CALENDAR
- July 3 happy hour @ 6:30pm @ PYC
- JULY 4 HAPPY INdependence Day
- JULY 4 Rocci regatta, Bring the Kids!
- JULY 18 Double Handed Race
- JULY 18-19 Pultneyville Homecoming
- JULY 25 woman skipper race
Signals from the Commodore | Kathy Fedick
It’s hard to believe July is here!! Still waiting for the weather to turn warmer. I wanted to thank Jeff Tallon and John Garlock for cleaning up the trees and brush around the light on Apple Bloom point on the second workday. I think John Garlock made 3 to 4 trips to the dump on Pound Road. The club looks good, thanks to all the work that has been completed on the workdays. There are always more projects that need to be completed, if you haven’t completed your workday, please reach out to Rear Commodore Ben Yager or Vice Commodore Emily Wilczewski to see if you can help with any upcoming social events.
June was a busy month, we had our June 5th First Friday Bonfire, the June 13th Commodore’s Sail @11am – Thank you to all the boats that joined the sail by, had a few boats decorated with all their racing flags, June General Meeting @2pm, if you signed up for the special committee to update the Pet policy, please reach out to me, New Member reception and our first PYC Social event, thanks to everyone that helped make this a successful Pig Roast, great job Emily and Crew. The evening ended with a bonfire @ the rock beach to celebrate our first “Burning of the Socks”-a unconventional maritime tradition primarily celebrated in spring. It symbolizes shedding the cold, restrictive days of winter and welcoming the freedom, warmth, and boating season by going sockless in boat shoes or flip flops. Fleet Captain Kevin Yager entertained us with his reading of the legend of Celtic Wind. On Friday June 19th we had the Commodore’s Summer Solstice Cocktail party and welcomed our GYC racers/visitors. We ended the month with a Celebration of Life for long time PYC member Roland “Chip “Stevens @the PYC pavilion on June 27th.
We have our First Friday bonfire on July 3rd, and the Rocci Regatta on the 4th, come out and enjoy the club.
Saturday July 18 is the 66th Annual Pultneyville Homecoming Celebration from 8am to 7pm. The Masons will have coffee and donuts in the morning, there will be free Zumba gold class, hip hop dance class, wine and craft beer sales, adult beverage tastings /sales, Food and Music by Jim Lane in Centennial Park. Gates Hall presentation about the Burned over District:200 years along the Erie Canal by Les Bell @Gates Hall , car show behind the Reformed Church, if you have cars, please bring them out to show them off, if you want, you can put them in the parade that starts @3pm starting at the Pultneyville Fire dept. Please feel free to bring a chair up and sit on our front lawn to watch the parade. Reminder the road will be closed around the club prior to the start of the parade. Make sure you get down to the club prior to the road closure. See attached flyers for the events of the day. Happy July!! See you at the Club.
Flares from the Vice Commodore | Emily Wilczewski
Hey boating besties!
I want to first thank you all for making our Pig Roast a roaring success! We had about 90 people make it out! 🙌 Special thanks to Eric Matteson for leading the charge as grill master! His roasts will forever be legendary! I would also like to thank all the helping hands that both set up and cleaned up after such a big event!
🍹Cocktails with the Commodore was also a lively time! Thanks to all who brought a cocktail to share!
Coming up next: the Fleet Captain’s Picnic on July 2nd. Even if racing isn’t your thing, come hang out, play bunco, and enjoy the evening at PYC before we share a meal.
And don’t forget—First Friday is July 3rd! Join us at the rock beach beginning at 6:00pm for a bonfire, good vibes, and BYOB fun.🍻🍷
Keep an eye on the calendar, we have many more events planned for the summer! See link–>. Club Calendar
See you on the water.
Emily, V(ivaciously)C(harming)
DOCKSIDE DISPATCHES from the Rear Commodore | BEN YAGER
Happy July, PYC Crew!
We’ve had a fantastic start to the 2026 boating season! ⛵🌞 The boats are in the water, the docks are busy, and the club is looking great thanks to the hard work of our members.
A huge thank you to everyone who came out for our two spring Club Work Days 🙌.
Both days were incredibly successful, with strong turnouts and an impressive amount of work completed. Together, we:
- Repaired and improved several docks 🔧
- Filled many of the troublesome sinkholes 🪣
- Completed extensive grounds cleanup 🌿
- Tackled a long list of other projects that needed attention 🛠️
The club is in significantly better shape because of your efforts, and your commitment truly shows.
