• Commodore

    Commodore March 2020

    March 5, 2020 - By 

    Well, with the weather today, it appears that we should all be at the lake sailing! In fact, I saw a post on the Eagle Creek Sailing Club this past weekend and a few hearty souls were out testing the waters! We also have several members who have been sailing in warmer climates over this past winter and posting their adventures online. If you haven’t found that page yet, it is worth venturing onto Facebook to keep up with all of the shenanigans!

    Our Former Commodore Geoff Endris is continuing to monitor the progress on the boat ramp replacement scheduled before the official opening of the Club. As more information and a start date is determined we will keep you informed. Thank you, Geoff, for all of your efforts on this project.

    I am also happy to announce that Ron Anderson, our club maintenance person has been rehired for the 2020 season. He did a great job of taking care of the club and assisting our members in a variety of projects last year and I want to welcome him back aboard.

    The Ladies Sailing Association will be back this year with more of the great events that we enjoyed last year. The Dock-Walks were great fun and I hope we can expand on those events this year. It’s a great opportunity to get to know your dock-mates and check out the great boats we have at the lake. Both the Tell-Tales and the Facebook page will be announcing these events, so stay tuned!

    I have also been informed that the Radio Controlled (RC) boats and skippers will be back again. I understand that Santa delivered a number of these boats over the winter. Rich Fox is working on putting together a racing program for the RC Sailors, so again, stay tuned! If you haven’t seen these boats in action please come out and catch some of the fun! Personally, I am waiting for the day that one of the dock fingers submerges because there are too many RC skippers standing on the end.

    Well, that wraps up my news for the month. Thank you for being a part of this great sailing club and be sure to read below for news from your Board Committee-Persons.

    See you on the water!

    Nan Schulze, Commodore

  • Social

    Social March 2020

    March 5, 2020 - By 

    Please join me in welcoming Kate McMillan as Social Co-Chair!  Kate comes to us with a background in event planning and will be a great asset to the Social Committee.  We are currently seeking volunteers for our 2020 events.  Our season opener, Mother’s Day, will be here before we know it!  Please take note that the date for the Beach Party has been changed due to a conflict with the Jimmy Buffett Concert.  As a reminder, Memorial Day and Labor Day will both be celebrated on Saturday night to kick off the holiday weekend.

    Outlined below are the event times and dates for the 2020 sailing season. I hope to see you all out enjoying the fellowship!

    Mother’s Day – 5/10; 11:30 – 1:30

    Memorial Day – 5/23; 6:00 – 9:00

    Father’s Day – 6/21; 11:30 – 1:30

    July 4th – 7/4; 6:00 – 9:00

    Beach Party – 7/18; 6:00 – 9:00

    Labor Day – 9/5; 6:00 – 9:00

    Lobster Fest – 9/26; 6:00 – 9:00

    Chili Cookoff – 10/17; 5:30 – 7:30

    Final Bash – 11/7; 6:00 – 10:00

    If you are interested in hosting an event in 2020, please contact Vickie Greenough at 317-847-7400 or vgreenough21@gmail.com

    Vickie Greenough

    Social Chair

  • Harbormaster

    Harbormaster March 2020

    March 5, 2020 - By 

    Happy early Spring to all ECSC members. We are not sure if the ramp is going to be done this March, as planned, but hopefully there will be some update info in this news letter. I do know the courtesy dock will need to be moved along with several sections of A-dock in order for the coffer dam to be installed. Also the corner of the seawall will be removed from the edge of the ramp about 5′ back to allow for the panels to be driven into the lake bed. This will mean our flag pole will have to be reinstalled after the ramp is re-built.

    In any event, Ki Hickok and I will be serving the entire membership and we have a few plans this year to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

    Dry sailor parking will be an ongoing enhancement for those who do not need a wet slip and we plan on opening up more 48-72 hr docks as wet slips open up. Keep in mind to always park your vehicle in the car corral or anywhere you are not blocking a boat and trailer. You may be blocking a dry sailor spot. Another major issue will be the ability to park your boat along the beach for Winter parking. Trailers will be allowed to be parked along the beach beginning in September.

    Beach parking spots will be upgraded with a cable for tie/offs, tie/down going through low level posts every 30′ or so. Beach parking will now end in September as Winter storage boats using the beach road will begin to fill up their associated trailers. If you wish to sail your beach boat later in the Fall then it will need to be trailer launched and can be placed along the beach road. Those who will use the beach road as Winter storage are also asked to place your trailer from West to East. Please do not place a trailer on the beach ramp until all boats are off the beach.

    The Seawall area will be used for transient boat trailer parking beginning in September. There are quite a few members that end their season early and plan to go out of state for the Winter or plan to put their boat in storage. In November, or after the storage boats are gone, those spots will be able to be used for Winter storage.
    This year, any boats coming out of storage should be parked in the grass area at the top of the hill South of the incoming road S turn. Please lock your trailer. Also do not drive in the grass, just back it in until the hitch is about a foot from the asphalt. (It could be messy soft ground). Normally I ask everyone to not lock their trailer down below so I don’t have to cut off your lock in order to move your boat. The Harbormaster is the only one that can move your boat according to club rules.

    The Gin pole will be installed in the beginning of Summer or late Spring as the boats get moved of the beach road. It will be a thicker pole with an arm that will be able to move out of the way of the road. Hopefully the ramp does get done soon so everybody can get in the water as soon as possible. Please get your boat in as soon as possible (if you have a wet slip) every year the beach road is not set up for year-long storage.

