Official CLR2013 Event Post

[Salty19]

The 5th Annual Compac Carlyle Lake Rendezvous (CLR) is coming soon.  

Here are the event details.  Questions?  Just ask...

________________________________________________________________________________
EVENT DATES: July 11-15, 2013

LOCATION:  Carlyle, IL. South of I-70, about 50 miles east of St. Louis.  
http://www.carlylelake.com/  

LAUNCH RAMP:  
The West Access ramp (far Southwest side of lake) is next door to the host marina.  There is a small, $3 or $4 fee to launch and retrieve here (see fee box in lot).  Take route 127 to the north end of Carlyle, IL, turn on William Road (east)-travel for about 1/2 mile then turn left onto Lake road, just as the lake comes into view. Make an immediate right into the ramp parking lot. Or you can launch for free at Eldon Hazlett State Park, follow the signs off Rt 127 or County rd 15. This ramp is about 4 miles from the marina, so while it's free it's not as convenient as the West Access Ramp.


AGENDA:  
As in past years, we'll be sailing daily, rafting up for lunch and swimming, planned dinners (two at nearby restaurants, one at the marina clubhouse), a friendly and non-serious race, and all the dockside storytelling you can muster in the evenings.  A good time on a great lake with even greater people is guaranteed to be had. Sailing will be from about 9-10am through 4-6pm, give or take based on weather or your energy that particular day.


FEES:  This is a volunteer organized event, there are no fees collected.  Your costs are your own transportation, lodging, food, etc.  However if you want to attend the marina clubhouse dinner, do bring a few bucks per crew to help with food costs, and don't forget small cash bills for ramp fees.


T-SHIRTS and GOODIES:
Sounds like our own MacGuyer with the help from kicknbug is making t-shirts. Not sure about costs or how to reserve them, details to follow.


LODGING:
Super 8  1371 William Rd   Carlyle, IL 62231  (618)-594-8888
Microtel/Mariners Village:  1 Resort Drive  Carlyle, IL (877-451-7666)
Both are decent places. Microtel has suites and is across the street from the marina-where many of us stay. There may be other places, but these are very convenient and clean.

**MENTION ANY DISCOUNT CARDS YOU MAY HAVE WHEN BOOKING (AAA, AARP, etc)**


CAMPING:   http://www.carlylelake.com/Camping/index.htm
Book quickly if you're tent camping.


BOAT CAMPING:
The best spot is in West Branch. There are a lot of tucked away place as well.
http://www.carlylelake.com/Maps/lakemap2.htm

You can also stay at the marina of course.

MARINA:
The official host marina is:

West Access Marina  14222 Lake Road  Carlyle, IL 62231  (618)594-2461
Office Open 7am-4pm central 7 days a week. Call in advance for reservation. If you want to be slip mates with other Com-pacs, just tell them you are there for the Compac Rendezvous.
$10 per night if staying at campground or hotel, $20 if staying on boat (full facilities available).
Showers, boat lift, kitchen, water, electric, ice, misc supplies, gas are all available at the marina.
http://www.westaccess.com/


LAKE MAPS:
http://www.carlylelake.com/Maps/lakemap2.htm
Click the map area for more detailed maps.

RADIO COMMUNICATION:  VHF Channel: 3.  FRS Channel 3  GMRS Channel 3    The FRS radios seem to be the most popular among past participants, so if given a choice use FRS.

OTHER:   While there are some activities organized-any by now the event is well managed- consider this a casual, grassroots type of an event.  A dozen or so boats are expected, perhaps more.  This is not like the bigger events (Havasu, Beer Cruise, etc).  Expect casual sailing and camaraderie among participants, not sponsors, rules, banners and bullhorns.    There are few bathroom facilities available once on the lake.  Definitely bring a port-potty, wag bag, etc as you'll be on the water all day.

RESERVATIONS:  You don't *HAVE* to officially reserve, but Kicknbug would highly appreciate a headcount for planning reservations at the restaurants and food for the marina dinner. If you do not reserve, we may not be able to guarantee a seat at the restaurants. Just reply back here if you're coming.

PHOTO OPS:  As in past years, a Photo DVD will be made after the event.  In order to make the DVD something to enjoy, do bring a high quality camera to take photo's of other boats underway.  Set photo quality on the highest setting.  Notes on photo taking:  Do not turn the camera sideways.  Take multiple photos as images can be blurry due to boat movement. Pictures from far away tend to not work well.  And be prepared to upload them or email them to me after the event. Or we can copy them to a laptop I'll bring on the spot (bring the USB adapter for your particular memory card, or special cord for your camera with USB jack).

NAVIGATION:  You won't need detailed maps or fancy equipment to navigate this lake.  Only basic skills are needed. Maps are available at the above link.

WEATHER:  Expect temps to be in the high 80's or low 90's this time of the year.  Sunscreen, large rim hats, loose clothes and plenty of hydration will be essential.   Do bring plenty of ice and sandwich baggies, or frozen water bottles, etc to fill with ice to cool off with, if necessary.


LUNCH:   In the past, lunch is eaten while underway or when we raft up for swimming.  Do bring your lunch and plenty of liquids on the boat. There are no dockside restaurants, so fend for yourself.

NIGHTSAILING: Carlyle is a great place to nightsail.  There will be practically no boat traffic, there are few bouys to avoid, and the nightsky in this small town is DARK.   There is talk about night sailing one evening, so if you're interested be prepared with functional nav lights, a flashlight and a radio should you need any assistance.

