We are through the dog days of summer.  This is the best sailing weather of the season.  We are seeing temperatures in the mid-70s with good breezes.  I hope you find time to get out and enjoy the water.

September Activities:

September is a very busy month.  We have the Indy 200 regatta, the Labor Day cookout, the Junior Laser regatta, the Governor’s Cup regatta, the Lobster Fest, the Purdue Sailing Club Boiler Cup, the J24 Hoosier Cup at the ISC Keelover Regatta and the Racing cookout pitch-in.  We literally have something planned for every weekend in September.

With so many activities, it is easy to get out and enjoy the club.  Come to a cookout, volunteer to help with regattas, or just come out and visit with old and new friends.

Facilities Update:

I have received many comments about how good the club is looking.  I hope you have noticed it too.  We have cleared out a lot of dead trees, ground out tree stumps, cut back brush, repaired and painted buildings.  Thanks to Nan Schulze and Ron Anderson for their efforts.

I have noticed members taking advantage of the shelters and grills for weekend family cookouts.  This is exactly what the club is for.  Please take advantage of the facilities and bring your families out to enjoy the club.

Hurricane Dorian Relief donations:

Many members spend quality time sailing in the Bahamas and would like to offer financial assistance.  For members who want to make sure 100% of their donation goes directly to the Bahamas, ECSC is collecting donations for the Bahamas Red Cross (BRC).  If you want to make a donation to the relief effort, but don’t want to be placed in a “solicitation database,” simply write a check to ECSC and in the memo field, write “Bahama Red Cross.”  ECSC will then send a single check to the BRC along with a letter from ECSC expressing our support.  This will allow you to make a donation and not get solicited for future donations every few months.  Mail your checks to Tom Moore at his address in the member directory.  We will collect checks until October 15, then send the money along to the BRC. Also look for a donation bucket at upcoming events (Governor’s Cup,LobsterFest, Wednesday Night Racing etc…)

Boat Ramp & Mast Hoist Update:

We have assembled and submitted the engineering plans to the City and other organizations in order to get the necessary permits to replace the ramp and mast hoist.  Approval will take several months.  We are anticipating that the work will be performed in February or March of 2020.

Upcoming social events:

We have three more social events for the year.  The Governor’s Cup Regatta & Lobster Fest is coming up on September 14.  The Chili Cookoff is on October 12. And the Final Bash is on November 2.  Please make plans to attend one or all of these events.

Full Moon Sail

The next full moon is on September 14.  Why not come out for the Lobster Fest and then go out for a moonlight sail?  Sailing at night is very peaceful and relaxing.  Just make sure your navigation lights are working.

Sail on,

Geoff

I hope you attended the 50^th Anniversary Celebration.  By all accounts, it was a great success.  Thanks to Vickie Greenough, Nick Mates and their entire crew for planning and pulling off this great event.  Special thanks to all who took pictures and posted them on our Facebook page.  The “Little Pirates Day” looked like it was a huge success.  Lots of pictures of our little pirates having a great time.

The Remote Control Sailboat fleet held its first regatta during the 50^th Celebration.  It looked like we had pretty good attendance for the first year.  Thanks to Rich Fox for organizing the fleet and serving as PRO for the first regatta.

Our Junior Sailing team competed in the annual Jr. Bay Week Regatta.  In the Gold Fleet, Sam Riley finished 9^th.  In the Silver Fleet, Grant Goff finished 10^th, Deanna Nichols finished 14^th, and Olivia DeGrella finished 16^th.  Over the course of the week, they competed in 16 races with winds from 5 to 20 mph.  It was quite a grueling week!

Our club racing program is entering the second half of the season.  We are now into our summer series and continue to see great participation on Wednesday evenings.  We have 3 regattas behind us with 3 more to go.  The next regatta is the Indy 200 on August 31.  This is a one-day regatta just for high-PHRF cabin cruiser boats.  It is a great event and a chance to sail with a purpose instead of just floating around.  If you ever thought about getting into the racing program, here is a great way to try it out and see if you like it.

Upcoming social events:

We have four more social events for the year.  The Labor Day cookout is on Saturday August 31.  Governor’s Cup & Lobster Fest is coming up on September 14.  The Chili Cookoff is on October 12. And the Final Bash is on November 2.  Please make plans to attend one or all of these events.

The Ballroom dancing lessons was a huge hit.  Thanks to Tom Moore for coordinating this.  Tom says lessons will continue into September depending on attendance.  If you missed the first few, you can still attend and learn some new dances.  No experience necessary!

