February 2021 – Eagle Creek Sailing Club

Commodore

Commodore February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By Chuck Goff

As I write this, it is 23 degrees, the snow is falling and my thoughts are on sailing in the near future. I am jealous of those who have retreated to warmer climates or have indoor shops to do boat projects. In the meantime we like to stop at the club to look things over and listen to the halyards slapping masts, for some reason that just warms my heart. Nancy and I are running out of sailing YouTube videos that we regularly watch and look forward to reconnecting with our dear friends at the club. It is hard to believe that Spring is just around the corner, the ice will melt, the trees and flowers will bloom and the sun will feel warm.

I would like to compliment your ECSC board who has been very busy in the off-season planning an exciting year filled with events and infrastructure improvements. Please thank them for all their efforts when you see them. If you have not done so don’t forget to turn in your dues and paperwork for this year, and check that your boat is still tucked in and not damaged by the winter weather. Stay warm and safe as we close out the winter.

Cheers,

Commodore Chuck Goff
Social

Social February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By Vickie Greenough

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Harbormaster

Harbormaster February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By Kenny Chapman

Greetings ECSC Sailors,

I have a few large and small-ish projects this year that I hope we can get done. They are:

1) Repairing/replacing the cable along the beach for boat tie down. This will be the first project.

2) Finishing the upper structure of the new Gin pole.

3) Building a new Kayak rack that will hold all the Kayaks and provide a secure place to lock up a kayak or canoe.

4) Adding to our sail boat parking area and relocating the playground area (with new equipment), along with more official camping sites.

5) The launch ramp rebuild. The most challenging task is building the coffer dam which holds the water back so concrete can be poured. I was in contact with Dam-it Dams Inc. They were going to give me an updated bid on renting us a 300′ (4-75′ sections) with a circular dimension of 12- 14′. The previous bid was around $25,000 just for rental and a guy from Michigan to direct our team installing their water-filled tube(s). Not sure why they can’t provide their own team to install it themselves. Several issues are coming up that will increase the cost of this installation. First we will have to rent a barge to connect the three connection points and put some sort of connection sleeve around each connection point. Each 75′ section is about 5600 lbs. The sections are unrolled and laid out. The unrolling is done by filling it with water. This will be an extra cost along with a barge to rent some sort of water pump. I guess we will have to rent a skin diving crew to make the connections. We’ll need a barge that would hold 5,600 lbs (that is about 30 people). The other cost is to rent a water pump to pump out the water within the coffer damn, it is going to have to be huge with a 6″ intake, maybe two of them. Then there is the partial removal of about twenty feet of the seawall and a grading of that area to allow this dam to come out of the water gradually also where it goes in to the West of our ramp the rip rap should be removed to allow a smooth surface to prevent leakage through the rip rap. The biggest concern is that after it is installed it leaks like a sieve and the water keeps coming in. Please understand I will keep you up to date on this list of concerns and extra costs. My plan is to attempt this in the last three weeks of June. If any of you are interested in scuba diving or have any ideas please contact me @ 317 550 8955 Kenny Chapman.

UPDATE: Dam-it Dams Inc. has decided to pass on this project. They say the water is too deep.

Kenny Chapman

Harbormaster
Racing

Racing February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By John Kohne

Racers and Potential Racers

When looking out the window and seeing snow, the Summer winds pushing sails, boats, and racers around beautiful Eagle Creek Reservoir seem far out of sight. Despite this – or perhaps because of this – many in the club are spending their time preparing for an exciting and long-awaited season of excellent sailing at ECSC. Nancy Goff, Rich Fox, Geoff Endris, Chuck Goff and I have actively been working over the past few months making preparations for a breakout sailing season, something to get us past the COVID doldrums and winter bleakness. On February 3^rd we presented some of the new ideas, actions, and priorities that are underway by the five of us on the Racing Program Committee. The meeting was online and had 27 attendees logged-on for the one-hour presentation.

We announced the purchase of a new set of racing flags and a wind anemometer to help in race handicapping. Plans for evaluating the Portsmith handicapping system vs using the current PHRF Handicapping System were discussed, and a decision to move forward with the evaluation was made. We considered a proposal to create a dedicated On-Water Race Committee. This will be explored and a budget to support this effort is in place. Discussion of the guidelines for Fleet Assignment (particularly for the Blue and White Fleet) was had and a guideline was adopted to govern it. Another meeting will be held a month from now and the fleet assignments for all 2021 members of ECSC along with the new PHRF and Portsmith handicap assignments will be available for discussion.

One of the highest priorities for next year is to increase the participation of all members of the club in the racing programs. Our hope is to accomplish this through continuing to innovate the on- and off-water racing activities, and through the enthusiasm of the current racers in the venues themselves. We are encouraged by the turnout of the winter racing meeting and hope to continue to build on the recommendations and suggestions of the membership in improving our program.

