The Wyandotte Boat Club

“THE BLADE”

NOVEMBER 2006 EDITION                                           NEWSLETTER                                                        

 
 

 

 





Club Update

As we come to the end of the year, the Wyandotte Boat Club is still struggling financially as we continue to search for a tenant for our rental property. 2006 has been a challenge as the loss of lease rental and eviction proceedings drained our resources. Without a tenant, the board of directors is proceeding with the assumption that the club will operate the marina for 2007 with the partnership of a marina manager. We will use the income from the boat well rentals and winter storage to pay our monthly expenses and pay down the debt accumulated this past year. These next few months will be very difficult financially as little income will be coming in. We ask all of our membership for assistance in getting through this rough time. If you have any ideas on tenants, fund raising, or donations please feel free to contact Gary Ellison, President of the WBC at 734-281-0223.

 

Fall Rowing Recap

By: Paul Orto

The Wyandotte Boat Club ended its 2006 fall season with a strong performance at the American Heritage River Regatta on the Detroit River. This fall the club had over thirty athletes rowing. These athletes practiced five days a week sculling in small boats and one day a week sweep rowing. The goal was to get every athlete able to race in a double(2 person boat) and not slow down any coach that might put them in small boat for practice whether it is summer or high school rowing programs. The older adults and masters sculled very well, but the junior rowers were works in progress. The progression throughout the season can be measured by the results of the regattas. The Wyandotte boat Club finished the fall season with 18 gold medal wins, 6 silver medals, and 8 bronze medals. Listed below are the results from our last regatta of the season:

 

2006 American Heritage River Fall Classic

Wyandotte, Michigan

Sunday, November 5, 2006

1st Mixed Open 8+

1st Women’s Masters 4+

2nd Men’s Masters 4+

2nd Men’s Jr 8+

3rd Men’s Open 2x

1st Men’s Jr 4+

2nd Women’s Open 8+

3rd-Mens Masters 8+

 

Paul Orto, Head Coach

Assistant Coaches: Dennis Schmidt, Jim Fowler,

Amy Wansa,and Christopher Marmion,

 

Home Entertainment Raffle

The WBC’s Holiday Home Entertainment Raffle is still going on. To help raise funds for the club, we are raffling off a 55” high definition TV along with 4 27” TVs. Members were sent 5 tickets to either sell or purchase. The drawing will be held on Friday, December 8th at 9pm in the lounge. Please return your tickets by December 1st. If you need more tickets please contact Dave Mizzi 734-479-2773, or stop by the WBC lounge. RAFFLE TICKETS DUE DEC 1ST

 

Come On Down

As the holiday season approaches, come on down to the WBC lounge for a break from the hustle and bustle. Relieve some stress in the relaxed friendly atmosphere, play a game of shuffleboard, or soon stare out at the ice flows coming down the river. So grab a friend or relative and stop by any evening Tuesday through Saturday.

 

Party Time

Need a place to hold your small party?  If you have been a member for at least one year call us and ask for details.  If you want a party for the Christmas season, we are filling up fast, so call us and book your party.  Whether it is a birthday, anniversary, retirement or "I just like you party," call us for information Tuesday thru Friday after 4pm, 284-5560.

 

YUM!! Kielbasa

What are the holidays without freshly made kielbasa? The Wyandotte Boat Club is proud to present its annual holiday kielbasa making party. This year’s party is scheduled for Saturday, December 9th. Chef Larry Stec leads the activities with his secret kielbasa recipe. The party consists of making fresh kielbasa, which is lots of fun, eating kielbasa which is even more fun, and taking 5lbs of kielbasa home, which is delayed fun. Spectators are also welcome to watch the kielbasa making and eat lunch for $10.00 dollars. What's for lunch?......Fresh Kielbasa !!!There are a limited number of tickets sold to this event, so please stop by the lounge for more details if interested.

 

New Years Eve Party 

The WBC invites its members and guests to our adult New Year's Eve Party. The party will feature a live band named “The Fuel Injected Blue Jeans” they play old time rock and roll, 50's and 60's and rock a billy. "Elvis may be there!" The doors open at 7:30pm with the band playing from 9pm until 1am.