Boat Ramp Update

We finally have a complete set of engineering plans to submit for approval.  Approval can take up to two months.  We need approval from the City of Indianapolis, Citizen’s Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers and IDEM.  We are targeting the work to be performed in March of 2020.

Dry-dock Storage

Ki Hickok is working out a plan to get dry dock boats in their proper slips.  This will be a multi-year plan.  Please cooperate with Ki when he contacts you about moving your boat.  Keep in mind, we may need to move your boat to a temporary spot before we get you into your permanent spot.

Full Moon Sail

The next full moon is on August 15.  Why not go out for a moonlight sail?  Sailing at night is very peaceful and relaxing.  Just make sure your navigation lights are working.

Sail on,

Geoff

50th scheduleWe are almost halfway through the sailing season.  The Spring Series is wrapping up.  We’ve conducted two great regattas.  The social events are well underway.  There are a lot of exciting things happening at the club.

New and Ongoing social events:

Our 50^th Anniversary celebration is coming up quickly.  Vickie Greenough, Nick Mates and their planning committee have been hard at work planning a full week of events for you.  It should be a great event!  Be on the lookout for email blasts and FaceBook postings on the event – not to mention all the placards posted around the club. Check out Nick’s full write up at the end of the Commodore article.

Nan Schulze has organized several of the ladies into a Ladies Sailing Association.  They have already adopted and upgraded the various flower beds around the club and have held a couple of social events.  This a growing group within the club.  They are organized.  They are involved.  And they have a plan.  Check it out by contacting Nan.

Ballroom dancing in the upper shelter continues on Thursday evenings.  This is a great event with about 15-20 members attending.  I dropped in towards the end of the session last week .  Everyone was having a great time.  This could be a regular club event.  If this keeps up, we may need a bigger dance floor at the Final Bash.

Rich Fox has organized a Remote Control Sailboat fleet within ECSC.  The group sails the DragonForce 65 RC boat.  The group meets every Monday at 7:00 pm at the race shed.  Members without boats are encouraged to attend and sail a “loaner boat.”  The DF65 costs about $250 and takes about 4 hours to build.  It’s very affordable and very easy to rig and control.

The July 4^th Pig Roast is coming up on July 4^th (Duh!).  This is a very popular event.  I hope you can come out for a great meal, then take your boat out on the water to watch the downtown fireworks.

Dry-dock Storage

Ki Hickok has assigned dry slip spaces to everyone.  Now, we have to get the boats moved around.  This will be a multi-year project as we have a lot of boats to move.  Please be patient and work with Ki when he contacts you about moving your boat.  We are impacted a bit by the empty trailers stored in the lower lots.  See “Trailers, Trailers, Trailers” below.

Dock Captains

I am still looking for people to step forward as “Dock Captains.”  If you are interested, please contact me.  Here’s a chance to earn the respect and admiration of your fellow club members.  Plus, you have the opportunity to say: “Well, I can remember when I was a Dock Captain back in ’19…”   Or some such nonsense.  Anyway, contact me if you are interested.  If nothing else, we need someone to let us know about dock boards to be replaced.

Boat Stickers

Now for a little housekeeping.  We took a stroll around the club and found over 40 boats still without current club stickers.  That is 20% of our members!  This is becoming a problem.  The purpose of the sticker is two-fold.

1. It lets us know at a glance that the boat is owned by a current member.
2. It forces members to visit their boats at least once a year to assess its condition.

When we see a boat with out of date stickers, it tells us the boat is slipping into decay and may soon be abandoned.  A boat with stickers two or three years old is considered abandoned, or at the very least, extremely neglected.

Our General Rules require all boats to have a current club sticker by June 1 or 30 days after joining the club.  If you haven’t done so, please come out to the club to put your sticker on your boat.  Otherwise, expect a call from the Harbormaster asking what you want to do about your neglected or abandoned boat.  In the future, we may start assessing fines for boats without current stickers in order to correct the problem.

Trailers, Trailers, Trailers

We also have a lot of empty trailers around the club.  The club is nearing capacity and we need to aggressively manage our limited parking spaces for dry slip boats and car parking.  If your trailer is sitting in a dry slip assigned to someone else, then it will be moved to the upper lot to open up that slip.

If you need to work on your trailer or your boat, then contact the Harbormaster so we can get you an open spot in the maintenance area.  Of course, if you have a dry slip, you can work on your boat there.

Sail on,

Geoff

 

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ECSC 50^th Anniversary Week

There’s Something for Everyone

Please join us in celebrating our Sailing Club!

