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Date: 12/17/2021
Subject: PPYC Newsletter
From: PPYC Communications Director




Closing Out A Really Good Year
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2021 — A Really Good Year …
 

Thank you for your participation in all of our PPYC activities this year. What a great sailing season we have had, despite COVID and other challenges!

This year’s Christmas And Holiday Social was Saturday December 4th — a capacity crowd! The food was great, and as always, time together with fellow sailors and long-time friends — and making new friends — all made for a very enjoyable evening. Click here for some great pictures from Travis Turk and Richard Lewis — and thanks to Richard and all the volunteers who made this event such a success!

We closed out the year for sailing events with the Kamikaze Regatta on December 5th. We’ll have more information about it soon, but for now you can enjoy some great pictures from Stuart Tathwell and Travis Turk at this link: Kamikaze - 2021.

Our last Cruising event was on November 13th. See pictures in the Cruisers’ Album. Thanks to Cruising Committee Chair Mike McKervey for a really great first year leading this brand new on-the-water activity for sailors who just enjoy being out on the lake under sail. By the way, there are now 33 members who have requested they be added to our mailing list for Cruisers by sending an email to cruising@ppyc.org. 


Our final First-Thursday Sailors’ Meet-Up of 2021 was November 4th. These monthly Meetups are great times for members and prospective members to visit with each other, and also to interact with our Board members who are among the regular attendees — no agenda, just mixing with fellow sailing enthusiasts and having a good time. The January Meetup is already on the Upcoming Events calendar [January 6th.]

 
Just to make you aware … The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a request for proposals from commercial firms to do some significant development in the Cook Recreation Area that we all pass by frequently when sailing. The Corps indicates on their web site that “this is not an attempt to compete with nor open the door to a marina or water park,” and “in keeping with the environmental priorities of the Corps of Engineers, a considerable portion of the recreation area will remain natural and undisturbed.” However, details of what might be done in the area have generated concerns among a significant number of people who use the lake. An organization called Friends of Cook Recreational Area has been formed to keep track of issues like this and raise concerns when that seems appropriate. For a deeper understanding of this matter that will help you form your own opinion and get involved if you wish, click on these linksUSACOE’s Description of the RFP and Friends of Cook Recreational Area.

Annual Meeting packets are being prepared for mailing now, and should should reach members during the week of December 20th. Logged-in members will see that item in the Upcoming Events calendar. Details on time and location appear there. The meeting is on January 8th.
 
In case you missed this item in a recent email that wasn’t a Newsletter, closing out this season also means that Kathy Turk (known for many years until recently as Kathy Ware) is finishing her current term on our Board. Kathy has been a member of our club for quite a long time, and in recent years has served in various leadership capacities, most recently on our Board as Vice Commodore in 2019, Commodore in 2020 and Past Commodore this year. It’s quite likely that almost all of our members know Kathy because she’s “always around” in many of our activities and is just one of those people who are easy to meet and have a conversation with. We thank her for her years of service to our club in so many ways, and wish her the best as she and Travis transition to new ways to participate and serve.
 
This is our last Newsletter for 2021. We’ll publish our first 2022 Newsletter sometime in January to let you know when the 2022 Events Calendar will be posted, what’s going on in planning for activities that begin in the Spring, etc. Meanwhile, we wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and prosperous New Year.
 
Finally, some brief updates on some previously reported items:
  • Winter Thoughts — Average low temperatures at HCSM December through February are 28 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Time for boat owners who sail year-round to prepare for close monitoring and freeze protection when necessary and those who pack it in ‘til Spring to winterize their boats. 
  •  The water level on Percy Priest Lake is controlled by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a regional flood control system. It is currently about 5’ below Summer Pool level (which is 490’.) It traditionally drops to Winter Pool level (483’) from mid-October to mid-December and stays at that level until it rises to Summer Pool level from mid-March to mid-April. Seven feet is a very significant drop that introduces aground hazards for keelboats that aren’t hazards when the lake is at Summer Pool level. You can keep updated on water level projections and other information as often as you like by clicking the PPL & HCSM Information button near the top of the Home page of our web site.
  • If logging in at our web site is not something you often do, it would be worth your time to log in once in a while and avail yourself of the substantially expanded view that logged-in members see. So check it out, maybe starting with this link to a page summarizing the many enhancements we’ve made over the past year or so: Our Web Site — What’s New.
 Go do some sailing if you’re a year-round sailor -- and greet each other on the water when you’re out! Don’t forget we’re at or near Winter Pool, so plan your route more carefully than is necessary at Summer Pool.
 
Best wishes to you and yours for a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
 

Charles Jones, Communications Director

 

Percy Priest Yacht Club

PO Box 290485
Nashville, TN 37229

Percy Priest Yacht Club  .  PO Box 290485  .  Nashville, TN 37229