Yacht Club Spotlight: Carlyle Sailing Association

“It was probably the best run regatta I’ve ever been around…” Strong words coming from US SAILING’s Championship of Champions National Chair, Drew Daugherty, who is no stranger to this event and other high profile regattas. The 2009 Championship of Champions featured an interesting twist. Hosting last year’s event was the Carlyle Sailing Association (CSA), an unlikely host of a national championship that determined “the best of the best” from 2009, but not from the standpoint of competence.

Carlyle, Ill. is located 50 miles east of St. Louis with a population of about 3,500. The racing was conducted on Carlyle Lake, which is 3 ½ miles wide and 15 miles long. The reservoir is flat and shallow with no current or sea breeze. “You just need to go when you have it,” explained Daugherty.

It was clear that logistics would be the number one obstacle facing CSA while trying to host a championship of this magnitude. Everything from supplying boats, finding crew, housing competitors and judges, preparing meals, media reporting and race management was a huge challenge. “Hosting this event proved to be a real shot in the arm for them,” mentioned Daugherty. “Volunteers had to take a week off from work. We had to be very organized and detailed.”

Fortunately, the volunteers hosting the event at CSA were excited about the event. This was not just another regatta. “When the weather was bad, I don’t think the sailors were as upset about it because the hospitality was so good,” said event chair, Matt Burridge.

Burridge had the heavy responsibility of not only locating enough Lightning boats to use for the championship, but he was also in charge of finding adequate crew for top notch sailors participating in the event. The long list of elite participating sailors included Paul Cayard, and class title holders, Jeff Linton, Augie Diaz, Greg Fisher, Allan Terhune, Mike Martin and 2009 champion, Skip Dieball. Many of the competitors were unfamiliar with the Lightning. "I took it upon myself to try to match skippers who were looking for crew with Lightning familiar teammates. In many cases that worked and the skippers were happy about it,” said Burridge. “We wanted the skippers to have a good experience. We also held a tuning seminar in the parking lot to help the teams work the boats.”

“All the competitors and volunteers learned that "rock star" sailors are just like the rest of us,” added Daugherty. “They take bad tacks too.”

The host club could not house the sailors in homes in the area. However, they secured special rates on hotel rooms and lake front cabins. Meals were covered and the volunteers cooked up a storm. Cajun was the flavor of the week.

“The members were so anxious to meet the sailors,” said Daugherty. “People traveled in from all over.”

Daugherty and Burridge believe that other yacht clubs facing similar logistical challenges can learn from their experience. “Put yourself in their shoes,” said Burridge. “They are sailing with people they’ve never crewed with. Help them acclimate to their surroundings, greet everyone and smile.

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