2024 Thursday Night Racing Updates!

Ahoy racers! Get ready for an exciting 2024 Thursday night racing season. The countdown has begun, and if the water level is in our favor, we will commence on April 4 - less than a month away!  

Our 2024 racing season promises to be a competitive one, with 12 Santana 20's, 5 Harbor 20's, 9 Thistles, 6 Wavelengths, 7 Multihulls, 4 PHRF and a couple of centerboard boats registered.

 If you're planning to join us, head to the EYC website to register https://www.eugeneyachtclub.org/thursday-racer-registration and keep an eye out for updated Sailing Instructions and other essential information, which will be posted soon on the JRC website https://sites.google.com/site/jrctyceyc/Home .

If you're short on crew, don't let that hold you back from racing. EYC has a database of people looking for a racing opportunity. Last year we had 38 people sign up through the EYC website interested in racing on Thursday nights, some with very little or no sailing experience to seasoned racers.

This year we will be making a small change to the start order.  By consensus of the skippers that attended the pre-season Skippers meeting this year Wavo’s will be 4th start and PHRF will be 5th start. In addition we are trying to develop a PHRF-B fleet for novice racers.

#1 Multi-hull
#2 Centerboards
#3 Santana 20’s
#4 Wavelengths
#5 PHRF

Following are the spring series Race Committee assignments:

A friendly reminder to all Thursday night skippers: make sure you've completed both the Race Committee and Power Boat Training classes and have your Oregon boater’s card. This year, we're offering both Committee and Power Boat Training classes on the same day, Saturday, May 11th, so save the date.

Happy Sailing!

Ted Walkup

Thursday Night Race Chair

Saturday Fleet Racing in 2024

Saturday Fleet Racing: May 11th , June 1st , July 15th , August 17th , and September 7th.

Three to four starts per day. First horn 1:25 pm

Participants need to be signed up by May 1st .

We will have a committee boat and a rescue boat. All fleets welcome 5 boats to get their own start. No scoring just lots of practice.

Fleets: Thistle, lightning, Santana 20, Harbor 20, Wavelength, PHRF, lido, multi hull, and anyone else that wants to race.

Anyone who wishes to volunteer for race committee please notify (Glen Hughes) at the following email address. To sign-up send name, email address, phone number, and fleet to saturdayfleetracing@gmail.com

2024 Memorial Day Regatta

Registration for Eugene Yacht Club’s 2024 Memorial Day Regatta is open!

The Regatta will be held on May 25th and May 26th. Register at:

http://www.memorialdayregatta.com

EYC wants you to feel comfortable bringing your family to enjoy a weekend of sailing and entertainment or to visit local wineries and trails. They have a nice playground and paddleboards / kayaks at the ready. Here are some other highlights of the event:

  • $10 off if you register before May 9th.  Full price of $85 after May 9th.

  • Short sleeve T-shirts (men's and women's) $20

  • Hoodies $40

  • $15 meal plan includes Saturday Dinner and Sunday Breakfast

  • Live music / beer keg / wine

  • On site professional massages after Saturday racing.

  • Joining the Live On the Edge Multihull regatta the following week?  Keep your boat at EYC.

2024 Thursday Racing Registration Is Open!

Thursdays are dedicated to our Thursday multi-fleet racing series. This is organized by a Joint Race Committee (JRC) which has representatives from Triton Yacht Club and Eugene Yacht Club. The JRC website includes sailing instructions, raw and computed results, online registration access, and other pertinent information.

Each Thursday, there is a single race on a one-mile Olympic Circle with separate starts for each of five fleets. The fleets typically include Thistles and Centerboards, Santana 20s, Wavelength 24s, PHRFs, and MultiHulls.

The season is divided into three approximately equal parts: Spring, Summer, and Fall. It's a cooperative effort with each skipper and crew taking a turn at race committee or rescue boat.

Racers need to be a member of either EYC or TYC to participate. Visit the JRC website for more information on Thursday night racing. It's also important to register with the JRC in order to be scored.

CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT RACING REGISTRATION

"Registering isn't just a formality—it's vital for the Joint Race Committee (JRC) to plan the season's RC duty roster and score you throughout the season. So please register by March 1 (or just do it now).

A reminder to all Thursday night skippers, you are expected to complete both the Race Committee and Power boat training classes and have an Oregon boaters card.  If you have never taken the class or already attended the training session and feel you need a refresher May 11th is the time to get it done.

