The First Hundred Years: Clearwater Yacht Club, 1911-2011

Chapter 12 Excellence in Race Management It’s nine o’clock on a cold blustery morning. The CYC parking lot is full of cars, boats, and trailers. Race Committee members, looking like brightly colored penguins in their layers of foul weather gear, roam about lugging flags, bags, guns, and what appear to be giant inflatable toys. They pause to take a sip of steaming coffee and pop a Dramamine® or two—just in case. Flying Cloud is at the dock—Race Committee flag flying. Mermaid and her cannon are ready to welcome the winners across the finish line. The excitement is palpable. Adrenaline is flowing. Nerves are on edge. The report of the gunshot that signals the official start of the day’s racing slams across the harbor and all those new condo owners find out what it means to share a neighborhood with a hundred-year-old yacht club with a serious history of regatta management. They’ll have to get used to it. CYC’s been doing it for a very long time and they’re not about to stop now. 113