John Kohne and Nancy Goff
Membership

Membership February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By Perry Cameron

It is the busy time of year for Membership. Everyday more renewal forms arrive to be processed, stickers stamped, and envelopes prepared for renewal kits. The kits will be mailed at the beginning of March so look for them at that time. Be sure to have your renewal forms postmarked by February 28^th. About half of you have already done so.

If you were subleasing a slip last year you still need to put yourself on the slip waiting list. This is because until you own a slip you will get them as they become open, by lowest membership number first. Some slip owners choose to sublease their slip late in the season only to reuse them again the next season. For this reason, there is no guarantee that you will get a sub-lease again at the start of the season. If you own a slip and wish to sublease or release your slip, please write your intention in the comments section.

If you own a Kayak and it is not listed as one of your boats, please write it in so I can send you a sticker for it. All accessory watercraft such as Kayaks and paddleboards kept on the property must be registered with membership and stickered. This applies even if you do not keep them on the racks. Thanks, and have a great winter!

Perry Cameron

Membership Chair
Junior Program

Junior Program February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By Wayne Myers

To all the members that support the ECSC Junior Sailing Team…thank you for donations, again.

This year, as in the past, your team will do battle against much larger teams, but we have something they don’t have, your support!

Some of the Lake Erie Clubs have a $30,000 budget and field 10 – 15 sailors. We are a small club with a limited budget, but our size is our strength.. We are like David vs. Goliath.

Your junior sailors have finished in the top ten so many times, it’s hard to count. But this is a new year, with some new faces and skills.

Our 2 returning team members are:

Sam Riley, age 16, from Zionsville, plays hockey for his school, and loves sailing and racing. He comes from the Opti Class and has done battle on the East coast. In 2019 at his very first Junior Bay Week, he finished 9th in the gold fleet out of 40 boats. Sam is also training to be an instructor. Last year he completed his first part of US Sailing Level 1’s and is waiting this Spring to finish. Sam’s father owns a race team called “Riley Motorsports”, so racing is in Sam’s blood.

Olivia DeGrella is also 16, from Carmel, a straight-A student, and has many hours flying “tail dragger” airplanes (as she calls them). Last year she finished her difficult, one-week-long Wilderness Medical Course. She has her CPR and Red Cross First Aid certifications and is working toward the US Sailing Level 2’s this year. She is also the team “Medic”. She loves racing, sailing, teaching, flying, kick boxing and climbing.

Our support team this year is:

Ralph Merriman. Ralph is a long-time supporter of the team who volunteers to drive and provide safety on the water.

Katie DeGrella is our assistant chair of Jr. Program and my right hand.

Reagan Lessick is Head Coach and previous Junior Racer.

Dennis Robertson Jr. is Assistant Coach and Jr. Camp Instructor

Deanna Nichols is Jr. Camp Instructor,

Sue Tennant is Jr. Camp Advisor

Captain Tony Hubbard volunteers his 32′ yacht for Jr. Bay Week,

Amy Sheppard (IUPUI sailor) is our trainer and physical therapist.

ZAT Graphics, (Chuck & Jacqui Lessick) provided our team and camp T shirts.

I have in the works two more possible Jr. Team members to be named later.

I’m always looking for more potential sailors, so if you know of someone, please send them to me for a try out this Spring…practices start in April…….

The team’s tentative schedule for 2021:

April…… Practice

May……..at ECSC

May……..at ISC

7 Saturdays on the road, Buckeye Lake, Hoover, North Cape, Edgewater, Vermillion, Cowan and Erie for the I-LYA Traveler Series.

US Sailing Smyth Area E Championship at Sandusky (2 days)

USA Junior Olympics at Mentor Harbor (4 days)

Jr. Bay Week at Put-In-Bay (4 days)

Orange Bowl at Miami (4 days)

The Jr. Sailing Camp News will be out March 1st on our “ecsail.org” web site. There will be a 5 week camp this year. We are opening the camp to 8 – 10 year old for the first time. There will be a limited number of campers each week due to COVID. Come check us out during the sailing camp!

For more information on the team and to see pictures of our regattas check out our ECSC Junior Sailing Team Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/ecscjr

Wayne Myers

Junior Sailing Chair

Below is the I-LYA Junior Bayweek Trophy for Lasers. The 2008 – 2018 trophy winners are shown. ECSC is listed the most out of any club with our Juniors earning it 3 times across those years. Let’s go ECSC Junior Racing!
Safety & Education

Safety & Education February 2021

February 16, 2021 - By John George

ECSC Members,

The Club is deferring to federal, state, and local mandates for our COVID-19 safety requirements. We ask that members use the links posted on the front page of our website to determine the current government mandates for Marion County. These will be the mandates that ECSC members will be expected to follow this sailing season

If you have any questions, please direct them to John George at safety@ecsail.org or Chuck Goff at commodore@ecsail.org.