Lederman Finalists: Nate Newhall/Tom Singher Mixed winners: Pete Hall/Roopali Hall Finalists: Ross Smith/Deirdre Smith Keep a look out for paddle updates regarding socials, team activity and lessons

PICKLE BALL SUMMER LEAGUE SYC has a new racquet sport this summer. It's called pickle ball and so far has been met with great enthusiasm, Over 70 members are participating in the round robins and two teams of over 40 people taking part in the newly formed Fairfield County Pickle Ball league (FWPL).

Pickle Ball round robins are held every Sunday morning and league matches are Saturday's at 3:00pm.

If you are interested in joining the team or looking to start playing please reach out to Bob O'Mahony at rpomahony@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

Our racquets pro Larry Angus at syctennispro@hotmail.com is offering lessons, and has racquets for sale in the pro shop.

Open to all ages and skill levels, beginners to advanced all are welcome.

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STAMFORD YACHT CLUB SUNDAY

4 Family Fun Day

MONDAY

5 Tennis Under The Lights

TUESDAY

JULY 2021 WEDNESDAY

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7

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1 Thursday Night Racing

2 Women’s Sailing

3

8 Thursday Night Racing

9 Women’s Sailing

10 One Design Series

Couple’s Tennis Night Weekend Series

11 Junior Bluewater

12 Tennis Under The Lights

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18 Tennis Men’s Member/Guest

19 Tennis Under The Lights

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14 15 Swim Across Thursday Night America Racing

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22 Thursday Night Racing

16 Women’s Sailing

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23 Women’s Sailing

24

Tennis Margarita Night

25 One Design Series

26 Cannon Cup Tennis Under The Lights

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28 29 Paper Plate Thursday Night Awards Racing

30 31 Jr End of Port Jefferson Season Pursuit Race & Celebration Rendezvous Women’s Sailing

STAMFORD YACHT CLUB SUNDAY

MONDAY 1

TUESDAY 2

AUGUST 2021 WEDNESDAY

3

4

THURSDAY 5 Thursday Night Racing

FRIDAY 6 Women’s Sailing

SATURDAY 7

Weekend Series

8

9 Dorade Jr Regatta

10

11

12 Docktails

13 Women’s Sailing

14 “Free at Last” Annual Cruise Begins

Thursday Night Racing

15 Big $ Scramble

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17

18

19 20 Thursday Night Overnight Race Racing Women’s Sailing

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22

23

24

25

26 Thursday Night Racing

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27 Women’s Sailing Weekend Series

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CONTACT US Erica Tanon General Manager erica@stamfordyc.com Keisa McPartland Chief Financial Officer keisa@stamfordyc.com Stephen Mandracchia Executive Chef chef@stamfordyc.com Sylvia Spitalnick Clubhouse Manager clubhousemanager@stamfordyc.com Lawrence McGrath Sailing Director sailingdirector@stamfordyc.com Larry Angus Racquet Professional tennis@stamfordyc.com Kedd Lytton-Smith Dockmaster dockmaster@stamfordyc.com

Alex Flores Marketing & Clubhouse Assistant alex@stamfordyc.com Jose Morales Restaurant Manager restmgr@stamfordyc.com Tom Ormand Sales & Catering Director catering @stamfordyc.com Thank you to Rick Bannerot for the photos in this issue!

LET’S BE SOCIAL!

@STAMFORDYACHTCLUB

/STAMFORDYACHTCLUB