January 2026 – Birch Lake Yacht Club

*Sunset from Birch Rd., November 28, 2025*
Photo credit to Jennifer Ball

Christmas Crawl Recap

The Christmas Crawl returned! The weather outside was frightful but inside the three host homes the atmosphere was warm and cozy. About 30 brave souls enjoyed Birch Lake neighbors and great appetizers, hot sandwiches and sides, and yummy desserts. It was a perfect evening of Birch Lake neighbors and good food. Thanks to the hosts: Holly and Scott Troeger, Blair and Bernie Garceau, and Sandy and Bob Baucus.

More photos here –>

Commodore’s Comments

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Holidays.

This New Year will mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of our beloved United States of America. May Almighty God continue to shower our country, and all of us, with many blessings!

Jackie and I got to spend a little time at Birch Lake recently. We enjoyed seeing a few of you, as well as some winter weather, and we heard that the Christmas Crawl was great. We are sorry that we were unable to attend it, but glad that everyone had such a good time. Many thanks to Holly and Scott Troeger, Blair and Bernie Garceau, and Sandy and Bob Baucus for hosting.

We also heard about the car that went into the lake, and are curious to know more about that incident, as information becomes available.

We will be back at Birch Lake for a few days in early February, and are looking forward to attending Winterfest at the Sheffieck’s.

Meanwhile, with the holidays over and the days getting longer, it’s just a few short months before our BLYC summer activities get into full swing. Our first social event of 2026 will be the Spring Dinner, on Saturday, May 16. By popular demand, the event will return to the beautiful Hotel Elkhart, and tickets are now available! Just click on the link in this edition of the Birch Barker to see the details, including the sumptuous menu, and to order your tickets.

Looking forward to a great year!

Thank you!

~Commodore Steve Frew

Fleet Captain’s Corner

Hope everyone had a happy holiday, and the new year is starting out well. Not much sailing at Birch Lake this time of year. A few days ago, we had a sunny day, and I saw a fisherman out in a boat on the water. It also appeared that the lake froze completely over for a day or two with a thin layer of skim ice, but melted quickly when the rain came. If the temp dips back down, the ice should come back quickly! Crossing my fingers for good ice this year so the ice fishermen can get out there. Also hoping that we get good ice to take the ice sailboat out on the lake again, but we shall see.

On an international note, the 80^th Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is nearing its conclusion as I write this. For those not in the know, this is a 630 nautical mile race from Sydney, Australia, to Hobart, Tasmania, and is widely considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world. It is one of the top three offshore yacht races in the world. While held in the Australian summer, storms from Antarctica typically make for a cold, bumpy, and very challenging race. For those interested in this race, check out the following links.

Official Website – https://rolexsydneyhobart.com/

Short 2025 Preview Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgh85ft-tfQ

Longer 2024 Race Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Gx8Cms6Oo

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_to_Hobart_Yacht_Race

~ F.C. Bob Niezgodski

2026 BLYC Memberships

We are excited to introduce a new membership platform this year for BLYC memberships! This platform – called JoinIt – allows us to take online membership payments, collect donations, and take payments for events like the Spring Dinner. JoinIt also gives us an online directory that is only accessible to current BLYC members. We’re just about finished with the setup, and will send a message out later this month with a tutorial on how to pay your Yacht Club dues, make donations, and purchase tickets for events.

Events

2026 Spring Dinner

Hotel Elkhart Aria Ballroom
Saturday, May 16, 2026
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Plated Dinner Menu:
Gala Apple Salad
Chicken Marsala
Creme Brulee Cheesecake

Price: $43 per person, Cash bar

Tickets will be available soon!

2026 BLYC Calendar

Click here to add the BLYC calendar of events to your Google Calendar. The calendar will be updated if events change.

May 16, 2026 – Spring Dinner at Hotel Elkhart, 5pm
May 23 – BLYC Board Meeting
May 23-24 – Memorial Day Regatta
May 30 – Commodore / Vice Commodore Party + Stock the Bar
June 6 – Trivia Night
June 13 – Spaghetti Dinner
June 20 – BLYC Board Meeting
June 27 – Bingo Night
July 3 – Port-a-Pit Fundraiser
July 4 – Boat Parade
July 4 – Fireworks
July 4-5 – Fourth of July Regatta
July 5 – Pancake Breakfast
July 15 – Card / Game Night
July 18 – BLYC Board Meeting
July 18 – Big Outdoor Daytime Screen
July 24 – Ladies’ Golf Outing
July 25 – Poker Run
July 31 – Men’s Golf Outing
August 1 – Corn & Sausage Roast
August 6 – Men’s & Women’s Golf at Orchard Hill Country Club
August 8 – Kidz Regatta
August 15 – BLYC Board Meeting
August 15 – Homeowner’s Association Annual Meeting
August 19 – Card / Game Night
August 22 – Fall Dinner
August 26 – Women’s Style Show
August 29 – Pet / Pooch Parade
September 5-6 – Labor Day Regatta
September 12 – Sailing Awards
September 19 – BLYC Board Meeting
September 26 – Bad Patty Crockpot Challenge

Board meetings take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings at the Yacht Club, and are open to all lake residents.

Public Service Announcements

Turtle Signs

It’s time to stow away your “slow down” signs for the winter! Don’t forget to take them in so they don’t get destroyed by the snow plows this winter.

Update Your Email Preferences

You can choose which emails you want to receive from the Birch Barker! Please click here to update your email preferences.

BLYC Directory

Corrections and updates to the new directory? Send any updates to birchbarker1@gmail.com and we’ll publish them here for folks to update their directories.

Kids of the Month

Click on the images to enlarge

Cindy & Kevin Bernaciak,
John & Jennifer Ball
Dinner at The Italian Village

From the Kings: Leslie and I send tidings of good cheer. A few friends have asked about the bright pink flag we are flying. As with the coming of our Grandson (first child of son Calvin) the flag is to announce another Grandling is on the way. Liz, our daughter-in-law, is pregnant again and … it’s a Girl! Merry Christmas to you and those you love, Bob and Leslie King (North shore)

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

Please share your own kids (or pets or whatever!) to be featured in an upcoming issue. You can email them to birchbarker1@gmail.com.