April 2026 | Ashley Farr
It’s that exciting time of the year where you don’t know if you’ll be paddling on the water or skiing down the mountain! Tahoe in Spring never disappoints. Thank you to everyone who came out to our Welcome Back Mixer and General Membership Meeting! A big thank you to Kevin and Catherine Kornegay for opening up their beautiful home and hosting this annual kick-off. The energy at the event made one thing clear: we are building some real momentum heading into the 2026 season!
A big focus right now is participation. We’ve kicked off volunteer sign-ups and are forming committees across events, racing, media, and education programs. This club runs on member involvement, and the more people who step in, the more we can deliver. If you didn’t sign up at the meeting, you’ll have more opportunities to get involved where it interests you!
We’re also laying the groundwork for the future. Bylaws updates are planned for later this year, and I invite any members who are interested in supporting the changes to reach out to me directly. At the same time, we’re continuing to strengthen our relationship with Tahoe Keys Marina, with an eye toward long-term partnership opportunities that benefit the club as a whole. Thank you to Leon Malmed and Greg Felton for their continued support in driving these discussions.
On the programming side, there’s a lot to be excited about! Our 2026 events calendar is already in motion, and upcoming highlights include the Aces baseball outing (don’t miss the May 3 sign-up deadline) and a full season of racing, including the Beer Can Spring Series starting May 6. As always, plan to swing by Steamers post race and join us for a debrief and hang at one of our favorite spots in town!
Reminder, Tahoe Cup Early Registration is open and the calendar is set for the year. Be sure to save the date for our inaugural Doublehanded Distance Race on Saturday, June 6! Finally, Sail Week Tahoe 2026 is shaping up to be a major anchor event, with a full lineup of racing and socials throughout the week. Stay tuned for more details!
Outside of the racing and social calendars, we are STOKED to share the launch of our pilot Juniors Program. Alex Gross has been leading this exciting initiative and transforming the dream into a reality. High level plan is to host two 1-week summer camp style programs from community members ages 8-12. The program will be a mix of onshore and on-the-water lessons. A big reason this has been made possible is thanks to the incredible work of our Community Education Chair, Sam Corso, who secured 4 donated Optis from partner clubs in the Bay. Additionally, Sam managed to secure us two borrowed Whalers for the length of the program so we have chase boats available without having to invest in the assets ourselves. With donated boats, support from partner clubs, and a strong volunteer base forming, we’re creating something that can grow into a cornerstone of SLTWYC for years to come!
But there is more! Our education efforts are open to all ages. Our Treasurer, Spencer Griscom, has been leading the efforts with Lake Tahoe Community College for adult Learn to Sail programs. We expect to have a similar structure to last year with 4-days of on-shore/on-the-water keel boat lessons made available through the LTCC summer programming. Additionally, Spencer has been working with Rear Commodore, Eric Villadsen, to pull together a Race Committee 101 Course to community members through the college. Lastly on the sailing front, I am planning to pull together a Ladies Sunday Sailing Clinic sometime in late summer. Pulling inspiration from years past, I look forward to partnering with many of you to bring a female focused learn to sail experience for our South Lake Community.
As you can see, expanding access to sailing both for kids and adults continues to be a priority. We are looking for volunteers that are interested in organizing some additional water safety and information sessions for our members. If this is something you’d like to support, please reach out to me and we will make it a reality!
Finally, we’re tightening operations and investing in membership value. The 2026 budget is approved, cost-saving efforts are ongoing, and we’ve transitioned to a new payment platform to make membership simpler and more efficient. Big thank you to our Communications Coordinator, Laura Fichet, for her dedicated efforts to lower our cost of doing business. Keep an eye out for updates to our club storefront and merchandise, as well as continued improvements to how we communicate and share what’s happening across the club.
Bottom line: there’s a lot happening, and it’s only possible because of the people in this community. Keep showing up, keep participating, and let’s make this a season worth remembering!