Questions? Email or call/text Bill at 541 430-0312

2023 Thursday Racing Registration Is Open!

Thursdays are dedicated to our Thursday multi-fleet racing series. This is organized by a Joint Race Committee (JRC) which has representatives from Triton Yacht Club and Eugene Yacht Club. The JRC website includes sailing instructions, raw and computed results, online registration access, and other pertinent information.

Each Thursday, there is a single race on a one-mile Olympic Circle with separate starts for each of five fleets. The fleets typically include Thistles and Centerboards, Santana 20s, Wavelength 24s, PHRFs, and MultiHulls.

The season is divided into three approximately equal parts: Spring, Summer, and Fall. It's a cooperative effort with each skipper and crew taking a turn at race committee or rescue boat.

Racers need to be a member of either EYC or TYC to participate. Visit the JRC website for more information on Thursday night racing. It's also important to register with the JRC in order to be scored.

CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT RACING REGISTRATION

2022 Single Hand and Jack & Jill Race Results

A big thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s TYC Single-Handed and Jack & Jill races! Here are the results along with some great photos provided by Jeff! A special thanks to Laura (also pictured below) for working the races!

2022 TYC Single-Handed Race Results

2022 TYC Single-Handed Race Results

Wylie on Deception
2022 TYC Jack & Jill Results
Nick & Kadee on Second Wind
Laura Working the Races

TYC Jack and Jill Race/Races Set For July 23rd, 2022

The Triton Yacht Club will be hosting the Jack and Jill race/races on Saturday July 23, 2022.

These races require on female and one male crew. One person will helm the boat in the first race, the other is crew. The second race the roles reverse. Succeeding races, the sailors will continue to alternate positions.

If you are interested in competing, please provide the following information:

Names of two crew members

Name of boat

Type of boat

PHRF rating if known.

Plan on meeting under the shade of a tree at the east end of Richardson Park Marina at noon. A skippers meeting will be held.

The “Dutchess” will then set a start/finish line at the center pin area of the Olympic circle. We will try to use the normal Thursday night courses. I will have copies available.

Email the above information to Jeff at jlongmore@hotmail.com or you may call/text information to (541)221-6449 by Thursday July 21st, 2022.

- Jeff Longmore, TYC Member

TYC Single-Hand Race Set For July 16, 2022

Triton Yacht Club will be holding a single-hand race/races on Saturday July 16, 2022. If you are interested in participating, please provide the following information:

Name

Name of boat

Type of boat

PHRF rating if known

Please meet at Richardson Park marina at noon. We will gather under a shade tree near the east side of the parking lot.  A skippers meeting will be held.

I will then proceed to the center pin to establish a start/finish line using my power boat “ The Dutchess”.

I will try to use the normal Thursday night courses. I will have copies of the course sheet for anyone not familiar with this format.

Please email the above information to jlongmore@hotmail.com or by text or talk at (541) 221-6449 by Thursday July 14, 2022.

Jeff Longmore, TYC member

The 4th Annual TYC Lighted Boat Parade is soon to be underway!

Once again Triton Yacht Club is making sure we have a plan for great Fourth of July fun on Fern Ridge Lake!

We'll miss EYC's awesome firework show again this year, but we invite all their skippers - and anyone else on the water - to join Triton in celebrating Independence Day. I think it's safe to say, we have earned extra reason to celebrate in 2022!

Start Time : Monday, July 4th / On the dark side of dusk (around 9pm)

Parade Leaders : Cap'n Jeff Longmore and family in S.V. Second Wind

Parade Route : Beginning at Richardson Marina, we will follow the western shoreline along EYC and Tri-Pass Ski Club. Then we'll make our way eastwards to Orchard Point, and finish the route along the levy & dam - for maximum visibility to our many land-lubbing fans!

We're gonna beautifully light up the night again this year...

Hope we'll see you there!

A Full Reservoir Will Greet Participants in The Inaugural Dinghy Dash of Derring-Do

Following the success of TYC’s 2021 Dipsy-Doodle Dinghy Dash, the club has added another small-craft casual event to open the 2022 season. While this year’s full water levels are raising spirits (and hulls), the Dinghy Dashes were created as an opportunity to gather for some fun, either early or late in the season, when water levels may not be sufficient for larger vessels.

