A message from our Fleet Captain:

From the fog to the people that missed it.
“The Con Trios Holiday Party”

Saturday afternoon at 2:00 the stage was set and the Hospitality room was assembled. The 20 foot Con Trios Floating Bar in Classic “T” configuration was the centerpiece of the room. The seven eight top tables were arranged in an asymmetric “U” leaving room for the modest dance floor and laptop sound system. Cool Jazz flowed from the speakers as guests began arriving. The dress was very casual early but by 4:00 the room began to transform; evening wear and Christmas ties began to fill the room. The party was getting started.
          In the large foyer of the banquet room registration started on schedule. Gifts were passed out while Lefty the one armed bar tender set himself up for the coming rush. Lefty really has two arms and skillfully served the spirits. Six forty five pm all joined in a brief prayer and plates started coming to tables. Chef John Klipp delivered a meal that can not be described in hotel terms. The desert table was incredible. A full belly can kill a party, so quickly the old board and new board were called up, Commodores were thanked and the Galaxy band took control of the party. Before anyone had a chance to yawn or loosen their belt the large dance floor filled up. Galaxy played dance music from all genres with horns keyboards excellent vocals. Everyone danced all night. But that’s not the end of the story.
          Back in the hospitality room, coolers restocked, Ice buckets refilled trays of clean glasses and ten pizzas stood ready as “Lefty” poured everyone one last drink for the long walk back. The room transformed again, the private members only after hour’s club opened. With no delay a second laptop was added to the system and the dance continued until the last girl stopped dancing at 5:10 am.
          As the last man standing I dutifully closed the room it began to set in that this is the end of my run. In about two hours I pass the torch and this mess over to Alan.
It has been my honor and privilege to be your Fleet Captain this year.

Scott Hickey
Fleet Captain Con Trios Yacht Club

(Webmaster note: Picture is of Scotty waiting for Alan on Sunday morning)

2010 Holiday Party pictures:

Fleet Captain Scott and First Mate Lisa closed out their year with one humdinger of a party! 15+ hours of non stop fun! Great Job Guys! Click HERE or on the picture below to go the photo galleries page for links to all the pictures. If you have any you would like to contribute email the webmaster@contriosyachtclub.org

Many Thanks to the photographers that contributed, Bob (New Guy Bob) White and Terrie (Gulliewash) Bert!

Sad News from RiverBill:

Received the following email from Con Trios member Bill Kelley of www.RiverBills.com

"Captn Larry Walker passed away.  He was the owner of "World Wide Marine Training" and he wrote the weekly column, "Making Headway", that we have been posting on RiverBills."

Larry was SCUBA diving along with Grafton Harbor owners Joe and Jan DeSherlia in the British Virgin Islands when he had a massive heart attack. Bill has posted much more information on www.RiverBills.com and you can click HERE for a link to the story in the Oriental NC publication TownDock.net

Congratulations to Con Trios Yacht Club Members Dave Stolze and Lee!

Dave and Lee getting married on the beach in Punta Cana, photo by Mary Tiemann

Con Trios Board Member Dave Stolze and Lee Domke were married on the beach in Punta Cana on November 17th, 2010.
Congratulations and Best Wishes to Dave and Lee!

The Burgee Wall at Sharky's in the meeting room is growing. Added a couple more recently.
If you have a burgee you would like to contribute let me know.

2010 Membership Party photos are coming in!

Click HERE or on the filmstrip below to see some from First Mate Lisa Hickey

Guess I have opened the door on this issue and of course have received more emails concerning Proposition H. I would suggest anyone having any concerns about this issue to research the facts on their own. As with any political issue there will no doubt be interests on both sides that will pick and choose what portions they want to emphasize. That being said, I am posting an email from another Con Trios member, Leslie Fogarty, who seems to be on the same side of this issue. Here is Leslie's email and links to her attachments. Again, I would like to stress that anyone interested research and get involved with this. I am not knowledgeable about how much influence online petitions accomplish, I do know that individual letters normally get a personal response and that is my preferred method. This is my personal and club disclaimer but I do want the discussion to continue.
Darryll Weil, Commodore and Webmaster, Con Trios Yacht Club.

Here is Leslie's email:

Hi, Darryl!
Jim and I were there, as well as several other Con Trios members, and I would like to add that there is a website where people can “sign” to petition against this.  The site is www.lowerlands.com  Click on “please sign our petition to protect our land”   Attached is some literature that was passed out if you’d like to post it on the site.  It was a very interesting meeting and I certainly hope this disastrous proposal does not go through.  It’s already been approved in Illinois.

