I love Spring. It is invigorating to watch our club come back to life. I love to meet new members and to catch up with old friends. But, what I love most is observing fellow members helping each other prepare for the season. When we help each other we are volunteering our services. In fact, helping each other is a central part of our sport and what our sailing club is all about.

Worded another way, we are volunteering. But, what does that really mean? According to Merriam Webster, a volunteer is “a person who expresses a willingness to undertake a service.” Being a volunteer means that you are offering something – something that is not required nor an obligation.

You might volunteer because the optimist inside you, perhaps the idealist, spies a glimmer of hope. You see that your time is worth it…you believe that you are capable of inciting change and making progress.

Most of the time, to volunteer means that you are working with others which connects you as you are working toward a common goal. You are connected with both the problem and the solution, and you are benefitting others as well as yourself.

But where to start, you ask. What special skills or talents do you bring to the table? Are you a strong communicator? Do you work well with your hands? Are you creative? Do you like to study laws and policies? Do you want to use the same skill set you use during the workday when you volunteer? Perhaps you want to go in a completely different direction.

Quite simply, our club is run by volunteers. Remember that volunteers are busy people. They often have jobs, families, and obligations outside of our club…so please treat them kindly.

Being a volunteer means that even the smallest gestures make a big difference. So, get out there and help to make the world and our club a little brighter and kinder. Decide what being a volunteer means to you and run with it. If you would like to help in any way, please reach out to a club officer. We would be happy to find a way to get you plugged in.

See you at the club
Chuck Goff
Commodore

It has been very exciting to see many of our ECSC family preparing their boats and working on the grounds for the sailing season. Thank you to all who joined the work party on March 27th. A few hardy souls have already been out on the water this year, the rest of us look forward to joining you very soon. Please keep a close eye on email and Facebook for announcements regarding Club developments as national, state and local restrictions evolve. Thankfully we have a fantastic board with a lot of exciting plans lined up for the 2021 season. Lastly please don’t be bashful about sharing your adventures at our beloved club and also beyond our waters, we all love to live vicariously through others sailing adventures.

Cheers,

Commodore 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

To say the least 2020 has been a challenging year.  I would like to thank Nan Wishart and the entire board for their hard work in unparalleled times. It is my pleasure to serve as your Commodore for 2021. Your board will be working hard to use unused funds from 2020 to improve infrastructure next year.

You may not know it but we still gave a few awards this year, congratulations to Sportsman of the Year Tom Ortman and Sailor of the Year Rich Fox.  It is now late November and the ECSC sailing season has officially ended.  I know many of you will be happy for 2020 to end and hopefully have better 2021 at least by mid year.  And the long anticipated new ramp will not be happening until at least spring so you can still use the existing one to take full advantage of the good winds this time of year.  I am also pleased to announce that we will have a new gin pole this spring courtesy of Tom Newgent, and I want to extend a thank you to Tom.  If you need assistance finding a place to store your boat for the winter please contact Harbormaster Kenny Chapman.

Our 2021 Club Officers are:

Commodore Chuck Goff

Vice Commodore Ki Hickok

Treasurer Tom Moore

Secretary Rich Fox

Past Commodore Nan Wishart

The Committee Chair appointments for 2021 are as follows

Grounds Ki Hickok

Harbormaster Kenny Chapman assisted by Dennis Robertson

Racing – John Kohne assisted by Nancy Goff

Social Vickie Greenough assisted by Amy Miller

Membership Perry Cameron

Junior Program Wayne Myers assisted by Katie DeGrella

Safety & Education John George

Publicity EJ Williams

I would like to give a very special thanks to Jane Schmidt who has served many years as our Membership Chair. Keep in mind that the officers and committee chairs all have full time jobs and they volunteer their time to run the club for the benefit of the members.

Those of you who are storing your boat at the club over the winter, be sure to stop by every 2-3 weeks to check on your boat – especially after a heavy snowfall.  Tarps need adjusting over the winter as wind and snow cause things to shift.  If you are out at the club and notice a boat that needs attention, please take note of the member number on the hull or trailer and contact that member. Have an enjoyable winter season and be sure to post pictures on our Facebook page of your adventures.

