As conditions change, rest assured that the LTYC will adjust our sails in response.

The LTYC Board of Directors and staff are carefully monitoring local and national regulations, health advisories, and guidelines related to the effects of the Coronavirus on our community. We remain optimistic and enthusiastic about the season ahead.

As always, our greatest concern is with the health and safety of our members, staff, and friends. Please stay in touch with each other during these quiet times using your printed member directory or login to the members area on the website to use the online version. Feel free to reach out to Club Manager Daniel DeWindt (daniel@ltyc.org) or Commodore Jack Carruthers (commodore@ltyc.org) if there is anything the Club can do or should know to help a member of our community.  Also stay tuned to your weekly e-blast for updates (and some stay-at-home fun).

This page will be updated regularly; scroll down for the latest.

Updates: May 19

On May 18, Governor Whitmer announced that bars and restaurants in Emmet County were allowed to reopen under specific COVID-19 protocols at 50 percent capacity starting on May 22. At first glance we are cautiously optimistic that this will allow for much of the Club’s normal food and beverage program to operate this summer—with some modifications, including reduced capacity at certain events. We are carefully evaluating these new executive orders and will post more details on this page as they become available.

Updates: May 18, 2020

Looking Ahead.  In addition to stay at home and related orders in place through the end of May, Governor Whitmer has issued a “Safe Start Plan”, which specifies a six-phase transition to full operations, and (importantly for LTYC) divides the state into eight regions.  This means two things:  first, the details in the phases allow us to predict (somewhat) what future regulations will be, and second, the Harbor Springs area is in a region (the “Traverse City Region”) that has seen quite low incidence of COVID-19 infection in recent weeks.  The Safe Start Plan indicates that the Governor’s Office will be evaluating a number of health-based factors to decide when to move regions to the next phase (or even move them back if there is a resurgence of infections).

From an LTYC perspective, this is fairly good news. The less good news is that there are no dates attached to any of the phases and fairly scant details about the specific restrictions in each phase.  But at least we now have something of a roadmap for the weeks and months ahead.  Specifically, it seems likely that Phase 4 of the MI Safe Start Plan will be in effect in our area for much of the summer. Phase 5 seems possible later in the summer. 
Taking the Safe Start Plan’s phases and mapping them onto categories of Club activities can therefore give us all a sense of the season ahead—what’s possible, what’s not, what we should be planning for.
Now that we have a framework, the Club is turning to specific plans for the summer.
  • Our first priority is of course the health and safety of our community: the members, staff, neighbors and friends.  In terms of basic health and safety operations, Club members should rest assured that Daniel DeWindt and Jessie King (our Club Manager and Food and Beverage Manager, respectively) have already stocked the Club with masks, gloves, sanitizer and cleaning supplies, non-contact thermometers, signage, and other items required for safe operations.  They have also been working on Club COVID-19 policies and procedures and training the staff on these as well.  So the Club is ready to operate safely in 2020.
  • On the sailing side, Club Racing should be able to operate in Phases 3, 4, or 5 with some modifications. We are awaiting the issuance of new orders from the Governor in late May or early June to determine the details of the modifications, as well as awaiting clarification from Debi Schoenherr in her role as a US Sailing Judge as to whether the Club can operate races under social distancing rules. We are hopeful that we can begin our season of Club Racing on Tuesday, June 2. As always, more information will be provided as it becomes available. Club Racing registration remains open, here.  Feel free to contact Rear Commodore Polk Wagner (RearCommodore@ltyc.org) for more information.
  • Also on the sailing side, the UGotta Regatta, scheduled for July 24-26, remains on the calendar.  As with Club Racing, we are hopeful the event will happen as scheduled, albeit with some modifications. The UGotta Regatta Committee is monitoring the situation closely and will provide more information as the date approaches. Feel free to contact Vice Commodore Tom Trautman (ViceCommodore@ltyc.org) for more information.
  • Our Food & Beverage Program will be significantly modified in Phase 4, and is likely to remain limited even in Phase 5.  That said, the planning for the 2020 Food & Beverage program is moving quickly, and Jessie and her team have some exciting ideas in mind.  You can be a part of the planning process by responding to the survey issued this week in the members-only eBlast newsletter.  We anticipate that within a couple of weeks the details of the Clubhouse program (menus, hours, procedures, etc.) will be released, so stay tuned.
  • The LTYC Social Committee is meeting to consider alternatives to the calendared social events in the likely event that in Phases 3 and 4 we will unfortunately not be able to host parties or other gatherings at the Club.  You can participate in this planning process by joining the social committee, contact Hilde Bonesteel for more information.
  • The Little Traverse Sailors junior sailing program is also hoping to operate, again with some significant modifications. Details to be determined as the regulatory environment clarifies.  Click here for more information.
We are aware that there is a lot of uncertainty in these updates, but we hope that by providing as much information as possible you can remain up-to-date on the status of the Club for Summer 2020.
Updates: May 13, 2020