It all starts on Tuesday, July 16^th at 7:00 P.M. with

Beethoven on the Beach

Wednesday the 17^th is the first race of the Summer Series begins at 6:50 P.M. and, and is also part of the 50^th Anniversary Celebration. We will have post race special acoustic music by Chris Gordon of T and G productions (you know the DJ for Mayor’s Cup)!

Friday, July 19^th Food Truck and RC Sailboat Racing (Radio Controlled Sailing) Regatta starting at 6:00 P.M. in the cove

Saturday, July 20^th is the BIG day!

10:00 A.M Little Pirates Beach Party (ages 3-12) this event is expected to be a blast for the kids. Fun activities for every age group and the day include snacks, drinks and treats. Plan to bring your kids or grandkids and enjoy our fabulous facility (lower shelter area).

12:00 Noon ECSC Regatta Competitor’s meeting at 10:30 A.M. Pursuit style racing. We’ll be handing out fabulous awards just before the Beach Party (around 5:00 P.M.) Pre-register by July 16th (for t-shirts, or polo shirts and dinners).

5:00 P.M. The annual Beach Party. A great band, great food and really fun people.

 Make sure that you R.S.V.P. by July 16^th

nrmates@gmail.com

We don’t want to run out of food!

 Sunday, July 21^st ECSC Brunch

Please bring a covered dish and enjoy our sailing club with friends and family.

Sunday, July 21^st Race 1 of the Summer Honor Series 3:00 P.M.

 

Any questions please contact Nick Mates or Bob Hickok.

 

 

 

 

After a late start, club activity is picking up.  Racing is well underway.  We’ve had two social events.  And boats are back in the water.  The car corral is empty and there is only 1 boat in the car parking in front of the kayak shed.  In full disclosure, I must confess that it is my boat and will be moved shortly.

We still have a couple of dozen empty boat slips, but hopefully they will be filled in the next few weeks.  Please remember to move your trailer up to the upper lot so we can free up valuable parking for cars and out of town regatta guests.  The Harbormaster and Grounds have been instructed to start moving empty trailers to the upper lot.  If there is a legitimate reason for your empty trailer to remain in the lower level, please contact the Harbormaster.

June Activities

We have a lot of activities planned for June.  The month starts with a new social activity: Ballroom Dancing.  Starting Thursday June 6^th and every Thursday in June we will have ballroom dancing in the upper shelter.  Tom Moore is coordinating this event and as of this writing has 16 members signed up.  The activity will be led by a local ballroom dancing instructor, so no experience is necessary (or expected). Just come on out and have a great time.  This is a free event for club members.  Please contact Tom directly if you are interested.

June 7-9 is the annual Flying Scot regatta.  We are expecting about 15 boats – most of which will be out of town guests.  Flying Scot racers give glowing reports of ECSC’s hospitality, facilities and quality race management.  Bruce Berner and Ethel Morgan will head up our RC team again this year.

June 16^th is our annual Father’s Day brunch.  Be sure to come out and bring a covered dish to share.  Then go out for a leisurely family sail.

We have our usual weekly races on Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon.  And we close out the month with a Racing Cookout & Pitch in on June 30.

In keeping with last month’s newsletter, here are updates on our on-going projects.

Boat Ramp

We are still going through the design and permitting process.  This will take some time.

Mast-raising Gin Pole Replacement

We got the initial design plans from the engineer and discovered he was specifying steel I-beam instead of aluminum.  So, back to the design board.  This will delay the project slightly.

Dry-dock Storage

Ki Hickok is working hard at getting dry slips assigned.  Hopefully you got your dry slip request to him in May to secure your spot.  The goal is to get slips assigned this year and clearly mark the dry slips on the property.  We will then create a plan for getting everyone in their assigned slip.  It may take a couple of years to get boats in their proper spots.  Please be patient with us as we get this implemented.

Club “Beatification Project”

Have you noticed the many flowers planted around the club?  Special thanks to The Ladies Sailing group who volunteered their time to upgrade our flower beds and plant flowers.  If you want to get involved, contact Nan Schulze.

50^th Anniversary Gala

The 50^th Anniversary Gala planning committee has several days of activities planned.  On June 3^rd, we will receive special recognition from the City of Indianapolis for our service to the City.  Announcements will be coming out soon to let you know what activities are scheduled.

Club Handyman: Ron Anderson

Ron has already made a huge impact on the club.  The grounds are looking much better and many items that have been ignored are getting the proper attention.  His focus for June will be to get the weeds under control and the grounds in good condition for the upcoming 50^th Anniversary Gala.

