News

Hello Members, here are the 2025 Financial Statements for the SYC club and the SYC Sailing School.

SYC FP Oct 2025.pdf

SYC IE Oct 2025.pdf

SYCSS FP Oct 2025.pdf

SYCSS IE Oct 2025.pdf

Saylorville Yacht Club

Annual Meeting – Minutes

Exile Brewing Company, Des Moines

Nov 7, 2025

Commodore Mike Kidd opened the meeting at 18:50.

Election of Officers for 2026

Our leadership was elected unanimously by all present.

• Mike Kidd, Commodore

• Kat Schoenthal, Vice Commodore

• Nick Miller, Director - Sailing School

• Hank Bowen, Director - Racing

• Darci Kidd, Director – Social

• Ashley Hardt, Website

• Melora Montag, Purser

• Dick Leaders, Director At Large

• Jeff Kaman, Secretary

Sailing School

• Nick Miller brought 19 new sailors through our program this year!  

• The program had moderately negative cash flow, but weather and some repairs were impactful this year.  

• This is an important program for bringing in new crew, club members, and sailors and boat owners.

Racing (Nick Miller)

• We hosted an above average number of races, with also many weather cancellations.  Not every one paid for races this year, which was semi-intentional to get more activity.  

• Nick rewarded all of the season’s racers with a bottle of rum of their choice.  Several club awards are traveling awards, and we enjoy tracking the history of legendary SYC sailors whose names are also engraved on the trophies.  For the 2025 Season, Nick presented the following awards:

• • Broken Rudder:  Jeff Kaman’s boat is still not in the water since Sept 2024, and nobody else achieved the appropriate level of calamity this year.  So, there is no new awardee for 2025.

  • Dan Wiznowski Trophy (Buoy Race):  Carson Downing!  This trophy remembers Dan Wiznowski, a long-time race director, crew with Dean Drevlow, Hobie Cat enthusiast, and bicyclist who was killed in a car-bicycle accident.

  • Commodores Cup (Best Overall - Regatta Buoy and Long-Distance Races):  Carson Downing!

  • Day 1 Buoy Races:  #3 George Buckingham; #2 Nick Miller; #1 Carson Downing

  • Sportsman of the Year Trophy:  Team Iowa – Dick Leaders and officials crew

  • Most Improved Boat: Congratulations to Mike Pearson!  

Financials

• Mike noted revenue is down moderately with overall membership, but we are healthy financially.  

• The club has $57,112.51 in total assets and liabilities as of the end of October 2025.  The annual financial report was accepted by voice vote.

Meeting adjourned at 19:40.

The race committee and the club met on February 25th to kick off the new racing season. This included covering how races are run, how to start a race, how to finish and clean up a race, and what rules modifications we have to cover racing on Saylorville Lake. Our race committee also covered some useful apps that can help you ace your start.

Slides are available here ( https://saylorvilleyachtclub.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Racing/2023/SYC_Eace_Management_Prep_2023.pdf ).

Are you a boat owner who wants to race in our Wednesday Night Race series or other regattas but can't find enough people to comfortably crew on your boat?

Or are you a new sailor, or new to Central Iowa, and want to get out on a sailboat and learn a few things or enjoy the breeze?

Look no further than RailMeets, a spiffy, dead-simple website that lets you register your boat and register as crew. Once logged in, you can reach out to potential crew and boat owners, arrange to talk on the phone or meet up, and see if you're compatible for racing or cruising around the lake.

See also our RailMeets page with direct links to Iowa boat and crew listings.

Need a hand with getting set up? Contact our trusty communications director -- communication at saylorvilleyachtclub.org -- for a hand.