Leslie Fogarty

Here are the links to the attachments she sent, they are Adobe Acrobat .pdf format as they have been marked up by someone:

Citizens against Prop H (CAP-H) newsletter.

Plan H edited.

 

Email from Past Commodore Gary Meinershagen:

I and about 200 other river people attended a meeting at Orchard Farm school last Wednesday night, Sept 29th.The subject was "building larger and higher levees" on the Mississippi River up stream from St Charles. St Charles is to become a flood storage area.
The bottom line was "write your congressmen about opposing Proposition H."
See the attached letter I wrote and a list of politicians I sent it to. I hope more boaters would sent a similar letter to the same politicians.

Here is Gary's letter, a downloadable copy is available also, click HERE. The list of politicians he mailed it to is available for download HERE.

October 1, 2010

Dear:

I am writing you concerning my opposition to Proposition “H”.

I am a resident of the City of St. Charles and have owned property on the Mississippi River in St. Charles County for the past  50 years.  In the 1960’s, there was very little flooding, and until 1973, I had never experienced a 100 Year Flood.  I recall periods of  7 years when there was no flooding, or very little flooding.  As time went by, levees were built along the Mississippi River and channelization of the Missouri River was completed, flooding became more frequent and at higher levels.  As you know, in 1993, we experienced a 500 Year Flood.  With all the levees, the water could no longer spread out horizontally, but was forced to go vertically within the levees, causing higher floods. 

Proposition “H” proposes larger and higher levees upstream from St. Charles, which will cause higher and more frequent floods in St. Charles County.  During 2010, as per USGS, the Mississippi River was above flood stage at Grafton, Illinois and Winfield, Missouri 65% of the time from January 1st through September 1, 2010.  It is my opinion that this flooding is a direct result of the building of levees.

In conclusion, I am asking that you oppose Proposition “H” and support legislation to stop any further building of levees along the Mississippi River.

Sincerely,

Gary L. Meinershagen

 

Email from Barb Nelson, Significant Other of Mark Miles:

As you may already know, we have been on vacation at Hilton Head Island.  While there, we did a burgee exchange with both Harbour Town Yacht Club and the Yacht Club of Hilton Head Island.  We had a great time!!  The members of the Yacht Club of Hilton Head Island were very welcoming and honored to have our burgee, which is one of the few they didn't already have.  I have enclosed some pictures.  They have an awesome club and we had a wonderful time.  More pictures to follow once we get home and settled in and get a chance to review them.

Woodland Yacht Club Memorial and Flag Retirement Ceremony 9/11/2010

On Saturday, 9/11/2010 Fleet Captain Scott Hickey and First Mate Lisa held a Memorial to remember the old Woodland Yacht Club. In honor of 9/11 they also arranged a flag retirement ceremony with St. Charles VFW post 312 with the help of Julie Spradling, significant other of Con Trios Vice Commodore Alan Deutschmann. Con Trios Members Bill and Linda Mixon prepared a feast for all of us, Con Trios Member Greg Sadowski kept the tunes going and the flag ceremony was well respected and participated in by all members present. Many Thanks to VFW Members Jack Spitler (Sergeant at Arms), Jim Arnac (2nd Vice), Billy Webb (Member), Bob Strahm (Commander), our own Julie Spradling (1st Vice Commander) and Rich Middendorf (Chaplain). Click HERE or on picture below for more pictures of the day.

Blessing of the Fleet 2010

The 53rd Annual Blessing of the Fleet was held on August 28th due to high water delaying it. About 248 boats were in the parade and dozens more anchored out to watch. Con Trios Yacht Club gives out an award to the best decorated Member boat. Alan Deutschmann won it again this year. Not only did Alan, Julie and their crew do a great job of decorating the boat but they also wore some outstanding Pirate costumes. Here's a picture of Alan and Julie receiving their award from Fleet Captain Scott Hickey. More pictures and links are available on the Blessing of the Fleet website, www.blessingofthefleetstl.com

Email from Con Trios Member Rod Radke:

Attached are pictures of Eric Ridenhour completing the MR340. This is a kayak/canoe race of 340 miles on the Missouri River from Kansas City to St. Charles, MO.