[nies]

WOW, you have done a great job, I put this on my "bucket list",wish I could make it , but will not work this year.,will be watching with great interest for the stories and pictures of the event......nies

[kickingbug1]

    again mike much thanks-----all clr sailors owe mike a slug of rum come july.   u da man!

[Salty19]

Hey kick...what exactly is a slug? I hope that means bottle!!! 

[kickingbug1]

double shot

[kickingbug1]

   just a little heads up ---- im thinking that maybe we should incorporate a night sail at this years event. i have only sailed at night once and it was fantastic. full moon and lots of stars and quiet like you wouldnt believe. anyway if you are thinking about adding nav lights this will give you an excuse. since carlyle lake has very little law enforcement (on the water) i think bow and stern lights should suffice. cant wait to see old friends and make new ones

[MacGyver]

A night sail is a great idea. The wife and I go on several through the year as no one is out, watch the sunset a few times.

Really quiet too. Better if there is moonlight though as a few there was no light, gosh it is hard to see, have to turn off nav lights in order to tell what is up as far as where you are to the shoreline.

A few words on the shirts: Kick, looks like your drawing will probably work. He was going to run it through another piece of software and send it to me to add words, etc.
He just bought a 60 inch printer (and is doing my stuff in his down time, which is rare) so I am sure it will be a bit yet till I hear something more, but I am on it yet.

Not sure if you knew it but Lighthouse Grill closed down, and they moved the breakfast to Bretz Wildlife. Dr. Bretz died so not sure how it is working out up there.... but a new place is going to open March 11th called Mariner's Cafe' in the old "Dockside", "Lighthouse" building.
Just letting you know of the Carlyle Food establishments situation near the marina.

Mac

[MacGyver]

Oh, and for everyone, Eva our marina office manager tries her best to pair us all up on the docks closest to the parking lot.
Short walk from the Clubhouse area where their are showers, etc.

I have looked up the list of Races and found that the weekend of this CLR is clear of all Races, etc. so really not much will be going on that weekend there except our regulars.

Be sure to let her know you are with the ComPac group.

Also, I think the rate is a 1$ per foot, per night. This fee is 50% if you stay at Microtel, not sure if you stay at Campgrounds.
Eva (Or the other ladies in the office) can explain it all when you call.

This fee includes Electric, water (both on a pedestal on the dock) and usage of the clubhouse, and pump out services.

Any questions ask me, what I cant answer be sure to book and ask the marina office 

Mac

[kickingbug1]

      something to think about. last year as you recall we had a grass skirt, flowered shirt loooo-ow theme for the sat night party. this year we were thinking "sailing hats" like captain, pirate etc. i did a search and there are quite a few available pretty cheap too. as any attendee last year will tell you a captain's hat would sure be an improvement on the one i wore. also we need some new lyrics to "what do you do with a drunken sailor"-----changed to "what do you do with a com-pac sailor". after some grog singing might just happen and we do want to "impress" the locals. jason thanks for the info. keep it coming. we might even consider the chop house in st rose for our meet and greet although it is a bit of a drive. as some com-pacers can attest the food is great. there is plenty of time to work that out though. we will do what we can to make this the best clr ever.

[Greene]

We made our reservations at West Access Marina for 7 nights beginning July 10th.  It will be good to see everyone again and hope to meet some new Com-Pac folks.

Mike and Brenda

[Salty19]

Just a reminder to put in your hotel (if applicable) and marina reservations in as soon as possible for this event.
You can always cancel if you decide to not go.

[kickingbug1]

a men salty. if everyone gets their reservations in as soon as possible the marina will be able to keep all the boats together---which works out real well. also as soon as i get a head count i can make the friday dinner reservations. i would like to know the following----name, cell phone number, e mail and boat name. i think we had nine boats last year. it would be great if we could increase that each year. and mike thanks again for everything.

[Vectordirector]

All,

The Admiral and I and "Pulling Strings" are still planning to attend.  Our arrival and departure dates are still up in the air however. 

Mike, I see you are arriving on the 10th.  Are you planning on driving down I-39 to I-55 on that day?  If so, maybe we could hook up somewhere and convoy down. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take the interstate or the back roads as I haven't had the boat on the highway yet and the Jeep is really only good up to about 55-60 MPH when towing.  I would be nervous going much faster than that.  What kind of speed do you do when towing?  Anyway, let me know your plan as I would feel much more comfortable on my first long distance tow with a "tow buddy" riding along.  Right now, our dates are flexible as we are both on vacation all week.  As soon as we narrow it down, I will make the reservations.  We will be staying at the Microtell,  the admiral doesn't do "camping".

More as the dates become firmed up.

Vectordirector

[crazycarl]

Vector,

where are you coming from?

we are in northern illinois and will take 80 west to 39 south to 55.

we'll be going down on thursday the 11th.

i'll pm you my cell #

carl

[Greene]

Vectordirector,

Brenda and are flexible on travel dates, but we will most likely leave early a.m. on the 10th and follow I-39 to I-55.  We usually let the tow vehicle settle into whatever speed it feels the best at.  We just changed tow vehicles, so we're not sure what she'll tow like.  The previous 4Runner loved to pull at 62 or 70+ mph.  For whatever reason it just wasn't happy anywhere between those two speeds.  Towing on the Interstate system at 62 really works pretty well.  We don't tow during peak commute times and have found the trip pretty easy.  We've tried doing the back roads and found them to be more stressful than the highway.  Too many quick stops and tight corners for our taste. Z

If it works out we would be happy to meet up somewhere along the route and travel together.  We won't be in any big hurry along the way, so any speed will be fine with us.  We're excited to hear you will be heading down.  You will have a great time.

Mike and Brenda