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| Commodore |
...or in Eagle Creek. We have received what now appears to be our annual warning about an excess amount of blue-green algae in our reservoir. The “bloom” is the product of warm waters, little rain, light winds, and nutrients (mainly fertilizer washed off upstream fields and yards). I don't think that anyone intentionally drinks from the reservoir, but if you inadvertently swallow some of the water, you risk illness. Also, some have reported a slight rash or itchiness from contact with the water. So, if you dump the Sunfish (how else would you get in the water), you might want to drop by the showers for a quick rinse before heading home.
After due consideration, the Board directed that we obtain a professional evaluation and recommendation. That is in the works. Within the Club we have a pool of talent and expertise... including engineers and architects as well as those with practical construction experience. We have also found or have had local contractors referred to us. I have already received a variety of suggestions and recommendations as to a “cure” and the possible ways to paid for the work or accomplish the work with volunteers. Maybe I have been around here too long, but I remember the $5,000 L-Dock and the planking of A-Dock and other Do-It-Yourself fixes that turned out not to be a fix at all. In this case, I think the best course is to obtain and publish the profession recommendation(s). I hope that all interested parties will then review the reports with a critical eye and that we can come to a considered plan of action. In the meantime, on the sailing front, we are coming into, imho, the best sailing time of the year. We will leave the hot and windless days of August behind us for the fair winds of Fall. Time to wipe away the spiderwebs and go for a sail. By the way, has anyone else noticed that we seem to have on Olympic breed of spiders out at the Club? I swear that they can cover your boat, including the windex, in a single evening. Maybe they feed on blue-green algae? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social |
 Special thanks to Commodore Tim who once again set a Club tradition...this time changing the annual Commodore's Thing to a raftup instead. A good time was had by all. Next year's Commodore (Tony) will have some big shoes to fill for his Commodore's Thing! Right: Commodore Tim's Raftup Our next social event is this Labor Day Weekend...our annual cookout. You know the drill by now...and you know how much fun our socials are. This is a great opportunity to catch some of our great fall cooler winds, park your boat, then walk up to the shelter for the cookout and relax! 5pm Monday! And, don't forget the social side of the Governor's Cup Regatta next weekend. I like this event since it's run by Racing rather than Social! Janet and Chris are planning for a great weekend...with some of the more fun times being the Friday night Welcome party for our out-of-town guests. We'll end our season (gads, did I say that?) with the Hornback Chili Cookoff followed by our Final Bash. The social side of sailing is a large part of the sailing culture. All Club members are encouraged to bring their sailing stories to the table!
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| Harbormaster |
 Thinking back 12 months, I remember looking out over our fair Harbor and seeing boats, both big and little boats, resting nicely in the mud as our precious sailing water was drying up. Isn't it nice what a difference a year can make! Water levels as of this week have been good. HOWEVER, please keep a close eye on things as our fair harbor will start its normal fall descent shortly after Labor Day. It's never fun seeing your keel in the mud. Right: Harbormaster Rick with Austin & RJ at Foxy's While our ability to park our empty trailers at the top of the hill is greatly appreciated, there are some restrictions that go with that privilege. The one that affects us now is: ALL trailers have to vacate the upper field by October 15th. Please, please, please make arrangements to move your trailer by that date. If you don't and the Harbor Master Committee (Ralph or Me or Bill or Mike, or whomever we can get to help) has to move it, you could be charged. If you are going to have trouble with that date (about 45 days away), give Ralph or me a call ahead of time (as in before the day before) and we will try to help you figure out a plan. Last year we had to move over 15 trailers. Please take care of your own equipment The Club is not your Mother! And, just to make it more complicated this year, following a long-term protocol initiated well before my term, empty/full trailers are not to be parked inside or just outside the car corral until after the Hornback Regatta on Sunday afternoon. So, if you are not pulling your boat, just find an empty spot. As for the last five weeks, your friendly harbormaster (me) has been out of town. Special thanks to Bob Bodish, Ralph, Bill, Mike, and anybody else who has lent a hand in my absence; the club looks great. Where was your harbormaster you ask? . . . . Sailing of course! I had the honor to watch our Junior Sailing team compete successfully in both the Junior Bay Week (US Sailing Quarterfinals) and the Area SemiFinals at Cowan Lake. Congrats to all our Junior Sailors and their Coaches (Wayne Myers, Ki Hickock, and Jason Hubbard).