Schedule changes:  Unfortunately, the Tuesday Night Spring Series race on May 26 has been cancelled. We hope to return on racing on Tuesday, June 2, presumably under a new or revised set of social distancing orders from the state of Michigan.  Stay tuned for more information on this in the weeks ahead.  in the meantime, Club Racing Registration is open.

 

Updates: May 1, 2020

Schedule changes:  Unfortunately, the Memorial Day Afterglow picnic scheduled for Monday, May 25 has been cancelled.  In addition, the LTYC Corinthian Team cocktail party scheduled for Friday, June 19 has been postponed; we hope to hold this event later in the summer, exact date TBD.  The LTYC Calendar has been updated and posted online.

Club Manager Daniel DeWindt (daniel@ltyc.org) and Food & Beverage Manager Jessie King (ltycfood@gmail.com) are continuing to prepare for the Summer 2020 season, including coming up with ideas and plans for various contingencies.  As Daniel has said, “Jessie and I will continue to work on creative ideas for the summer that bring added value to our members.  Plus, we will ensure we’re fully prepared to operate safely under CDC and other guidelines, etc.”

To that end, Daniel and Jessie have ordered supplies masks, gloves, sanitizer, antiviral cleaning supplies, and portable non-contact thermometers for both LTYC and LTS use.  These items should be in hand at the Club no later than May 15.  In addition, Jessie has opened up communications with our suppliers to ensure that she is notified if important items become low in stock, so that the Club can act in advance of any shortages.

An ad-hoc team of LTYC and LTS Board members, LTYC Staff, and key volunteers are convening weekly meetings to convey information, discuss ideas, and make plans concerning the COVID-19 situation.  New information generated by that group will be posted to this page as it becomes available.

Governor Whitmer’s May 1st order concerning business operations (EO 2020-69) restricts public access to the Clubhouse.  However, that order does not impact the LTYC, because it expires on May 28 and the LTYC does not begin Clubhouse operations until Monday, June 8. Of course, should that order be extended, we stand ready to alter our operations as needed.

We are carefully considering ways that social distancing guidelines may potentially impact our sailing activities.  At present, the social distancing order in Michigan expires on May 15—though it may well be extended in some form.  Again, it is all hypothetical until later this month, but we are considering ways to offer racing in a socially-distanced fashion, including requiring within-household crews, using bare-bones Race Committee operations, and the like.  Stay tuned for more information in the weeks ahead; in the meantime, Club Racing Registration is open.

 

Updates: April 20, 2020

Club Manager Daniel DeWindt (daniel@ltyc.org) and our new Food & Beverage Manager Jessie King are continuing their work safely from home, preparing for the coming season, whatever it may bring.

Our Board members and committees are using these quiet days at home to keep plans moving forward at full speed for what we hope will be a happier summer ahead. Memorial Day is five weeks away. Our opening cocktail party is almost nine weeks away.

Registration is open for LTYC Club Racing, click here to register. Our first Tuesday night race is May 26th; Saturday racing starts on June 20.

Registration is open (and nearly full) for the 2020 UGotta Regatta, the 60th Anniversary.  Click here to register.

The Little Traverse Sailors junior sailing program is open for registration, both for the learn-to-sail program and the race team.  Click here for more information.

Our 2020 Summer Calendar is online.  Subject to change, of course.  Click here to review.