    Harbormasters, Kenny Chapman and Ki Hickok

  • Racing

    Racing March 2020

    March 5, 2020 - By 

    Ahoy Racers,

    We have 42 more days until our first Wednesday night race on April 22. So start thinking about getting your boats ready and let the 2020 Racing Season begin……

    I am excited for the upcoming season and I hope we can get more boats on the starting line. So, far the meetings have been awesome and the communication is excellent!!! Just need to put all of this new energy and ideas into practice. The ultimate goal is getting more boats racing!!!

    North U is coming to town next weekend, March 14th, to teach a Racing Tactics Class. It will be taught by Andrew Kerr and only a few spots are still available……. If you don’t have the boat speed, you beat them with your Tactics……You can register at: northu.com/product/tactics-indianapolis-in

    At our last race meeting, we discussed a lot of exciting things to improve our racing season. One of those things discussed was assigning a mentor for each new member. As I get the names of these new members, I will contact the new members and will let them know who their Mentor will be. We already have quite a few members who have stepped up to offer their assistance. As the season unfolds, we will be offering more on the water clinics and class room work for those who need it.
    We also discussed the Blue Fleet and will copy what Rich Fox wrote about this subject:
    “I want to let you know that at the ECSC Race Meeting on Saturday, everybody was in favor of separating the Blue/White Fleet.

    Blue Fleet for boats that are Dacron sails only, no spinnakers, for skippers who may want a more casual racing experience, and to serve as a fleet to help introduce members who are racing for the first time at ECSC.

    White Fleet for boats that have at least one non-Dacron sail, spinnaker and non-spinnaker, for skippers who sail Cruiser/Racer type boats and who want a more competitive racing experience and who also have a couple of years of racing experience under their belts. Boats to include, but not limited to – C22 Sport, S2 6.7, S2 6.9, S2 7.9, Ranger 22, Lindenberg 22. Anybody in the Blue Fleet could also make the choice to racing in the White Fleet, but not the other way around.

    Both fleets will start together, but scored separately.

    In the case of McClure sailing a Beneteau 23.5, I am leaning towards keeping them in the Blue Fleet as they have one full year of racing experience. I would like to monitor their performance in 2020. If we get a new racer, such as a Capri 22, if they have all Dacron sails, then they would start in Blue Fleet and we would monitor to see if their performance warrants movement to White Fleet. If a boat repeatedly dominates the Blue Fleet, then either I will need to adjust their PHRF rating, or they will need to move to White Fleet.

    The change will help bring more balance to the Blue Fleet so it is no longer dominated by a couple of boats Series after Series, year-after-year.

    I am also using Dacron sails or no Dacron sails as one of the key deciding factors of fleet designation. This is because a boat that has at least one Mylar type sail suggests to me that they want a more competitive experience, and most likely their boat is equipped as such.

    What I am trying to do here is to help manage our fleets to meet the needs of the membership, instead of expecting members to meet the needs of the fleets. Thus, there will continue to be some “gray” area for a few boats as to which fleet they belong. “

    I hope to see a lot of you next weekend. Let me know if I can be of assistance in getting your boat ready for the sailing season,

    Marcus Rogers
    Racing Chair

  • Membership

    Membership March 2020

    March 5, 2020 - By 

    The deadline for membership dues and slip payment was 2/29/20.  200+ checks have been received, processed and boat and trailer decals are in the mail, with the last batch mailed on 3/4.   On your first visit to the club, please put your 2020 decals on your boat and trailer.

    The next step in our yearly process will be for Harbormasters, Kenny Chapman and Ki Hickok, to sort through the paper work and make slip assignments for the 2020 season. This is usually completed by early April. At that time a slip chart will be posted at the club and on our website at ecsail.org.   This will show your slip assignment.

    We will also be gathering together all information necessary to print our annual membership booklet.  This is usually mailed to your home late April-early May.   Any questions, feel free to call us.

    Jane Schmidt.   Christy Merriman

  • Safety & Education

    Safety and Education March 2020

    March 5, 2020 - By 

    Well Boys and Girls of the club:

    I look for a early spring this year. Why you ask?

    Because the main ramp will be replaced soon.

    But guess what, your Jr. team will on the water early April for the big spring race coming up.. Our 1st regatta will be April 25-26, Laser full and radial class. @ ECSC….

    The NOR (notice of race) will be posted March 25,

    Your 2020 ECSC Jr, Team members are:

    Deanna Nicholas: this is her last year of Jr. Sailing, she will age out of the I-LYA  Jr. class. She has taken off from work this summer just to go racing and prove herself to the world. Go GIRL….

    Olivia DeGrella: this is her second year on the team and will be a force to deal with this year. She has also signed up for the US Sailing Level 1’s and her summer just to race.

    Sam Riley: this also his second year, He finished top 10 last year. At the age of 15 now, he will be something watch and grow into a sailing machine. He’s been around auto racing his whole life. Good Luck to you sir, don’t crash and burn!

    Dunkin York: Age 15, Love’s sailing and racing and on the water. He did some racing with the team last year.

    Has much to learn. Welcome aboard sir…..

    The 2020 ECSC support team members:

    Dennis Robertson  Assistant camp director  .

    Christina Williams  Camp director

    Reagan Lessick Coach

    Dan Nicholas and Barbara Nicholas Jr. Camp

    Ralph Merriman  Jr. Team

    Tony Hubbard  Jr. Team

    Dennis and Jenipher Robertson  Jr. Camp

    Sue Tennant Jr. Camp

    Wayne Myers

    I also wish to thank to all of our club members that support the ECSC Jr. Team.

    This year the team will be racing in over 11 events. 70 + races: a 14 day road trip, Jr, Olympics in Mentor Harbor. Jr, Bay Week, and there is talk about Orange Bowl this year.

     

    Wayne

    Safety & Education