My sons and I also had the opportunity to watch some of the Final round in Chicago. It was great to see the Junior Sailors who advanced from our region finish in the top 3 in the nation in both the single- and double-hand divisions. Then, I had the opportunity to sail both the 100th running of the Chicago to Mackinac Race and the IRC Nationals in Harbor Springs, Michigan. Great racing and my first sailing on a Santa Cruz 70!! I packed a lot of spinnakers, and man, those are big spinnakers! Following that adventure, my boys and I spent a couple of weeks cruising in the BVI. For those of you who visit Foxy's on Jost Van Dyke, look for the ECSC Harbormaster hat that is now hanging from the ceiling emblazoned with the ECSC Junior Sailing Moniker (Pictured left) !
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| Racing |
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Greetings Fellow Racers!
It is only a few days until the Governor’s Cup Regatta. ECSC wants you to gather your crew for two days of fast and furious racing...not to mention the food and fun that our regatta chair, Chris Cunningham, has planned! We are expecting quite a few out-of-town Hobie Waves, as well as Highlanders to attend. These visitors bring national champions to our waters for a reason. WE KNOW HOW TO HOST REGATTAS! Did I mention already that we know how to have fun? Besides that, your regatta chair has been working hard...just for you! All non-racers and guests are welcome and encouraged to attend the dinner and festivities. Right: The Hobie Waves at our Mayor's Cup Regatta Just as soon as you finish the Governor's Cup, it’ll be time to be thinking about the Hornback Regatta, which is slated for October 11th and 12th. This is a fun regatta, where boats take their handicap times before starting the race. It’s a “backwards” PHRF race!! If everyone sails to their PHRF, all the boats will finish at the same time! There is NO FEE to participate. The NOR, Registration, and SI will be posted online and on the Race bulletin board. In other business, an amendment has been made to the Sailing Instructions for the Saturday Fall Series: Boats competing in the Saturday races for the entire Fall Series will be scored as one fleet, regardless of their PHRF rating. The fleets described in the Sailing Instructions will be consolidated into one fleet for the Saturday races, only.
Dates to Remember: Right: Our Mayor's Cup Regatta
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| Ladies' Regatta |
 A BIG thanks to all the Ladies who came out for the Scavenger Hunt! We had a great crowd and lots of handsome men to help! All the Ladies and their crew received fabulous prizes and the weather was perfect. Thanks again everyone.... Right: Eileen & Crew at the Ladies' Regatta
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| Holy Mackerel |
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Joe and I returned with Holy Mackerel from the 2008 National Catalina 22 Great Lakes Cruise. Fellow ECSC member Geoff Endris (Repose) also participated. Rich Fox was supposed to have sailed with us, but had to bow out at the last minute due to work complications.
Rich suggested that I send an article about our experience. Even though this is a Catalina sponsored cruise, certainly other sailboats are welcome. The more the merrier! I believe that Geoff will be cruise captain for next year's sail on Lake Superior. Right: Joe & Diana This was the second Catalina 22 Great Lakes cruise for our boat, Holy Mackerel. Last year we cruised for a week on Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. We enjoyed the camaraderie of our small fleet, full days of sailing, anchoring out a few nights, and time spent exploring the picturesque communities we docked at during that time (Elk Rapids, Northport, Traverse City, and Suttons’s Bay). Although, an entirely different sail awaited us this year. We would begin in Lake Huron, sail down the St. Clair River into Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and end in Lake Erie. Our fellow cruisers came from Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Fellow ECSC member and a veteran of these cruises, Geoff Endris (Repose), also participated. Connie Endris, Geoff’s mother, was Geoff’s second mate. After last year’s cruise without a bimini, Joe installed one with time to use it on our own Eagle ocean. Murphy’s Law kicked in as one week before the cruise, the battery in our SUV died and had to be replaced. Last year, it was the outboard motor. Co-incidentally, our fellow cruisers each had some glitch to address the week before the cruise as we discovered when we met at the marina in Lexington, Michigan, Saturday, July 19th and prepared to launch. Afterwards, we all walked to Steis’s Village Inn for burgers and Blue Moons.