Tickets are priced at $15.00 in advance, $20.00 at the door, and can be purchases in the lounge. Admission includes cash bar, party favors, hors d'oeuvres and champagne toast at midnight. You must be 21 years old or over to attend. You may bring your own munchies and food but no outside beverages of any kind is allowed. If you would like to bring a party dish or some horderves to share with everyone it will be greatly appreciated. The band has a very good following so be prepared to have a good time. Free coffee will also be available.

  

DJ at the WBC Lounge

Every third Friday after you have shopped late in beautiful downtown Wyandotte, come and relax and have a good time at the WBC Lounge and listen to our DJ. Bill "The Big Dawg" Wright and his gracious assistant Carlene.

 

School Tour

Recently a group of students from Washington Elementary School in Wyandotte toured the Wyandotte Boat Club for a field trip. Ms Caruso’s class toured the facility, got to see the rowing equipment up close, and rowed in our indoor rowing tank. They were all well behaved and hopefully we’ll get some future rowers out of the class      

 

The Big Game

Sunday, February 4, 2007 is Superbowl Sunday. Come celebrate and watch it upstairs at the boat club. The bar committee is planning a party to watch the Superbowl. Details will be out soon, but preliminarily they are planning a chili cook-off contest to see who has the best chili in the club along with food and drink specials.

 

WBC Marina

Until we secure a tenant for our rental property, the WBC is operating the marina. If you or someone you know is looking for a well for the 2007 boating season, look at the WBC Marina. The marina can handle many sizes of boats, and rates have been lowered for 2007. Contact Len Majors, marina manager at 734-284-5800 for more details.

 

WBC Fall Regatta

By: Chuck Wycoff, Regatta Chair

The 5th annual American Heritage River Fall Classic is now history. By all accounts the regatta was a huge success. Indeed the club hosted over 200 entries from 26 organizations representing 6 states and 2 countries. One might suspect that 1200 to 1400 athletes participated this year. Scores of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles lined the shores of the river and cheered the teams to victory or a least a good strong effort at victory.

Each of you who volunteered, each of you who participated in the staging of this event deserves a long round of applause. This regatta could not occur without the selfless contributions of those who come out year after year and spend the entire day in the cold, either sitting in a boat with water and spray drenching clothes and frosting the nose, or standing on cold hard concrete for hours on end with legs turning to jelly and knees ready to buckle, all for a simple handshake and a well deserved thank-you.

Special Thanks goes out to the tarmac crew, who once again with dignity and efficiency kept the regatta moving with the launches being on time. In fact, they appear to have become so efficient that there was empty tarmac much of the day. In addition, crowd control seemed to be more efficient than usual. There was very little real congestion on the docks and tarmac officials handled all problems appropriately.

Of course, thanks would not be complete without recognition of the BASF Corporation for the use of the Fighting Island and its continued support of this organization. The Club is also appreciative of the active participation of the Mr. Nurenberg and Mr. Hicks in the selection of the winner of the Sportsmanship Trophy and for assisting with the presentation of the trophies. 

Finally, our congratulations go our to Ann Arbor Huron for winning the BASF Cup, Ann Arbor Pioneer for winning the Sportsmanship Trophy, North Allegheny High School for winning the Nicksich Trophy and finally to Ann Arbor Huron for winning the Orto Trophy.

College Bound

Grosse Ile senior and Wyandotte Boat Club junior oarswoman, Kellie LaPointe, signed a national letter of intent to row for Michigan State University next fall. Kellie will join former Grosse Ile and WBC teammates Ashley Wenneman and Sarah Schmidt (both GI '06) in rowing for former Grosse Ile and WBC oarsman, MSU Head Coach, Matt Weise.

 

WBC Website

Please add to your favorites the WBC’s website www.wyandotteboatclub.com. It has the latest news and information about the boat club and all of the activities going on. So surf by when you get a chance.

 

December Membership Meeting

With the hectic holiday schedule, the WBC membership meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 26th has been cancelled and will be combined with the Board of Directors Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 13th at 7:30pm.

 

Spring 07 Regattas

Each spring the WBC sponsors two high school regattas. In 2007 the Hebda Cup is scheduled for Saturday, April 28th, and the Wy-Hi Regatta is set for Friday and Saturday May 4th and 5th.

 

WBC Calendar

Nov 27th              Membership Meeting

Dec 8th                TV Raffle drawing

Dec 9th                Kielbasa Making Party

Dec 12th              Board of Directors Meeting

Dec 31st               New Year’s Eve Party

Jan 10th                Board of Directors Meeting

Jan 24th               Membership Meeting