Pirate Party report from Fleet Captain Scott Hickey:

The Pirate Party turned out great, except for the part about not having the Blessing of the Fleet. The attendance was very strong considering the high water conditions.
Here are some of the statistics.
Grafton Harbor Rented more than 30 slips Friday night and 67 Saturday night.
Big Kahuna served more than 110 people and supplied 5 gallons of Rum Runners
D.J. Ray cranked out a great mix of fun music for about 9 hours
Con Trios had 45 Pre Paid Reservations, 28 Phone in Reservations and 43 Walk ins.
Our hosts Joe, Jan, Sally and their crew of dock hands tied up a lot of boats and kept ahead of any of the issues that popped up for all three days of the party. They all made me feel like they really wanted to have this party.
Waking up Friday and Saturday morning on A dock in the “Ching” really made me want to head up river for a week or so. Grafton Harbor is to me the Best Transient destination in the Alton Pool.
Tom and his friendly staff did a Great job feeding our group for all three days.
The party was called off and back on no less than 4 times in one week while the river and the forecasters sat back and laughed at Tom and I as we grew new grey hairs. Friday night’s power failure sprouted a few more. The good Breakfast and outstanding Pirate feast make me want to be a regular at the Big Kahuna. They are up to the challenge
D. J. Ray controlled the volume and tempo until Mother Nature made him quit. He would have played all night.
When you have a group of people like this to work with you can’t go wrong! It’s going to be a Party! To all the members and their guests who supported this event, even the friends who just stopped by for a visit. I want to say Thank You for coming. All of you make Con Trios events fun and I love to see all the boats.
Scott Hickey Fleet Captain

Pirates of the Mississippi Party photos are up!

Click HERE or on the picture above to see all the pictures.

Fleet Captain Scott and First Mate Lisa put together a great party at Grafton Harbor on Saturday, July 24th. Pool party with music by DJ Ray, great food prepared by the Big Kahuna. Dozens of boats braved the high water and fast current to be there! Angie and Craig had some special "Pirate" themed shirts and accesories to sell. Party started Friday afternoon as people began showing up and continued even after the storm about 9 PM Saturday, it just moved into Big Kahuna. Many Thanks to all that came and helped. Joe and Jan of Grafton Harbor were wonderful hosts as always and Tom of Big Kahuna kept the food coming.

Debbie Weidinger also posted some on her FaceBook page, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=19690&id=100000363844775&ref=mf

And a Big Con Trios "THANK YOU" to Member Bill Kelley of www.RiverBills.com for posting pics as the weekend went on!

Con Trios Yacht Club Charitable Donations:

Added a new page to the website to inform our members of the Con Trios Yacht Club's Charitable Donations. Go to the "Club Donations" page for all the information.

Donation requests for 2011 can be applied for by contacting Con Trios Yacht Club's Vice Commodore after January 1st, 2011

Click HERE or on the picture above for more pictures of the day.

Congratulations to Con Trios Member Ruthie Durmeier on the Grand Opening of her new business, Ruthie's Closet, on June 30th, 2010. Most of you know Ruthie as our wonderful raffle ticket seller at most of the events. The business is a resale shop at 15 Hawks Nest Plaza in St. Charles, Telephone 314-578-6059. Best of Luck to Ruthie and Ted on their new venture. Here's a couple of pictures of the ribbon cutting with the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce.

Drag Boat Races at Creve Coeur Lake

Fleet Captain Scott and First Mate Lisa did a great job setting up everything at Creve Coeur Lake so our members could enjoy a fun weekend of Drag Boat Racing. Past Commodore Tim Tighe originally came up with this idea and the last two years have shown what a great idea it was! May have been a little HOT, but no hotter than the racing we got to see. Check the "Photo Galleries" page to see some pics of the weekend. Many thanks to the "Tent Take Down Crew" of Craig Tredway, Mark Miles, Charlie DeClue, Carl Tiemann, Mary Beth Tiemann, Craig Erb, Sharon Stone, Darryll Weil, Scott and Lisa Hickey.

click on photo to see the rest of the pictures

2010 Drag Boat Races - Setting up the tent on Friday - photos by First Mate Lisa Hickey..
Thanks to Past Commodores Sonny Robbins, Mike Ramirez, Gary Meinershagen, Denny Galkowski, Members Craig Tredway, Mark Foppe, Bill Brueggeman, Charlie DeClue (brother of member Ray DeClue), Commodore Darryll Weil, Fleet Captain Scott Hickey and First Mate Lisa Hickey for setting up the Con Trios tent on Friday!

Added some more photos from the Champagne Brunch by Gary Dill and the Past Commodores Party by Gary Meinershagen. Check the "Photo Galleries" page to see all the pictures.

The Champagne Brunch was a tremendous success. Fantastic food prepared by Mark of Duck Club, Music by the Rhythm Watch Band, Champagne served by the Con Trios Board Members, a huge pool party, great raffle prizes collected by Judy Meinershagen, fun, friends and a terrific party put on by Fleet Captain Scott and First Mate Lisa! Posted the first batch of pictures from myself, Lisa and Shelley, more are on the way. Go to the "Photo Galleries" page for links to all of them.