Dock Captains

In order to promote more socialization around the docks I’d like to have a “dock captain” for each dock.  The responsibilities of the dock captain are:

• Get to know the people on your dock.
• Organize “docktail parties” so people can get to know their neighbors.
• Coordinate boat and dock decorating competitions for the beach party.
• Develop camaraderie among slip neighbors.
• Be the focal point for communication between slip holders and the Harbormaster (e.g., dock board that need repair, dock repair parties, etc).

If you would like to volunteer to be a dock captain, please contact Geoff Endris.

 

See you around the club and out on the water.

 

Geoff Endris

The weather is warm, the water is up – Let’s go sailing!

We got word earlier this month that Citizen’s Energy has begun raising the lake back to normal levels.  At this writing, the depth at the end of the ramp is above 6 ft and rising.  Now if we can get the trailer field dried out….

May Events:

Mother’s Day is fast approaching.  I’m sure Vickie Greenough and her team have a great event planned.  Bring a dish to share and enjoy the warm weather.  Then, take everyone out for a sail!

Our other big event for May is the Mayor’s Cup on May 18-19.  Don’t forget that the Saturday night dinner/dance is open to all club members.  If you want to come out and eat, you can purchase a dinner for a nominal fee.  Or you can just come out to enjoy the music for free.

Parking Lot Restrictions

Please remember that all boats must be out of the parking corral and the parking down near the boat ramp by Saturday 5/11.  Boats in the parking spaces will be moved to another part of the club.

In keeping with last month’s newsletter, here are updates on our on-going projects.

Boat Ramp

We are in the midst of getting the necessary permits for replacing the boat ramp.  We tried to get it approved as a maintenance project but were told we have to go through the full permit process.  This will take 4-6 months.  Good thing we started early.  Hopefully, we can still get it done this year.  If not, we will shoot for next March before the club opens.

Mast-raising Gin Pole Replacement

Dennis Robertson and crew are working out the details to replace our wooden gin pole with a metal pole.  The designs are completed, and he is working on lining up the heavy equipment and labor.  The new pole will be relocated so it is not in such a high-traffic area.  It will include a retractable arm to avoid any future mishaps with masts.

Summer Sail Camp

Our summer sailing camp is full.  As usual, it filled up very quickly. 

Racing Season Starts

Racing season has started, and several races have been held.  Thanks to all who help with the food after racing.  It is greatly appreciated by all.  We have several ways for members to get involved in our racing program.  We have beginner fleets for those who are new to racing.  And we can always use help with Race Committee on Wednesday nights and at Regattas.  Come on out, spend the day/evening on the water and get a great view of the racing.

Dry-dock Storage

Ki Hickok sent out an email to get the dry slip parking spaces implemented.  Please have your request back to him by May 18 so you have a better chance of getting your requested location.  It’s going to take a while to get everyone into their desired dry slip.  Please be patient with us as we get this implemented.

Ladies Sailing

The Ladies Sailing group is in full swing.  They met recently to plan their activities for the year.  They are starting with upgrading and planting our various flower beds.  They have several social events planned as well.  If you want to get involved, contact Nan Schulze.

Club Shelters

The large grill in the upper shelter was falling apart, and got replaced in time for Mother’s Day brunch.  We also have smaller gas grills in all shelters for club member use.  Feel free to use them for family gatherings and cookouts.  If you need to use the entire shelter, contact Vickie Greenough to reserve.

50^th Anniversary Gala

Plans are well underway for our 50^th Anniversary Gala.  We have several days of activities planned for club members, guests and past members.  Announcements will be coming out soon to let you know what activities are scheduled.

 

See you around the club and out on the water.

 

Geoff Endris

Well, we are officially in Spring.  Sailing season is just around the corner.

I hope everyone is busy making plans to uncover their boats in mid-April.  And speaking of mid-April, please make plans to come out on Saturday April 13 at 9:00 to help us open the club.  We need lots of volunteers as we clean the place up for the 2019 sailing season.  Email and Facebook announcements will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.

Here are updates on some on-going projects:

Club Maintenance Person

We have selected someone to be our club maintenance person for 2019.  His name is Ron Anderson.  He lives in Clermont and has experience in property management, building construction, building maintenance and small engine repair.  We are excited to have him aboard for the year.  His contract started on March 1^st.  He will start by helping us get our equipment ready for the season.  He will report to the Grounds Committee, which will be responsible for setting Ron’s priorities.

Boat Ramp

The board gave approval to replace our aged and cracked boat ramp.  We are in the process of getting competitive bids on the project.  As you can imagine, they vary widely.