Sunday was a free day, as the guys needed to shuttle the trailers to our destination (the Toledo Beach Marina). They were brought back by one of the other wives acting as ground crew and that took most of the day. Lexington is a lovely small town with lots of shops to explore and several good restaurants. When the men came back, we had a cookout and discussed the next day’s sail. Monday we left Lexington for Port Huron. It was a great day of sailing, cool and overcast and we easily averaged 4.5 - 6 knots. We rounded up and dropped our sails as we got to the International Bridge that links Port Huron to Canada and entered the St. Clair River. It was a short motor from the channel to the River Street Marina and we timed it well...reaching the Military Street Bridge a few minutes before the 3pm lift. While some of us stayed to “make fire/cook meat,” Geoff, Connie, Joe, and I went to the Quay Street Brewing Co. a few blocks away for dinner. Back at the marina, sharing a bottle of Michigan wine under a “red sky at night,” was the perfect ending to the day. Our fleet motored out Tuesday to make the 8:30am bridge lift. We raised our sails in the St. Clair River but kept our motors down in order to pass commercial traffic safely. We passed several freighters and ferries and bobbed in their not-so-small wake. We reached the Metro Beach Park Marina around 4pm and split up to explore the park before our pitch-in dinner. Besides the marina, the park has a miniature golf course, three-par golf course, a pool with aquatic center, beach, beach store, and concessions. We tried our twelve-volt coffee maker Wednesday morning. Forty-five minutes for four cups of coffee! It was like watching an intravenous drip, but we were glad for the coffee later. We woke to 15-20 mph winds out of the west/northwest. As we entered Lake St. Clair, winds increased to 18-22 mph with gusts to twenty five and one to three foot swells.
Some of us sailed on reefed mains, some on the 110’s. Joe and I sailed on our unreefed mainsail and averaged 4.8 - 5.5 knots. At times, we surfed the waves. I turned to see a large dark cloud mass. With the first sound of thunder and flash of lightning, we dropped our sail and started the motor. We braced ourselves for the worst, but the storm skirted us...taking aim at the freighters in the channel behind us. Right: Mayor's Cup Regatta We raised our sails again and continued on to the Detroit River. As we entered the river, to our starboard we saw several fleets of Optimists, Lasers, and Laser II’s holding their Wednesday afternoon races. We motored into the marina around 4pm. The Tri-Centennial State Park and Marina is a hidden gem...located between the Renaissance Center and Chene Park in the heart of downtown Detroit. Although the area north of the marina is still somewhat industrial, change is evident from the construction of a walking/cycling trail just a few blocks west of the marina to the signage indicating planned waterfront condominiums between the marina and Chene Park. There are several restaurants within walking distance. Most of us ended up at Fuddrucker’s. Four of us attended a Dave Koz jazz concert at Chene Park while the rest our group opted to listen to the concert from our boats. We ended the evening with an impromptu dock party on Holy Mackerel that ended well after midnight. Continuing down the Detroit River Thursday, we watched the city skyline gradually become more industrial and then somewhat rural. We sailed west of Grosse Isle. As we approached Bridge Road, the lead boat sounded his horn. Traffic was stopped as the bridge swung sideways to let us pass. We reached the Elizabeth Park Marina around 4pm. It’s a small marina, separate but accessible to the park, which has a concession stand with picnic tables and benches under large shady trees. The marina also has wi-fi. With no restaurants nearby, we ordered delivery pizza and salad. After dinner, we had our Christmas-in-July gift exchange and everyone claimed their pick was just what they needed. We finished with ice cream from the concession stand while strolling by a muscle car show in the park.
Our fleet left the marina at 10am Friday, and fifteen minutes later, the Grosse Isle Parkway Bridge swung sideways to let us pass. After a short while, we left the Detroit River and entered Lake Erie. Unfortunately, the wind changed direction to south/southwest at a variable 5-12 mph and was on our nose with one to three foot swells. There was good sailing to be had, but it was a day of long tacks. Left: More Mayor's Cup Regatta We reached the Toledo Beach Marina around 7pm. We were all tired, but quickly docked, changed clothes, and drove over to Weber’s for dinner. We had a great meal and thanked our cruise captain, Mike Bracket (Gunsmoke), and his co-captain, Erv Zimmerman (Adventuring), for all their work in planning a sometimes challenging but enjoyable cruise. Geoff has now sailed all the Great Lakes except Superior...and it looks like he will be planning next year’s cruise. We’re looking forward to it.
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| Sailboats, Inc. |
 Happy Labor Day! Is summer really almost gone? The up side is that fall sailing is the best. We went to the RS dealer meeting in Toronto and brought back two new boats: the RS Feva and RS Vision. RS stands for Racing Sailboats...and they are not kidding. Right: BeerRun at our Mayor's Cup Regatta Come in and check them out! Or, visit our website and click on the link. These boats are already very popular in Europe and we are excited to be one of the first dealers in the US. This makes two new lines that we have taken on in 2008...the other being Hobie Cat.
