Happy new year to all ECSC members!
We all hope you had a safe and happy holiday season. A special extra welcome goes out to all new members in 2016.
The days are already getting longer, and we can start thinking about the 2017 sailing season. Maybe it will be a new sail, bottom paint, or even a new boat. Some will attend a sailing seminar, or go to the boat show in Chicago. Even better is to go south to keep our sailing skills sharp in warmer waters. My bucket list includes winch maintenance and other needs. It is never too soon to dream about the next sailing season.
Our Board approved a good 2017 operating budget at our December meeting. Our January meeting will start detailed planning for our 2017 season. It will also start updating the long term plan for capital replacment or improvement needs. Please feel free to contace me or another board member with suggestions.
Larry Conrad
Commodore…
Boats on the Hard
Lonely Boat
We have a great racing program planned for 2017. Lots of racing. Lots of hot dogs and hamburgers! As in the past, all club members are welcome to attend the regatta parties at the Mayor’s Cup, Governor’s Cup and ECSC regattas. Your $10 ticket gets you food, beverage, music and dancing. I am new to booking entertainment for these events, so if you know of a good band or DJ, send an email to the racing contact and I’ll take it from there.
Race Ready Meeting #1
Mark your calendar for Wednesday January 25, 2017. That will be our first “Race Ready” meeting for all those who are interested racing this year. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30. We will have pizza and sodas for those who attend. The 
location isn’t set yet, but we will send out an email blast to the newsletter distribution list in a week or so once we get the room locked down.
We have 4 topics on the agenda for the meeting:
- Registration and PHRF discussion
- Race Committee sign up
- 2017 Racing Calendar
- Review of the ECSC RC Handbook
North U Tactics and Rule Seminar at ISC
On Saturday January 28, 2017, Indianapolis Sailing Club will host the North U Rules and Tactics Seminar. Check in is at 8:30. The seminar runs from 9:00 to 4:30. Andrew Kerr will be the instructor. The cost is $95, which includes a copy of Dave Perry’s North U Racing Rules and Tactics workbook. This is a good seminar if you are a little rusty on the rules or want to sharpen your racing tactics. Click HERE for a link to the seminar flyer.
PHRF Ratings
We have several races that are scored based on PHRF rating, so it is very important that we have an updated PHRF rating for all racers. This applies to virtually all of the Wednesday and Sunday series racing. In order to be scored properly, make sure we have an updated PHRF registration form on file for your boat. If we don’t have an up-to-date form, we will assign you the base rating for your boat with no adjustments. This is the absolute worst rating you can receive.
For your convenience, you have 3 ways to review and/or register your boat’s PHRF rating:
- You will receive a race registration form in your membership packet. If your boat has a PHRF form on file, you will be able to verify the information on the form. If you receive a blank form and are racing, simply fill it out and mail it back with your dues payment.
- Come to any of the Race Ready meetings and fill out the form at the meeting.
- Get a blank form at the RC Shed and leave it in the marked folder.
We are changing some of the PHRF adjustments this year to lessen the penalty to cruiser boats on windward/leeward courses. Come to the first Race Ready meeting to find out more.
Race Committee Signup
Volunteering for Race Committee is part of every racer’s responsibility. If everyone serves just one time per series, we will have a smooth sailing season. The Sign-up Genius web site has been updated with all of the sailing events for the 2017 season. 
Congratulations to Bob McCoun for being first to sign up for RC duty. There are 12 racing days in the Wednesday Spring series and 2 slots, so we need just 24 skippers to sign up. There are only 10 Sunday Spring races, so we only need 20 skippers to sign up. If everyone takes a slot, we can get them all filled. If you want to get your choice of days, sign up early. Note that on March 31, if we have any open slots for the two Spring Series, I will have to start assigning people who have not yet signed up. Sign up for RC duty by clicking here.
2017 Racing Calendar
We are making a couple of changes to the sailing calendar. Our goal is to reward participation, yet recognize individual champions.
- Wednesday Night series start time will change.
- Fleet Champions will not be part of the Sunday series.
- We are adding a Club Championship 1-day regatta to crown the best skipper and the fleet champions.
- The Boat of the Year selection is being changed slightly.
Come to the first Race Ready meeting to find out more about the changes. All 2017 races have been added to the web site calendar.