TYC’s inaugural Dinghy Dash of Derring-Do happens May 21st, 2022. Participating members should gather at Orchard Point Marina at 11:00 a.m. for boat set-up. The race begins at 12:00 p.m.. Racers are in for a sweet treat at the finish line as they will be joining the Coots for fellowship and graciously provided cake at Shore Lane Park.

Be sure to bring your PFDs, and we look forward to seeing you on the water!

Another Season Beginning with Low Water Levels

Here we are again. April of 2021 and the ACE Website showing a lake elevation of 369 Feet. For some perspective: My boat draws 4 1/2 feet of water and my trailer adds a bit over 1 foot to that, so that I consider needing about 6 feet of water at the toe of the ramp at Richardson. By experience, I know that I can get away with an elevation of 370 feet to launch and recover, but 371 is preferable. At 371 I also have adequate depth to get over to my slip and reside there comfortably. At 371 there are some regions within the lake that I can normally go, but will hit bottom such as the south West arm, West side.

For those of you new to the lake or not aware of prior discussion with the Army Corps who manages the lake, here are a few tidbits:

*The Corps operates the lake levels by a predetermined profile and plan approved by congress (in about 1946) and cannot legally depart from that plan with prior congressional approval of a new plan.
* The water that fills Fernridge comes solely from rainwater and waterways fed by the surround hills, including the east slopes of the coast range.
*The primary purpose of the reservoir is for flood control of downstream town and farms.
Secondary purposes include upstream farm irrigation, wildlife and native species conservation, and somewhere near the bottom of the list is recreational boating.
The moral of the story is that grousing to or about the ACE is futile and non-productive. They are following the rules set out for them by congress. Do they make errors in judgement? Maybe. But, they don’t really have a crystal ball to foresee the next week or month of weather and if they err on the side of too much water, they could endanger their primary objective of protecting downstream populations. This they will NOT do.

Considering that we have Climate Change to deal with now, it would seem prudent for their plan of operation to be reviewed scientifically. When I first began sailing here, every year was the same: 371 feet by April 1, and max fill by April 30 with much water to spare. The last 5 to 10 years have not been so predictable.

I am not even preparing my boat for launch at this point. I will continue to monitor the situation and wait for additional rain even though our chances of that diminish greatly from here on out. Sorry to be a downer, but we must face facts and the facts are not very promising. We can only hope for an anomaly that will consist of several inches of rain in one storm.

I hope to see you on the water, if not in April, then in May.

2021 Sailing Season and TYC

Ahoy there, Triton Yacht Club members... Time for a new (and better) season on Fern Ridge Lake! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

First of all, we'd like to thank our loyal members who stayed with us during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

While TYC was able to host a few events on the water last year, the club was very limited by the safety precautions we all faced during the entire year. Our newly-improved clubhouse sat vacant, and most of our planned activities & events were forced to the back burner in the interest of our members' well-being.

Because of this, I'm very happy to inform our 2020 members that the TYC Board of Directors has unanimously voted to waive your dues for 2021 membership. We're so pleased to welcome you back, and we're already setting dates for all the fun events we had to forgo last year, and more to come!

( If you paid JRC dues in 2020, those will be credited for 2021, as well. )
We sincerely value your loyalty to TYC, and our boating community on Fern Ridge. As the lake fills and the virus abates, let's look forward to making up for lost time with friends & families out on the water!

Fair Winds to All! -- Elizabeth Haynsworth, 2020/2021 TYC Commodore

2020 and 2021 Sailing Season For Triton Yacht Club

Due to COVID-19 and Extremely low water in the 2020 Season, we were unable to host our many events, meetings and outings. Some shallower draft boats made it into Fernridge for limited activities such as the Tuesday Night Fun Races. The club is still operating behind the scenes and plans to return for the 2021 season pending control of COVID Pandemic and adequate water in the lake. We are optimistic that we will once again be able to participate and we will back to a somewhat normal year.

Triton Yacht Club officers and membership look forward to seeing you all on the water come April 2021. Follow us here for updates on resumption of activities in the New Year!

LOW WATER LEVELS PERSIST

Continued Low Water Levels
The ACE is currently showing just under 370 Feet of Elevation for the lake. This is more than 3.5’ short of normal levels and about 5’ short of full pool. The water marks on the concrete in this photo taken on 5/23/2020 show what that looks like. We are usually at or above this level prior to the first of April. There is only about 5’ of water at the foot of the launch ramps. Slips closer to shore may not have enough water for deeper draft boats. Water levels around the perimeter of the lake will not support deeper draft boats. BE CAREFULL!