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| Bailer's Tips & More |
 "During one of my treks through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. We were compelled to live on food and water for several days." - William Claude Dunkenfield I start with this quote because it pretty much makes my point; we have it all going on at the Club! We do other than some of the same ole ghost pirates I had dealt with last year. Right: At our Mayor's Cup Regatta Leave to Tailer (after he lost our fight), he called his old friend Edward Teach/Tatch Beard, or just Black Beard (Teach/Tatch, I dunno - spelling was much more phonetic back in the day). Blackie came a-knockin’ the other night. He was all puffed up and all full of himself. He even claimed to have the power to create landslides. I knew he was an agent of Tailer’s sent to harass me or even try to scare me? I just leaned back and laughed. I sez, “Mr. Beard, I am real good friends with your role model Black Sam Bellamy. And, if you cause this Club any trouble, I may have to give Mr. Sam a call on the ole coconut telegraph and let him know you're behaving like a pest...a no-see-em if you will.”
Well, old Black Beard was taken aback and exclaimed, “Any friend of Sam Bellamy's is a friend of mine!” So, we sat down on one of my upper deck loungers and suggested that he would find us a few Pike to eat (in Eagle Ocean me thought?). I was to round up a deep fryer, about gallon or so Sprite melt, and about a quart of butter and we would eat like kings. He told me, “I want to enjoy some grog and talk about good ole Sam.” Left: Commodore Tim at his Raftup I went up to the shelter house and emptied the vending machine of all its Sprite and came back to my boat. Then, fished around in my pantry and found my deep fryer. The butter was already melted because I forgot to put it back into the fridge after breakfast. By the time I had all the accoutrements ordered by Black Beard, he showed up with a stringer of Pike...big Pike...about 70lbs of the toothy little villains. I watched with interest as he cleaned them, cut them into cubes, and dumped all the sprite into the deep fryer. What was particularly interesting was that he did this all while holding a mug of grog!
Well, when the deep fryer began to sizzle, he dumped the cubes of Pike into the vat of hot carbonated sugar water and scooped up the cubes when they began to float. He then sat down with a huge plate of cubed Pike and began to grab the chunks and dip them in the butter. I did the same and it was good. It tasted like lobster except without the buyer’s remorse. Right: Kelli at the Raftup We had a grand time and swapped stories about Sam and laughed deep into the night. We had finished off all the fish, butter, and grog, so we dipped into the hot sprite. I suppose this is why I write these words because Sprite drank from a deep fryer apparently causes swelling of the mouth preventing me the ability to give an oral account of one of my daily adventures at the hippest clubs in town. So, I suppose I should say, Tailer, you did not succeed in running me off...and that Black Beard is one heckuva cook. And, of course, never drink boiling Sprite. Sail on, Sail on.... The Bailer
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| Membership |
 Please welcome our newest members in the Club: William & Michelle Smith from Zionsville sailing a Hunter 21.6. Tom & Ben Lauer from Indianapolis sailing a Melges 17. Larry & Delores White from Indianapolis sailing a Hunter 25. Right: Sunday cruisers during the Ladies' Regatta Bill and GiGi Fenlon, their son, Quinn, from Greencastle sailing a Precision 18. Membership Count: 241
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| Small Boats |
 I'm mostly an Airplane guy (AMA #137824), but I also joined the Indianapolis Admirals a few years ago to race R/C sailboats and because I had some interest in scale boats too. It's a great club and lots of fun. Here's the skinny on an upcoming event: The Indianapolis Admirals are holding an open Fall R/C Boat Regatta at Avon Town Park Lake in Avon on September 20th from noon to 4pm. You do not need to be a Club member to come run, just run! Model boats are limited to electric power or wind power. Nitro engines are not allowed on the lake per the Town of Avon. Right: A Wave at the Mayor's Cup! This R/C Boat Regatta event is going on in conjunction with the Central Indiana Artists Show, so you can bring your better half with you! Our understanding is that there will be food and drinks there. In the event of bad weather, there is a huge shelter at the lake and we will just do a static show there. Avon Town Park Lake is pristine. It's a great place to picnic, fish, or just contemplate. So, if you want to enjoy a nice day, come join us! Bring a boat or just come to watch. The club has some Midwest Liberty Tugs that were donated by Midwest and Hobbytown. So, you can get some stick time on the lake even if you don't have a boat. Sailboats, submarines, and fast electrics will be there too. Also, don't forget the upcoming Indy Hobby Expo at the State Fairgrounds on October 18th!
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| Bay Week Report |
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According to Wayne, all of the rookies have to write a paragraph reviewing Bay Week. Hey, it's summer! Cut us some stack! Anyway, I’m a rookie on the team, and nevertheless, a rookie to Bay Week. Due to this, I had no clue what to expect during the week. Off the water, I usually found myself just following the rest of the team around. On the water, we basically did the same thing most of the days. So, by the second day, everyone knew what to do.
