February 10, 2025
Great Salt Lake Yacht Club Members,
Well, it is another year, and we are not out on the Great Salt Lake as much as we would like to be.
Last year brought a lot of hope, with two good winters, and more boats going in the water. By March of 2024, most boats could make it out of the marina onto the lake. The GSL Marina had a great Opening Day celebration. Wednesday evening racing resumed, and with the help of Grow the Flow, Sailfest returned for the 1st time since 2019.
However, by July it became more difficult to enjoy the lake. A strong storm moved a lot of sand into the mouth of the marina, trapping boats with 4 foot or more draft. Dave Shearer was able to make some temporary moves to allow a few more weeks of access, however by late August, declining lake levels and the presence of the sand bar in the mouth, trapped the majority of the boats in the marina once again.
Dave informed us at the recent Clam Chowder Party that dredging was moving forward. The State is in the process of writing the requirements for vendors to bid on the work. He indicated that 3.5 million dollars are allocated for this year. They expect to complete the effort by November of this year. The effort does include the mouth of the marina and the channel around the reef.
We are hoping that the spring runoff will be enough to allow most boats to pass the sandbar at the mouth, and by the time the lake starts it seasonal decline, dredging should be occurring.
In other news, last year the GSLYC funded two scholarships in the Sail Park City High School Sailing Team in the memory of Dave Taylor – The Longshot Sailing Academy Scholarship Grant. We encourage any high school students associated with the GSLYC who are interested in participating to please email scott.vermerris@sailpc.org for more information.
Our membership did increase last year, and with the merchandise sales from opening day, and Sailfest, the Yacht club was able to keep our head above water. Thanks to all!
We hope to have some socials this year, and anticipate Sailfest will be back again this year.
We also expect a Marina wide Opening Day celebration will be announced by Dave Schearer. Expect it to be the 1st Saturday in May. It would be great to have a large GSLYC turnout for Opening Day, so let’s get those boats out of the slips and the parking lot and into the lake.
Also, the Yacht Club is planning on holding once a month “get togethers” to facilitate getting to know members and potential members. These will be BYO beverage, and any food to share. We are planning to have these every 2nd Sunday of the month for the next few months – March 9, April 13, and May 11. We will meet from 1 to 3 pm in the pavilion at the marina. Hope to see you there!
We ask you to consider renewing your membership in the GSLYC for 2025. New members are $150 per year, renewals are $100 per year. You can also join and renew memberships on-line by clicking here.
We are planning on racing for 2025. We had a pretty consistent turnout of 6-7 boats for Wednesday evening racing last year. And even managed to hold one off-shore race. Looking forward to more boats participating in 2025. More information on racing will be available on Opening Day.
We want to thank everyone for their continued support of the yacht club, and look forward to seeing you on the water in 2025.
Dennis Hartley – Acting Commodore
And the GSLYC Board members
Melissa Merseth
Travis Gregory
Hank Boland Jr
Ron Rowley
Parker Dickens
Steve Harty