If you have not yet fulfilled your workday obligation, please contact me. I’ll be happy to assign you an independent task so you can complete your requirement 👍
I’m also always looking for input from members. If you notice any areas around the club that need attention, or if you have ideas for projects that should be considered, please let me know. I can assign those tasks to members who still need to complete their workdays.
As always, please feel free to contact me anytime with questions, suggestions, or concerns about the club grounds, docks, work days, or any facilities issues.
WELCOME ABOARD WAVES FROM THE Membership CHAIR | Cathy MacDonald
Hello everyone. By now our weather is settling into those beautiful days of summer. Hopefully you’ve already been out on the water enjoying your boat — and will continue to make the most of the season.🌤️
This month, I have the pleasure of introducing two new members to our club.⚓
Rick Wambach — Rick and his wife Yvonne have a 42’ cruiser 🚤 that they will continue to keep at Sodus Marina. They have friends at PYC and are looking forward to joining us for social involvement 🤝
Dan Vitale & Evelyn Zyla — They join us with their Cape Dory 18’ sailboat ⛵ and are excited to be part of the club
Please welcome them all.
📣Please don’t miss an opportunity to bring additional members to PYC! We need your assistance in this!
🌟 Click link to download flyer: PYC Membership Application Flyer 🌟
MARKS ON THE LINE FROM THE Fleet Captain | Kevin Yager
Hello Fleet! June was a busy and fun month. Races have delivered good competition and solid turnout in spite of rain and mixed conditions. Thanks to everyone who has come out to race—we’re getting some great sailing in.
🏆 Race Highlights
In the Johanna Cup, Rob on Dragon took the overall win — congratulations! Strong performances all around, and big thanks to everyone who participated.
🎏 Commodore’s Review & Boat Parade
A big thank‑you to all who turned out for the Commodore’s Review and Boat Parade. Earl Chapman and Still Comic earned the Fleet Captain’s Best in Show honors — fantastic string of flags and great club spirit!
🍖 Pig Roast & Burning of the Socks
Special thanks to Vice Commodore Emily for organizing a very successful Pig Roast — the pavilion was absolutely brimming with people. And the Burning of the Socks bonfire was a perfect way to celebrate the season. My granddaughter Zoey had a blast, and that was my main goal.
⚓ PYC/GYC Race
The parties before and after the PYC/GYC race were great fun — thanks to all who joined in. With the high winds and heavy lake conditions leading up to it, the race turned into a true club‑on‑club match, with only two boats: Black Diamond for PYC and Vita from GYC. Congratulations to Scott and Garland on Black Diamond for their win!
🍔 Fleet Captain’s Picnic — July 2
We’re wrapping up the Spring Series with the Fleet Captain’s Picnic on Thursday, July 2. All are welcome — let me know how many you’re bringing so we can plan food. Bring a dish to pass!
📅 Coming Up
Mark your calendars — lots of great sailing ahead:
- Rocci Regatta — July 4 (bring the kids!)
- Thursday Night Summer Series — begins July 9
- Double Handed Race — July 18
- Woman Skipper Race — July 25
- Moon Race — August 1
🎉 Party on the Peninsula — August 11
We’re working on putting together Party on the Peninsula, including Sailor Games and Harbor Lights Night. If you’re interested in helping invent the games, let me know — I’m looking for someone to take charge of the Heaving Line game!
Need Help? Have Ideas? As always, if you need help with your boat, crew, or have any suggestions for racing or club activities, let me know. Let’s keep the momentum going through the rest of the season!
See you on the lake!
Ledger lines FROM THE treasurer | LESLIE PHILLIPS
Hope you all are having a great season out on the water and around the Club ⚓. Before long, it’ll be time to prepare for haul‑out 🛠️🧭. Keep an eye out for Haul/Launch invoices, which will be emailed in late July.
If you’re sending me an email, please double‑check that it’s headed to the Treasurer’s account 📨⚓. Google may still associate my name with the Secretary’s account, and that can send things off course 🧭. It’s perfectly fine if Garland’s name appears when you type it in — as long as the email address is one of these, your message will reach me no matter whose name pops up: or .
THE BOTTOM LINE FROM THE DREDGING MASTER | EARL chapman
The Bottom Line : Did you say you wanted to learn how to drive a dredge?