If I really expected anything, I expected us to wake up, eat breakfast, sail, eat lunch, sail, eat dinner, and sleep. Every day, however, I found a lot of time in the evening to walk around Put-In-Bay or hang out in the hotel room. But, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t find ourselves sailing a lot. Right: Becca! In the early morning, the “Launch & Recovery crew” pushed our Lasers onto Lake Erie. Erika, John, Kat, Austin, and I sailed our Lasers over to “Schoolhouse Bay;” a protected area of water that was a several-minutes sail from the club. After racing, we would review the day’s races with our coach, return to hotel, and eat dinner. I really don’t have much to say. As an overview, it was a week of sailing well-spent. There was competition during the day and time to burn in late afternoons. I enjoyed it as a rookie, and can say that I will be competing in Bay Week next year. Also, I would like to say “Thank You” to all of our Club members who support us. From Wayne: “Thank you, Becca, for the above report. And, by the way...You are no longer a rookie!”
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| Coach's Report - Bay Week |
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This was my second trip up to Put-In-Bay. The first was spent in my van sick with a 102 degree temperature and didn’t see much racing that year. Our team was the 1st in line at registration and measurement with no problems. Erika Williams and RJ Graef were named team captains for Bay Week and were presented with 3” racing watches. Part of their duties was looking after their team members when they weren’t sailing. After that, they sat around the club house listening to Bay Week Coaches on racing tactics and what course they were to be sailing on. All five days the wind was out of the West around 8-12 mph and hot. Ki & I were on duty in Schoolhouse Bay. This area is well protected and the chop was down to 8-10” most days. John Fisher and Erika Williams ruled most days with mostly 1st's and 2nd’s. John Fisher, with only 3 Laser races in the bag, finished 1st and had speed to burn. As a young man of only 13, he found speed and kept his head out of the boat watched for the wind shifts. He could use more work on down-wind sailing. Erika Williams, sailing in her 2nd Bay Week regatta, found good speed and some of the best starts to date. But, she needs to keep her head out of the boat and watch out for wind shifts...and practice more down wind sailing! Austin Graef won two races in light air and had great starts, also. He could use more time in the boat, watching for wind shifts, and keeping focus. Becca Hallstedt started the week slowly, but finished up front and also found herself leading in one race. Given lots of time in the boat, she will be a major force next year. EJ Williams made the change to full rig this year, but couldn’t keep up with the top sailors in this class. But, he did finish 2nd in the Silver Fleet and needs to work more down wind, starts, and keeping his head out of the boat. RJ Graef, with many 1st places to his credit and one silver from last year's Bay Week in the bag, also made the change over to full rig. He finished 4th overall and made the cut to semis and had a good day. He Needs more work on the line, down wind, and how to stay in the boat.
Hannah Fisher...I found her racing at ISC 3 years ago and she is a natural in the boat. She has gold from 2 years ago at Bay Week and chose this year to race in the full rig taking 2nd place overall. She also made the semis and placed 7th overall at that regatta. Hannah will age-out this year and has already left for college...at Duke in North Carolina. Good luck to her... Kat Petrucci, this young lady is fast...sometimes (usually when she wants to)! She has trouble in high wind because she only weights 90 lbs. She needs more time in the boat. Right: Kat! This season, the ECSC Junior Sailing Team has expanded and continued its improvement. Due to all of the training we have done, every team member has improved since last year.
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| Safety & Education |
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ISC Traveler Series Regatta The 7th of 8 I-LYA youth Traveler Series regattas was held for the first time in Indy...at the Indianapolis Sailing Club. We sent 7 kids there with the following result:
Laser Radial Class
Laser Full Rig
420 Fleet Right: Katherine Jones There was light air and only three races in the bag. Thanks to all of ECSC support team....
I-LYA Traveler Series Results To place in this event requires not only considerable sailing skill (going up against some of the best youth sailors in the country as shown in the Chicago Finals where our area took the top two Laser places), but it also requires considerable dedication in the travel required to make at least 5 of these regattas. Results:
Laser Radial Class
Laser Full Rig It should be noted that John Fisher had a perfect score in his division - 5 bullets!!
Something To Think About Right: Commodore's Raftup
1. The Louis Vuitton Cup
Junior Sailing Calendar
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2008 Social Calendar, Click Here.
2008 Racing Calendar, Click Here.
2008 Overall Club Calendar, Click Here.
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| Eagle Creek Sail Club ECSC Home Page |
