• Commodore

    Commodore’s Report – July 2023

    July 31, 2023 - By 

    Ahoy Eagle Creekers!

     

    I  have been away from our lovely club for several weeks, but I would like to report that your commodore has just completed the 2023 Transpacific race from LA to Hawaii.  This was my 4th race to Hawaii.

    Our boat was a J125 named Nereid. We finished 1st on our class of 9 and 2nd place in the overall rankings.  I have proudly worn my ECSC gear as I represented our club at both Hawaii Yacht Club and Waikiki Yacht Club.  Conditions were epic in this race.  Our top speeds were in the 23 to 24 knot range.

    I know that our committee heads have been busy planning the rest of our season and I am excited to hear the stories from the ECSC Regatta and Beach party.

     

    Sail Fast, Sail often,

    Commodore Rick Graef

  • Commodore

    Commodore – May 2023

    May 15, 2023 - By 

    Commodores report –

     

    Lease renegotiation –

     

    Brittany Davis – I emailed mid April regarding the need to get a meeting on the books as lease expires at the end of 2023.  Have not heard back yet.

     

    After discussions with member Jim Weir, who has been involved in numerous lease renegotiations, he gave us the contact of Don Colvin who has is a deputy director at Indy Parks.  Ej has reached out to him also.

     

    We have had a real estate appraisal done by Mark Ratterman of Resource LLC.  This was done so that we have our own independent appraisal as opposed to just using the City’s.  For the last 2 lease renegotiations, the city has done an appraisal and set our rent at 10% of Appraised Value.  From 2005 to 2012 it was set at $40,500. From 2013 to the present it was set at $47,150.  Our independent appraisal came in at about 20 percent increase from our current levels.

     

    In the past we have argued unsuccessfully that we should not have to pay the standard retail rate of 10% of assessed value as we are not a “for profit” business and in fact our lease states that we and our members cannot receive compensation.  As many of you also know, we were established in partnership with the City when the reservoir was formed as the city leaders at that time want a reservoir with sailboats and a family atmosphere.  

     

    We will remind the city of all these things, but will likely still be dealing with paying our rent at 10% of valuation.

     

    EJ has continued to work on getting the gate at the top of the hill automated (as the rest of the parks gates are) however, we feel that until we are on solid ground with the city/lease it isn’t prudent to make any major capital expenses.  In fact, my last email regarding lease renegotiations stated that we have several large ticket capital expenses ready to go but want to ensure that the lease is going smoothly before committing to things like gates, docks and other major capital expenses.

     

    I will discuss lease renegotiation expenses in new business and the DEI initiatives in old business.

     

  • Commodore

    Commodore March 2023

    March 31, 2023 - By 

    Rick Graef – Commodore

    Hi fellow Eagle Creekers,

    I am honored to be serving my second term as Commodore for the 2023 season. Our club has been built by the volunteer activities of our membership over the previous fifty-four years.  I expect this season to be no different. Your committee chairs, officers, and board have planned an exciting season. I encourage you to reach out to our committee chairs and get involved. If you expressed an interest in volunteering in a specific area, you will be contacted soon. In order to incentivize even more volunteer commitment, we have raised our hourly volunteer work credit to $15/hour, so there is no excuse not to join in, get involved, and make new friends.

     

    This season we have instituted a new system where all watercraft on our property pay a “storage fee” whether stored on land or in a slip (you already paid this in your 2023 dues) .  This was adopted in an effort to eliminate the “free” boat storage that led to a derelict boat issue at our club.  Along with this change, our Harbormaster will be implementing assigned dry parking storage. This requires the marking of all of the boat parking spots on our grounds. This process will take some time to implement, so if you are a dry parked boat owner, I would ask for your patience as we fine tune what is best for our space. The Harbor master will be needing volunteers to assist with this work so watch for the opportunities (come out and earn some work credits).  If you are a wet slip boat owner, this means that your boat needs to be in the water and its trailer moved to the upper trailer field by the end of May. 

     

    Several of the future long-term projects on the horizon include dock repair/replacement, re-roofing the upper shelter, ramp repair, seawall repair, automatic gate for club access, and possible additional enclosed space (either partially enclosing upper shelter or building additional enclosed space). 

     

    Hope to see you all at our spring work party (get your work credits here) on April 15th at 8 AM.

     

    Sail Fast

     

    Richard Graef

    ECSC Commodore 2023

  • Commodore

    Vice Commodore March 2023

    March 20, 2023 - By 

    EJ Williams / Vice Commodore / Ship Store

    A big shout out to Michael Denney for taking over Publicity Chair starting this year.  I enjoyed putting together the Telltales and updating the website over the last 3 years, but I know that it is in good hands going forward with Michael (he’s more of a techie than I am!). 

