The interesting news as I write this on Wednesday morning is the water level at Fern Ridge. I have never seen it so high. The Army Corps of Engineers uses elevation to determine how much water is in the reservoir, so "Full" is 373.5 feet above sea level. The highest the ACE will let it get without worrying about safety is 375 feet. We are at 374.1 feet at the moment—about seven inches above full. But it is changing constantly. Indeed, it went up about four inches in seven hours a couple of days ago. Currently, the inflow is at 4600cfs (cubic feet per second) and the outflow is about 3800cfs (for some perspective, summer outflow is about 30cfs). A couple of days ago that inflow was double that. If you want to watch these numbers online, visit the Corps website for the Willamette Valley and click on the dam at Fern Ridge. Better yet, go out to the lake and see for yourself! And even better than that, come out for the work party on Saturday, April 20 and see for yourself.
This is the time of year where we look at all the safety systems. So when you are out, look to see where the fire extinguishers (and hoses) and life rings and dock ladders are all placed. I hope no one ever needs to use one, but if you do it will help you be ready.
EYC recently hosted a North U course on sail shape that was attended by about 40 people. The all-day class was taught by the world-famous Andrew Kerr and was a great success. Thank you to EYC member David Langan who was the first to suggest we do this.
Opening Day came and went with great fanfare among the two of us that attended. Everything is turned on and going full steam, so please come out and enjoy.
Billing for moorage went out on April 1. If you have not received yours, or if there is an issue with your bill let me or Port Captain Gordon Mattatall know. You can send us a check, or pay online in the Members Area of the website. Or you can give me cash (small, unmarked bills).
The calendar is full of fun stuff now. There are work parties on April 13 and 20. Also on April 20 is the Oregon Paddle Sports Demo Days which is when the OPS brings out a bunch of canoes and kayaks and stand up paddle boards for folks to try out. It is a ton of fun—bring a life jacket and a change of clothes. It is a public event so there will be lots of people out who are interested in small boats the same way we are. EYC will hostan Open House at the same time, which is being organized by Renée Wingert. This is a perfect day to bring out friends and show off the club.
Our annual start of the social season, the Skippers and Mates dinner, is on May 4. We moved it back a month this year in an effort to get better weather. The program, which includes a presentation by members of the Sail Like a Girl team, winners of the 2019 Race to Alaska, is going to be great as is the food. You can register online on the EYC website. It is easy—even I was able to do it. Much thanks to Shelley Johnson and Nick Tabet for putting this together.
And lastly, we are going to add an additional gate code to the gate's keypad. It will only be good for the season and we are hoping that when you have guests out (for a picnic, or a sail) that you give them that code rather than the one one your membership card. We will post it in the Members Area of the website.