Permanent Course Marks are in the Water

As of about 2:30PM on Saturday 5/23/2020 our course marks are set for the season. Thank you to Glen Hughes of EYC for running the committee boat to launch them and coming up with the idea of moving the course further north to insure plenty of depth around the marks and their approaches. (The course is centered around where the #1 usually resides.) Thank you to Ron Fish of EYC/TYC joint member for just pitching in at a moments notice. Although not on the schedule to help out, Ron notice we were a bit short handed and pitched in helping me to stage the marks for the boat crew. Thank you to Jeff Longmore and Elizabeth Haynesworth for doing the bulk of the actual launch work dropping them in the water on Glen’s command.

CAUTION: The lake is still very low. There is only about 5 feet of water at the foot of the concrete ramp at Richardson. Launching of deeper draft boats is NOT recommended and everyone else needs to stay informed on the changing depth as the Summer progresses. It is likely that the level will begin to slowly drop as soon as the current rain events end. Please also be aware that the perimeters of the lake will be very shallow and that some stumps protrude one to two feel above the bottom, so even if you think you have adequate depth a stump may surprise you. Both the SE and SW arms of the lake are extremely shallow and it is not recommend you sail up either arm. Neither the Dash nor East marks were set due to the water level.

TYC and COVID-19 (Update May 12, 2020)

We are still under recommendations to remain closed. No change until further notice. The lake levels are slowly rising and if EYC closure is eased, we plan to launch some of the buoys in a modified format to insure adequate depth for activities around them. For instance, a temporary center may be moved closer to the normal position of the #1 and the #1 closer to the dam. Stay tuned for updates, and if you are on the water, please head the cautions for low water with stumps and shoals present.

The Board of Directors for Triton Yacht Club have reviewed the current situation and recommendations from the State of Oregon and have declared ALL TRITON EVENTS ARE CANCELLED until further notice!

Eugene Yacht Club Closed Until Further Notice

From your TYC website editor: I felt it wise to post the following notice as it also affects some of our TYC activities as well. So now, the buoys won’t be place until both EYC is open and the lake level rises.


The EYC Board of Trustees has reluctantly voted to close EYC effective immediately. The State of Oregon has ordered the close of multiple businesses, including social and private clubs. For the safety of our members, our staff, and our community, we ask that you refrain from using the EYC grounds until our state closures have been lifted.

Club equipment and facilities are especially vulnerable to transmission of COVID-19 because we will not be able to maintain regular sanitation of club facilities or equipment. Places like club restrooms and the clubhouse, and equipment like kayaks and paddle boards have hard surfaces that would need regular sanitation to be used safely.

Please respect the shelter-in-place rules and do not use EYC until we are able to reopen. Our hope is that strict adherence to the rules will allow us to return to normal life sooner rather than later. We are hoping to see our members and friends at EYC as soon as the likelihood of contagion has been reduced.

Please watch the weekly email for more on cancellations and/pr postponements of club events or on the online EYC Calendar.

Low Water Level at Fernridge

3/10/2020 UPDATE:

The current lake elevation is at 364’ or about 3.5’ below the ACE profile for this time of year. To be clear, a keel boat with a 4.5’ draft needs a minimum elevation of 370’ to launch assuming the keel trough is 1 to 1.5’ above the ground when parked on a level surface. There are sources for depth throughout the marina at a given lake elevation. These numbers will help you determine if you have enough water at your slip, but suffice to say, deeper draft keel boats will not be launching anytime soon. (The files on this topic are currently MIA, but I will investigate and get them on our site.)

Keep in mind that the lake water comes from runoff from the coast range and drainage from Amazon Creek running through Eugene. Snow fall is really not a factor. The simple truth is that the dam closure happens February 1st each year and we must get rain in February and March to enable sailing in April. The is still the possibility of additional rain through about mid June, but it must come in a more concentrated from a multi day rainstorms to result in runoff that will add to the lake level. Until the ground saturates, we don’t get much in the way of added runoff. Also, as the lake level rises, it take more volume to get additional depth as the lake surface area increases with depth.

Shallow draft boats and swing or lifting keel boats may still get in without issue if the water should attain an elevation of about 368’ or if they launch at alternate facilities with more water at the launch ramp than Richardson can offer. (Orchard Pt is about 1 foot deeper and may make launching easier.)