Summer Sail Camp

Our summer sailing camp always fills up quickly.  Registration is open.  Please go to the web site to sign up.

Racing Season Starts

Racing season starts on April 24 with our first Wednesday night series event, followed quickly by a Laser Regatta and the start of our Sunday afternoon series.  See the Racing – Bob Hickok report for more information.

Dry-dock Storage

Dennis and Ki are working hard to get assigned dry-dock parking spaces implemented.  They will send out notices as they work through the details.

Adult Sailing Lessons

We have received several inquiries from non-members about adult sailing lessons.  If you would like to teach others how to sail using your own boat, please contact Regan Lessick.  Note you can provide lessons for free or charge a “nominal fee.”

Ladies Sailing

Nan Schulze is organizing some Ladies Sail events this year.  She had a planning meeting in late February, which generated lots of ideas.  More on that from Nan later.

Flower Bed Maintenance

Our Grounds Committee is going to set up flower beds around the club.  We are looking for club members to volunteer to maintain them.  You will get volunteer credits for your work.  Contact Nan for more information.

 Club Shelters

Don’t forget we now have gas grills in all shelters for club member use.  Shelters can be used by members for family gatherings and cookouts.  If you need to use the entire shelter, contact Vickie Greenough to reserve.

Stay warm and start getting ready for spring!

Geoff Endris

Commodore

With the onset of 2019, ECSC is getting ready to celebrate our 50^th Anniversary.  The club has come a long way from its modest beginnings in 1969.  Our club began as a collection of Hobie Catamarans lined up on the beach with no supporting club facilities.  Our first building was the lower shelter.  It is still standing and recently received a much-needed overhaul.  Since these early days we have added the upper shelter, the various maintenance sheds, the floating docks, the gin pole, the power washer, the youth sailing sheds, the playground and many other amenities. 

We now have 4 gathering areas:

1. The lower shelter near the playground for smaller family-style gatherings
2. The upper shelter for larger social or family gatherings
3. The “Race Pavilion” for nightly and post-race informal gatherings
4. The Junior area for the Junior team

What a wonderful club to spend an afternoon or evening!

Our big capital project for the year will be replacing the boat ramp.  Our current ramp has lasted several decades, but it is cracked and getting worse.  This is a huge project and a huge expense.  This project alone will consume one-third of our cash reserves but will last us for many decades to come. 

50^th Anniversary Gala

We have big plans for this year to celebrate our 50^th anniversary.  Vickie Greenough, Nick Mates and their crew are planning a lot of activities to celebrate.  Current plans are to combine the celebration with the ECSC Beach Party.  There will be more to come in later months.  Vickie and Nick will need a lot of help.  If you would like to volunteer, please contact Vickie (social@ecsail.org).

Dry-dock Storage

Once again, we are nearing boat storage capacity.  In order to manage our space better, we are going back to assigned dry slips.  Several years ago, each dry-docked boat was assigned a specific parking lot space.  We went away from that practice several years ago, but it’s time we went back to assigned spaces.  Harbormasters Dennis Robertson and Ki Hickok will be sorting that out, but members will have first dibs on their existing spots.  Open spaces will be awarded based on seniority just like the wet slips.

2019 Budget Update

The board approved the 2019 budget at the January board meeting.  In addition to funding our normal activities, we will be funding the 50^th Anniversary Celebration.  We are also making some much-needed improvements to the club including:

• Replace the mast raising gin pole – the current one is nearing its useful life.
• Replace the dilapidated boat ramp – it is severely cracked.
• Replace the aging motors for the race committee boats. They are beyond their useful life.
• Replace the Social Shed refrigerator and the industrial grill in the upper shelter

The repairs will take about 6 weeks.  Current plans are to begin work one week after the Hornback regatta.  That means all boats must be out of the water by mid-October, or you will have to use the public ramp on the other side of the lake.  There will be several warnings and announcements as we get near to the end of the sailing season.

The current mast raising pole is made of wood with a fixed lifting arm.  This arm has been hit several times by members driving down the lane next to the water. The new design calls for a metal pole with a movable lifting arm that can be moved out of the way to prevent boats from hitting the lifting arm. 

Our Race Committee Safety Boats have motors that are 15-20 years old.  One is no longer working, and the other is nearing its useful life.  We are replacing both motors this year.  We replaced a broken motor a couple of years ago, so this gives us all new motors for the main safety boats.

Remember to get out to your boat to check on your boat covering.  Please inform others if their boat needs attention.

Geoff Endris

Commodore