    As many of you know already, Rick Graef has tapped me to be Vice Commodore this year which, in turn, means that I get the reins to the ECSC kingdom come 2024.  I’m excited to learn from and work with Rick this year, and I will do my best to help the club thrive over the next two years.  

    Top-of-mind items for me right now include:

    1) Updating our front entrance gate.  Eagle Creek Parks seems to be onboard with the project. Next step is making a contact at DNR to get them onboard. 

    2) Hosting the Alex Rust Regatta (ARR!) presented by Chasing Bubbles Foundation

    This is on June 17th. More details to come. It will be a fun day of kayaking, paddle board races, and pursuit-style sailing races (like the Hornback)

    3) Improving ECSC’s volunteering.  Looking at new forms of communicating volunteer opportunities.

    4) Working with ECSC Officers on a new lease with the Parks Dept. This is going well. 

    5) Continue Ki’s phenomenal efforts toward club beautification and grounds improvement. 

    I wish I could attend the Spring Work Part on April 15th but I will be helping Purdue run their electric go-kart race that day.  So I hope to convince Bill to do a 2nd work party later that I’ll help run. 

    See you guys soon!

    EJ Williams

    Vice Commodore

  • Commodore

    Commodore July 2022

    July 28, 2022 - By 

    Ahoy!

    What a great month we just had! The ECSC Regatta and Beach Party were a huge hit! We had a very large gathering for dinner and the band. The food was delicious with a special thanks to the volunteers!

    The kids/family fun day had an awesome turn out with the new Pirate Ship playground and petting zoo! Thank you to Jen Curtis and Tammy Ray!

    We can’t forget to mention that 46th Street is finally re-paved and looking nice and smooth. I’m excited to see what’s ahead for the second half of the summer! Have fun and be safe!

    Ki Hickok
    Commodore

  • ECSC sailboats on water
    Commodore

    Commodore June 2022

    June 24, 2022 - By 
    Hey sailors!
    I can’t believe June is almost over, but there are so many fun upcoming  activities planned for the future. Our Father’s Day Brunch was a big hit, as usual. Thank you to all the volunteers that made it awesome and enjoyable.  We have our Kids Family Fun Day July 2nd to try out our brand new Pirate Ship playground located behind the upper shelter. A big thank you to our Facilities Manager, Bill Harrington! Also on July 16 we have the ECSC Regatta and Beach Party to look forward to.
    I hope everyone is enjoying the season so far!

    Ki Hickok
    ECSC Commodore

  • 420's sailing
    Commodore

    Commodore May 2022

    May 15, 2022 - By 

    We have many different activities and areas for all members and their guests to enjoy. Please feel free to spend some time with family and friends at multiple different locations around the sailing club including the Upper Shelter, Lower Shelter, Racing Shelter, Captain’s Corner, Bodish Bluff, and the Pirate Ship Playset.

    The Upper Shelter is, of course, our largest area that is covered in which we use for multiple events throughout the year. The upper shelter also houses our bathroom facilities along with shower amenities. Directly behind the upper shelter, new for the very first time, we have the Pirate Ship Playset for kids to play on and pretend they are sailing on the Eagle Ocean Sea – Arrrrg! Also new for the first time, behind the playset, we have Bodish Bluff, which is a new grassy area where you can play some games with family and friends while enjoying the sunshine. The Lower Shelter is our 2nd largest area that is covered and is a nice place to grill out and be closer to the action. The Racing Shelter is a covered area closest to the ramp and docks – a great place to hangout and converse with fellow members and racers. The Captain’s Corner is the deck next to the beach and can make you feel like you are on some exotic beach vacation. That is a great place to get a tan and relax or have a picnic and enjoy the beach and the water. I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy all the amenities and activities this club has to offer.

    Please have fun and enjoy this wonderful sailing club, but please remember to be courteous to all of our members and their guests by following the General Rules of our club. Eagle Creek Sailing Club is a volunteer organization, so please keep that in mind. Also, if anyone would like to volunteer for a project or any number of our activities we have planned, don’t hesitate to contact me (or any other chairperson).

    A few quick rules are: Always lock the main gate after dusk, even if other members are still at the sailing club because you never know when they’re going to leave. If you have any big trash items (like pizza boxes), please dispose of them into the main dumpster. Boat trailer parking is not permitted in or outside of the car corral or in front of or next to the Captain’s Corner. This is in effect between Mothers day and the Hornback regatta. After putting your boat into your wet slip, make sure to take your trailer up to the trailer lot to ease congestion for other members.

    Looking forward to a spectacular, fun-filled sailing season! I am so happy it has finally arrived!

    Ki Hickok
    ECSC Commodore