Race Committee education
On March 11, 2017 ECSC and ISC are sponsoring a one-day Club Race Officer seminar at the ISC clubhouse. This is a great one-day event that will give you a great foundation on how to run a proper sailboat race. The seminar will cover all aspects of running a race from setting up the course, to starting and finishing boats, to changing and shortening the course. The cost is only $45 and that includes continental breakfast and lunch. It’s a great way to get into sailing mode for the upcoming season. Go to the US Sailing web site to register.
Scroll down to the ECSC seminar and register online.
I am updating the Race Committee Handbook to provide more “on the water” guidance and reference to those running races. This will also be covered at the Race Ready #1 meeting.
Geoff Endris,
Racing Chair…
MEMBERSHIP
Welcome to the final new members of 2016 – bringing our new members total to 27.
Richard Rockwell of Pennville, IN. Richard is a returning member who’s sailing a Cal 22 and a Hobie 18 Magnum.
Doug and Jenny White of Carmel sailing a Laguna 24 ST.
RAISE IN RATES FOR 2017:
At the December meeting, the board voted to raise the annual fee for all kayaks, canoes and sailboards. In 2017 it will be $25 for rack storage and $100 for inside storage. This will be reflected on the Annual Dues statement which you will receive during the last week of January. If you wish to be on the wait list for indoor storage, pay the rack fee and indicate your desire to be on wait list.
Your individual work credits will be indicated on your Annual Dues statement. If your credits are not what you think they should be, please contact the committee chair under whom you earned your work credits and they will then contact us with the correct number of hours.
The same will be true with the indication on your statement regarding the # of boats you have in winter storage on ECSC property. Kenny Chapman is the contact person if you do not agree with the number indicated.
As always, your check for 2017 dues will need to be postmarked by the due date of 2/28/17.
Annual dues statements will be mailed 1/20/17. If you have not received yours by that first week of February, please call 317-575-9837 with that information.
Please call the same number with any change in mailing and/or email address. Hope to see all of you on the water during the summer of 2017.
Your Membership Committee,
Jane Schmidt and Christy Merriman…
Hi ECSC Members,
There is not much going on on the Safety & Education department this time of year. We are wrapping up 2016 and looking toward 2017. Looking back at 2016 shows that it was quite productive.
One of our accomplishments this year was the construction of the new ECSC Junior Sailing school building. It turned out great! It has a pavilion area for teaching larger groups such as camp or our adult training classes, as well as an indoor area. Our intent is to be able to use the facility not only for camp, but also physical training of our junior sailors. It should also work well for chalk talks and video training regardless of the weather. Looking forward, we are planning on outfitting the structure with a few items to facilitate these activities.
2016 junior results were on par with expectations. As previously reported, Cameron Douglas finished 1st in the I-LYA Junior Traveler Series for the season and Reagan Lessick tied for 6th. Cam also finished 3rd at Junior Bay week in a very tight four day regatta consisting of 18 races. Cam has aged out of his Junior status at the end of this season and is off to college at Eckard in ST. Petersburg, Florida. Jon Schwartz competed in a limited schedule this year, but spent much time behind the scenes instructing possible future additions to the team.
Educationally, it was a good year for the Juniors as well. Cam earned his level 3 coaching license, Jon earned his level 2 license, and Reagan & Tina Williams completed their level 1 instructors licenses. ECSC’s help of these young adults in furthering their education is critical to the success of our youth camps. ECSC has had a long history of employing US Sailing certified instructors as our youth camp instructors. Our youth program could not happen without these dedicated young ECSC juniors. There is also a long term benefit for both the good of the sport and the good of ECSC in having more people available to teach sailing.
2017 Sailing Camp dates will be set soon. Check the camp page or watch your ECSC email for more information.
Chuck Lessick,
Safety and Education Chair …
Ship’s Store,
As noted in the December Tell Tales, significant changes are afoot for the Ship’s Store. We are anticipating a change in how ECSC merchandise is bought. Al Wilkins has done a great job of getting the best pricing for the merchandise ordered in anticipated quantities and handling their sales, particularly at club events.
Going forward, it is our intention to handle club merchandise in the same manner as other sailing clubs. We will have an arrangement with a vendor that will have our logo to apply to any item ordered by an individual. You will go to that vendor’s website and order your T-shirt, hat, etc. in various colors, pay for it online and have the merchandise shipped directly to you. As we transition to the new approach, we will no longer order new inventory. The existing inventory will be sold at a yet to be determined discount. More details to come soon.
Thanks,
Les Miller,
Ship’s Store…