Next Event is the Creve Coeur Drag Boat Races at Creve Coeur Lake on Saturday and Sunday, June 19th and 20th. VIP passes are available for Con Trios Yacht Club members. We will again be setting up our tent on Friday the 18th at 9:30 AM. Any help would be appreciated and you can watch the race teams practicing and tuning as well.

Duck Club Yacht Club is having their Margaritaville Poolside Party on Saturday, June 19th. Here is a link to their FaceBook page for more information on the event:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Charles-MO/Duck-Club-Yacht-Club/300990306109?ref=nf#!/event.php?eid=126015490765767&index=1

Many Thanks to Duck Club Yacht Club and their chef Mark for hosting our Champagne Brunch!

Past Commodores Party at Sharky's was a great time. The theme was Kentucky Derby and the ladies displayed some beautiful hats. Pictures are coming in. Check the "Photo Galleries" page.

Past Commodores at the Past Commodores Party planning meeting at Sharky's

Con Trios Yacht Club Past Commodores tradition.
Some of you may wonder what is the deal with the Past Commodores Party and why do they get preferential treatment at many of the Con Trios events.
Here's how it works.
To become a "Past Commodore" you must have been a Commodore first. The Commodore is the head or leader of Con Trios Yacht Club during his tenure as such.
But, there's a catch, to become a Commodore you first must have been a Fleet Captain. The Fleet Captain is the one that has to plan and put together all of the official Con Trios events with the exception of the Past Commodores Party.
But, there's a catch, to become a Fleet Captain you must first be a Con Trios Board Member. There are many other positions that make up the Board of Directors and all of the qualifications can be seen in your Con Trios Roster By-Laws section near the back of the roster.
In actual practice most that have made it to "Past Commodore" have filled not only the roles of Fleet Captain and Commodore but in most cases have also handled Properties and many of the other roles as Board Member or Committee Chair. So you see it takes quite a bit of involvement over a period of years before one reaches the position of "Past Commodore".
Now what's the deal with the Past Commodores actually working the party they are putting on? Well here's how it came about. All the Past Commodores are well aware of the effort put forth as Fleet Captain because they have all "Been There, Done That". So this was their way of giving the current Fleet Captain a break and a chance to enjoy a party like the rest of the members.
Over the years the "Immediate Past Commodore" (previous year's Commodore) has evolved as the Chair of the Past Commodores committee to plan the party and co-ordinates dates and such with the current Fleet Captain. This position used to be a Past Commodore a few years removed from being Commodore.
We are fortunate to have quite a number of Past Commodores still active in the organization. Besides always being there to assist the current Commodore and Fleet Captain many have done repeated stints on the Board in various capacities.
I look forward to being called a "Past Commodore" and being a part of this group that has done so much to make our club what it is today.
So when you greet one of our Past Commodores do what they do and address them as Commodore (insert name here). They are the living history of your Yacht Club.
Darryll Weil, Commodore 2010

Tim Tighe, John Biondo and Dutch Hauhe

Congratulations to Con Trios Members Tim Tighe and Dutch Hauhe on the opening of their new restaurant and bar, "The Original Sharky's On The River" at North Shore Marina. Check out their roster ad and their website:
www.sharkysontheriver.com

2010 new members in attendance, Bob White, Rick Phillips and Christa Leone, Fleet Captain Scott and First Mate Lisa, Mindy and Dave Stegall, Kelly and John Eisele

The 2010 IceBreaker at the Embassy Suites was a great time! Congrats to Fleet Captain Scotty and First Mate Lisa on putting together a great Pub Crawl on Friday night and then a terrific party on Saturday night. Good food, drink, fun and friends enjoyed the music of the Rail Band and then the party continued in the Hospitality Room until the wee hours of the morning. Pictures are coming in, go to the "Photo Galleries" page to see them all.

Click here to see a preview of the Past Commodores poster that will be on permanent display in the meeting room at the new Sharky's On The River.

February Get Together photos are up, click here to see them. Thanks to Maureen and Gary Dill for the great pictures.

Fellow Con Trios Members Mark Miles and Tim Tighe have recently opened the Bridgeton License Office at 11977 St. Charles Rock Rd., Suite 111, in the Orchard Bend Plaza (314-298-0127). Mark brings over 10 years experience at running a license office and has partnered with Tim to put together a strong management team. Mark boats out of Yacht Club of St. Louis in the houseboat "Miles II Go" while Tim is at Duck Club Yacht Club, having recently sold his cruiser "Patience". They are able and ready to help with your boat, car, truck or any other licensing issues. They will bring a "friendly boater" approach to the office. Congratulations and best of luck to Tim and Mark. Look for their ad in the 2010 Roster!