| Commodore |
It's about to be sailing season! I see a few boats have taken the opportunity to launch already with March being so warm. It's great to see the Club coming alive again. My articles in the last two Telltales had updates on some pretty specific items that I'm working on this year as Commodore. Not much more has progressed on those fronts, but feel free to see my prior articles to know where we stand. Our new Facility Reservation Request can be found through the link below. Thanks to our Technology Chair, Michael, for making the URL so easy to remember. A reminder that this reservation request is meant to streamline reservations from current members. Anytime you'd like to bring more than 6 guests on the property, you are supposed to get approval from Commodore and the Social Chair.
The Total Solar Eclipse is Monday! I'm sure you've seen the billboards and have your own plans for the - potentially - chaotic day. I know many members are planning to watch from the Club or from the water. Please know that we have a few member-requested events happening. So, it could be a busy day at ECSC. As our Junior Race team prepares their travel schedule for summer regattas, we are looking to host a call-out meeting for any member that would like to support our Junior Sailors at these regattas. It usually consists of a 2 to 4 hour drive on Friday, then return on Saturday evening. Destinations include inland lakes around Indiana and Ohio as well as the coast of Lake Erie from Detroit all the way to Erie, PA. My favorite sailing clubs to visit were Put-in-Bay (obviously), Hoover SC (near Columbus, OH), and Edgewater YC (near Detroit). Supporting our Juniors is a great way to have a mini vacation and weekend getaway. More to come on when this call out meeting will be. I'd like to assemble a Gardening Committee to plant and take care of our various planters and gardens throughout the Club. Spring is the time to do this, so please email back if you'd like to be a part of this committee. You can reach me at commodore@ecsail.org. Purdue is hosting their Spring regatta on April 20 and 21. Six Big 10 University teams will travel to ECSC to compete. It's great publicity for our Club getting so many young sailors from around the Midwest to visit ECSC. If you'd like to help out with the Regatta, please email me. I always enjoy interacting with the collegiate sailors. That's it for now. See you guys soon!
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| Facilities |
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All of the water has been turned on and seems to be running well. Speaking of "well," ours needed some repairs...as in removing the pump from 55' down, cleaning it, and repairing the hose that brings us water. Our favorite well company did a great job. The spring work-party will be on April 13th at 9am...weather permitting. If you have a backpack leaf-blower, please bring it with you. We have lots of hand-held blowers and lots of rakes. Coffee & donuts in the am and pizza around noonish. We will be clearing the winter leaves, cleaning the shelter, reorganizing the extra-stuff pile next to the garage. If enough members show up, we can also clean out both garages....and maybe clear the boat parking lots of extra concrete blocks, pieces of wood, etc. The new F and D dock are supposed to be installed by April 15th. From what I've heard, it's going to be late...but we don't know if that is one week or a couple weeks. When we are more positive about the date, we will let you know by Facebook and E-Mail.
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| Social |
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Hello Fellow Sailors! On Monday, April 8th, we’ll get to experience a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse over Central Indiana. Our upper shelter, lower shelter, and Captain’s Corner (by the beach) are all reserved for the day for viewing events. If you would like to reserve the upper shelter for events this season, please contact our commodore, EJ Williams (or me), and we can get the form to you to complete and return with a deposit and small fee to cover the use of the facilities. As a reminder, here are the social events at the club this season:
Mother’s Day Brunch – May 12th We’re looking forward to seeing everyone out at the Club soon!
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| Racing |
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Sailors, The racing season is fast approaching with the first race on Wednesday, April 17th with the race starting on the water at our traditional starting time of 6:50pm. Hoping that you can join us. This year we will have not only our dedicated PRO Staff in charge of the racing, but also a group of volunteers who will be dedicated racing assistants. We have had spotty presence of racing volunteers in past years, and we are very excited to have a full roster of racing assistants to help us this year. Most of them are interested in learning more about our racing program themselves and we are hopeful that it will help us grow our racing program in the future. We have several new improvements to the program this year that include an anchor winch for the RC pontoon, propeller guard for the safety boat to make it safer for our racers, and a motorized device to help raise the safety boat after races. This year we will also be having pursuit races on half of our Sunday races. Many find this an attractive alternative to fleet races in that it utilizes staggered starts that makes starting much less congested. Hope you will join us in racing this year and enjoy some of our program improvements. See you on the water.
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| Membership |
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Happy Spring! Thank you to all of you who have left kind messages and notes in your renewals! Your notes of support and encouragement helped keep me going on these recent dark-winter nights. Something that has been fun to watch is the Club “waking up” this year! We are putting the final touches on the renewal packets and are excited to hand them out on Saturday, April 13th from noon-3pm at the lower shelter (by the fire pit/old playground area). Please know the packets will not include slip assignments or directories...those are completed in early May. Any member who picks up their packet in person will be entered for a $25 West Marine Gift Card! Since I have processed all members who have paid their full fees, I am now auditing to ensure I have folks noted for things like “Wait List.” Please E-Mail me at membership@ecsail.org if you want to be on the list and do not see your name (please include name and member number). Please keep in mind that any member not renewing must have their boats/trailers/kayaks removed from our property by the end of the day on April 30th, 2024. Finally, make plans to visit your boats soon to ensure they are in working order, e.g. inflated tires, etc. All boats will need to be removed from the car corrals and adjacent area by the Captain’s Corner/Sea Wall before the Mother’s Day Brunch. When moving your boats, please remember to relocate your cinder blocks behind the dumpster for reuse next year.
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| Safety & Education |
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Vessel Safety Checks Lt. Michael A Crowell, of Hoosier Sail & Power Squadron D-24, will be conducting vessel safety checks this year!
What: Vessel Safety Checks There is no cost to members for this service, but you must sign up for a spot Here .
Why Receive a Vessel Safety Check? In many cases, boating insurance agencies offer discounts for vessels that undergo a Vessel Safety Check every year. All decals and safety checks are void on December 31st of the year they are inspected. And, they are also void should the operator/owner fail to maintain the vessels equipment or the vessel itself to the standard at the time of the safety check.
What Type of Items Are Checked? All of these items are currently required by state and federal laws and, if missing or non-operating, can result in a citation if your vessel is inspected by the Coast Guard (other than here at our Club on the 26th).
Women’s Dingy Sailing Course This year we will be launching our first women-only dinghy sailing course taught by our very own US Sailing certified instructor, Cody McCoun! Dinghies (Lasers, Optimists, 420s) are smaller single-masted sailboats that help sailors of all levels become better sailors largely thanks to their responsiveness and how close they are to the water. This course is designed for all levels of women-identifying sailors (novice to advanced, who are over the age of 18) to learn in a fun, safe, and supportive environment! You do not have to bring your own boat as ECSC boats will be used.
Course Dates/Times:
Want to learn more? Come to our call out meeting!
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| Publicity/Communications |
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Just a note for the Solar Eclipse...if you're planning to head to our Club, it might be a little crowded. All three of our shelters have been reserved (by members) for their own "private" viewing party. Other members are welcome other locations (Liar's Table? Chair party?) and/or on your boats - whether in the water or on your trailer. Let's pray to our weather gods for good viewing! Also, the Power Squadron Safety Checker (Mike Crowell, mentioned above in Abby's article) has plenty of good sailing experience. Ask him about his sailing excursion out the Seaway and down the east coast.
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