April 2026
North Coast Yacht Club
Quarterly Newsletter – April 20, 2026
Ike Kershaw, NCYC 2026 Commodore
Membership
Well, the deadline for renewing memberships in the Club has passed and we will start the year with 35 memberships and approximately 70 people. We would also like to welcome our first new member of the year, Brent Mussery who lives in the Coastal Cottages area. Your Board of Directors has placed a priority to expand membership significantly this year and will hold several events to showcase our Club to the public. We would certainly appreciate members stepping forward to help us to increase Club membership.
Clubhouse
We want to thank Tom Holmes and his grandson for all the work they did installing plumbing for a new toilet into the Club restroom as well as running plumbing up to the Clubroom so we can have running water upstairs. The plan is to have a restroom at the foot of the stairs by May. No more having to go out and around the building to use the facilities in the Coastal Marine Lounge. A second handrail has been installed for additional safety going up and coming down the stairs. Bart Beal donated a full-size refrigerator to the Club and Jarod Schmeider trapsed out to Akron to pick it up and organized an effort to get the large device up the stairs and into the Clubroom.
Burning Snowman
Members came together on February 28th to enjoy fellowship and to watch/participate in Port Clinton’s Burning Snowman Festival. Thanks go out to Bonnie Bernard and Stacy Newman for creating a welcoming environment out of the cold and for setting up hot beverages and snacks for everyone to enjoy. The weather was not bitterly cold thus helping to make the outside event enjoyable.
May 16th Club Membership Meeting
While we wait for several improvements to our Clubhouse, our first get-together of the year will be held at the Canoe Wine Bar, in Marblehead on Saturday May 18. Gourmet pizzas and cash bar will be the order of the day. Social begins at 5:00 with the membership meeting starting at 5:45. While the Club will help subsidize the cost of the meal, we would appreciate a $10 contribution for all members and guests attending. Please RSVP by May 7th to Bart Beal, NCYC Rear Commodore at bealbart@gmail.com or text/call (330) 815-3815
Cruising
Our first cruise is not scheduled until June 26-27 at Kelly’s Island Seaway Marina but it is not too soon to get it on your calendar and register. You may contact the marina at 419-746-2506 to register. Just specify that you are with NCYC. I will also highlight two new cruises that were added to our calendar. Two I-LYA Summer Rendezvous’ are held at South Bass, Put-In-Bay. Power Boat Week is held July 22-26 and Sailboat Week is July 29-August 2. You can go to the I-LYA website for more information.
Increase Social Media Activity Wanted
We have a Facebook account for our Club that as of now has had very limited participation. To drive increased membership and a create a stronger connection between members we would like to ask members to try to engage a bit more with our presence on Facebook. Please feel free to share photos, videos, stories and likes about our Club activities, your boating experiences. Share your comments with fellow member postings. This is about attracting new members as well as keeping the Club relevant, connected and financially sustainable. I thank Randy Reed for stepping forward to help coordinate our presence on Facebook and possibly other social media sites in the future.
Website
If you haven’t noticed the Club has been developing a Website (northcoastyc.com). Thanks go out to Alex Shultz for his work in getting the site up and running. Between Jim Haley, Past Commodore and Alex the start of an information site for our club is online. For the first time members were able to pay 2026 membership dues online with a credit card. However, Alex has asked to step down from the responsibly so we are looking for a Club volunteer to handle webpage developments. If you might be interested, please contact Ike Kershaw, Commodore at 614-270-3248. Much of the work has been already been done so the amount of time needed for website maintenance should be minimal.
I-LYA and IOBG (International Order of the Blue Gavel) Representation)
On March 22nd Hank Rengh, Trustee and Jim Haley, Past Commodore attended the 2026 swearing in ceremonies for past Commodores at the Forest City Yacht Club in Cleveland OH representing the NCYC as its newest charter member in District 7. On March 28-29 Jim also represented the NCYC at the I-LYA spring meeting and recorded our club’s first vote on this year’s selection committee on behalf of the NCYC. On April 26th the IOBG is hosting their annual fund raiser cruise on Lady Caroline in Cleveland, OH. Mike Petch and Jim have registered to attend representing NCYC. The Mission of the International Order of the Blue Gavel is to recognize Past Commodores of the international yachting community and to unite them in order to promote the highest ideals of yachting and preserve its customs and traditions.