Cheers,

Chuck Goff, Commodore

Welcome to Fall at the Eagle Creek Sailing Club!  This is one of my favorite times of year here at the club – it’s time to get out your sweaters and sail! I love the changing leaves and  crisp fall winds and the sunsets have been particularly amazing of late.

Thank you to all of the members who came out to sail in the Indy 200 Regatta.  This was one of the largest regattas we have had on the lake in some time!  I would especially like to thank the new members who participated.  We had a great turnout last weekend for the Governor’s Cup as well.  It was a single-handed race, which was somewhat of a challenge to those of us who regularly depend on our crew to make us go fast.

Finally, due to uncertainty regarding the Final Bash, the Board is putting together a plan to have our Annual Meeting here at the club on October 10th at 6:30pm. We will have a ballot box available for those who want to vote in person for the incoming Board and we are hoping to have a food truck and musical entertainment.  Social distancing measures will still be in place, but hopefully you will feel comfortable coming out and  catching up with other members you haven’t seen all year.  Stay tuned for more details of this event to be announced soon.

Happy Sailing!

Nan Wishart
Commodore

Dear ECSC Members:

Well, it is still a strange year. I am sorry to say that I may go down in history as the first Commodore that some of you have never met. Hopefully, we can rectify that situation before the year ends. I am happy to see more boats on the water lately and appreciate those people who are wearing masks when appropriate. Jan and I have been out sailing in both Honor Series races and as often as possible just for the sheer joy of it, so I have had a chance to see the die-hard sailors. I know there are many of you that are unable to come out, and you are most definitely missed!

Because we are leasing city park property, the bureaucracy involved in our capital improvements feels like jogging through molasses, but we are still committed to the improvements to the ramp, electric gate, and gin pole. Chuck Goff, next year’s Commodore, will continue to work with the Board and the Park towards that end.

Our Board elections will be held in November, and we are currently accepting nominations for open board seats for next year. The only requirement to be nominated is to be a member of the club in good standing, so even if you are new to the Club, we invite you to consider this opportunity. The Board meets once a month, at a date and time designated by the Commodore, and we usually take a couple of months off during the summer. The list of Board members is in your directory (also located on our website here), along with our contact information, so if you have any questions or interest in this opportunity then please feel free to reach out to one of us.

Be safe and stay well! If you see Dutch Mob or Reckoning on the water, sail by and say hi!

Nan Wishart
Commodore

Greetings to everyone!  Well, here we are, still in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020.  This is definitely not what we bargained for this sailing season! The circumstances we find ourselves in are unprecedented in my lifetime.

Our social and racing events are still on hiatus; I would like to ask for everyone’s consideration as the Board and the Committee Chairs work through this.  It is one thing to make a personal decision about your own health and safety, but it is an entirely different matter when you are making decisions that affect your fellow club members, friends, and families.  We don’t know everyone’s circumstances and what reasons they have for the choices they make.  What I do know is life is tenuous – yesterday someone lost their life on our lake – today someone did die from Covid-19.  Does that mean we just lay down in the fetal position and refuse to come out of our houses? No. But it does mean that we, as the leadership of the club, have a duty to all of the members to make the best decisions we can for the good of the club. I don’t expect that everyone will agree with these decisions, but I do ask that everyone respect them and the board members making them.  And if you feel strongly, there are board positions available for the upcoming season.

Fortunately, our club is still open and we welcome you to come out and enjoy it.  Masks aren’t required outdoors, but if you aren’t wearing one, then please be kind and keep your distance. We are racing on Wednesdays and Sundays – it’s just a little different.  Jan and I ask ourselves daily – what is really important?  Our love for each other and our friends and the joy we get when we are on the water.  The rest is icing on the cake.

Update on the Ramp Project – One step forward, one step back:  We obtained all of the necessary permits for the construction, our vendor and pricing for the ramp are in place, and when we received the pricing for the coffer dam to drain the water for construction it blew our budget.  Our former Commodore Geoff Endris is working on possible solutions for this – and we are still planning on moving forward, we just don’t have a specific time as of yet.  Nothing will commence before the end of the year, so it will not have an effect on our season. But this is still a priority for the club.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.  See you on the water!

Nan