As discussed at the General Meeting, dredging is planned to begin the week of August 3rd. Our goal is to complete the project within 7 days, though we’ve reserved two full weeks to accommodate potential weather delays.
Work shifts: • 8AM – 4PM every day • 4PM – 8PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
Over the last couple of years, we’ve developed a pretty good understanding of how to get dredging done. The main concern is that all the experience is contained within a very small group of members. That’s not a sustainable model for such a critical club function. Aside from making it easier on everyone, it would be much healthier for the club if we had more members rotating through the various roles.
I used to say, “This work isn’t for everyone.” After two years, I’d soften that position. The operation is far less intimidating now than it seemed at the beginning. There are four primary roles, each requiring different skills. Few members can handle all four well, but that’s not really the requirement. A balanced team is what’s needed to get the work done.
- Dredge Driver | Operates the dredge hydraulics by monitoring the three pressure gauges and controlling the hydraulic levers based on what the gauges are showing. Not very physical. Success is mostly about developing a feel for how aggressively you can push the equipment.
- Pipeline Wrangler | The most physically demanding role. Handles pipeline moves, in-water connections, and separations as needed, usually while lying on the workboat deck or over the side of the support boat. Upper-body and good hand strength are valuable here.
- Cable Manager | A shore-based position that manages drive-wire tension and helps reposition the dredge using multiple come-alongs. Expect long periods of waiting and watching, punctuated by short bursts of activity. Resetting cables around the harbor can be a bit more demanding.
- Boat Driver | Moves people, supplies, and equipment around the harbor using the work boat and support boat as needed. Maneuvering the workboat in tight quarters is the most challenging part of this one.
Typically, crew members are rotating through several of the positions throughout the day, but each crew has different strengths and weaknesses and adjusts accordingly.
Also, there is no reason members can’t form their own dredging teams with people they enjoy working alongside. The work is important, but it can also be social. Dredging may not provide the adrenaline of a Thursday night race, but claiming you were busy driving a dredge would be a unique conversation starter at your next party. Any of the veterans would be happy to help new volunteers get started and build confidence with the process. None of the crew knew how to do any of this two years ago.
You can find this year’s signup sheet :
Click on DREDGING WORK SIGNUP SHEET
Finger lakes boating museum restores Ray walvoord’s lighting #898, Johanna | BY IRA GOLDMAN
As described in the PYC History in the Membership Log, Past Commodore Ray Walvoord built Lightning #898 in 1941 in his back yard in Pultneyville. However, he went into the Coast Guard immediately after graduating from RIT in 1942 and did not get to sail it until he returned from WWII. The boat was named Johanna after his wife and is the namesake for the Johanna Cup race that is still sailed today.
When Ray was no longer able to sail, he donated his Lightning to the Finger Lakes Boating Museum in Hammondsport. In 2018 at the age of 96, Ray attended the Keuka Yacht Club Lightning Champagne Regatta on Keuka Lake to see his boat being sailed. In 2021, Pultneyville Yacht Club member and Lightning sailor Eric Anderson took his crew to Keuka Lake where he sailed Johanna in the Champagne Regatta.
Ray passed away on May 25, 2022, at the age of 100, but his Lightning is getting a renewed life at the Boating Museum which is now partnering with the Lightning Class Association. This spring, the museum hosted the 4th annual Lighting workshop with Tom Allen Jr. from Allen Boatworks in Buffalo, the last remaining commercial Lightning builder in the US.
#898 was one of the two museum boats included in the workshop, and among the significant upgrades were the installation of new chain plates to accommodate a lifting bridle, fabricating a new tiller and rudder and reinforcing the centerboard trunk. In the weeks since the workshop, the work was continued by Ed Wightman and the museum’s crew of volunteers and includes hull and deck refinishing and now looks as good as it did when Ray finished it in 1941.
#898 competed for the Finger Lakes Boating Museum in the 2026 Champagne Regatta on Keuka Lake on July 27th and 28th, 2026. Unfortunately, the air was light and only three races could be completed on Saturday and none on Sunday. There were 32 boats entered, 16 each in the Modern Division and the Classic Division where #898 came in 14th, not bad considering the need to tune the mast to the new chain plates and competing against experienced crews! Submitted by Ira Goldman
PYC PICTURES | FROM KATHY FEDICK & CAthy MacDonald
Bouy Notes from the Editor
The best days of summer start with a breeze and end at the dock with friends. —Garland