Ahoy Eagle Creekers!

I  have been away from our lovely club for several weeks, but I would like to report that your commodore has just completed the 2023 Transpacific race from LA to Hawaii.  This was my 4th race to Hawaii.

Our boat was a J125 named Nereid. We finished 1st on our class of 9 and 2nd place in the overall rankings.  I have proudly worn my ECSC gear as I represented our club at both Hawaii Yacht Club and Waikiki Yacht Club.  Conditions were epic in this race.  Our top speeds were in the 23 to 24 knot range.

I know that our committee heads have been busy planning the rest of our season and I am excited to hear the stories from the ECSC Regatta and Beach party.

Sail Fast, Sail often,

Commodore Rick Graef

Fellow ECSCers,

I hope everyone is having a great Summer so far, and I’m happy to see the grounds and docks very active whenever I’m at the club.  It seems like our membership is getting a lot of enjoyment out of the new improvements we made in the last couple years.  Kids are loving the upper shelter playground, families are having lunch at the Captains Corner and playing on the beach, and campers are trying out the new grassy area up the hill behind the upper shelter (it’s a great view up there). This is great to see!

I’m happy to report that ECSC’s hosting of the Alex Rust Regatta last month was a success.  We partnered with the Chasing Bubbles Foundation (CBF) to host paddleboard races, a build-your-own-boat competition, and a sailing regatta. We had about 80 registrations that generated over $3,000 in funds that will go toward restoration of SV Bubbles in the USVI’s as well as go to help kids in India earn an education and chase their dreams. Thanks to all who came out and participated; it was a very fun day! We hope to continue hosting the event in the future.  

A huge thank you to Vickie Greenough and Nick Mates for hosting our ECSC Beach Party this weekend.  That may have been our largest turn out for the event. Our next “big event” will be the Ladies Regatta on August 5th. If you’re a guy like me, don’t let the gender exclusivity of the name keep you from coming out that day. Plenty of guys will be on the water spectating or supporting the race.  I’ll be DJing from the aircraft carrier pontoon to get everyone dancing and having fun on the water.  And don’t forget about the raft-up after the race. In the past, we have had plenty of boats offering to chauffeur people to and from the raft up.  So come on out and enjoy another fun day on the water. 

On the topic of facilities improvements, Erich Rose is very close to getting an updated quote for replacing D dock. That dock is by far in the worst condition, so we plan to pull the trigger on replacing it – hopefully – this fall. More details to come on that.  Replacing the docks is something we had to do every 30 years or so. However if we go with the better composite-board docks (like Rick’s new docks) then maybe we can get 50 years out of the new docks. It will be a big expense but we have enough money in our account to get the process started without any special assessment to our membership. 

NEW HAND WASHING STATION BY THE PORTA POTTIES.   This is a big one.  It was there during COVID and we all loved it.  So we brought it back and plan to have it there every sailing season (as long as the price stays reasonable).  Now we can all save a trip up the hill if we want to wash our hands. 

That’s about all I have for a July update.  See you guys on the water!

EJ Williams

Vice Commodore

Fellow Members

Since the last Telltales, we have had a very successful Mayor’s Cup Regatta with a very good turnout and many very delighted sailors for a spectacular two-day weather and racing experience.  It is uncommon to have two perfect sailing weather days in a row for our two-dayregattas but this one was exceptional.  Thanks to all our volunteers and PRO’s for their excellent work in making this such a positive event.

​Our next regatta is coming up this next weekend.  The ECSC Regatta is paired with our largest summer social event the Beach Party.  They both occur this Saturday July 15th.  The NOR and the SI are now published on our ECSC website on the racing page.  There is no fee for the regatta but will be a fee for the party which is handled through the Social Committee.

​The work on the utility pontoon boat (Aircraft Carrier) has been completed.  Thanks to Dennis Robertson, Perry Cameron and Charlie Brehob for their work in getting this difficult job completed for the club.

​The Summer Racing Series for Sunday and Wednesday are nearly complete and the competition has been very strong and close for the top positions.  Our Sunday racing participation is improving compared to previous years.

​Come out and join us or volunteer on the committee boat and just watch us!!

John Kohne

Nancy Goff

I hope you have enjoyed our events thus far.  You may have noticed that we are trying to include some vegetarian options in the mix.

Big thank you to Nick Mates and crew for arranging a very successful Beach Party!  The weather was perfect for the evening.  

Food was catered by City Barbecue the Whole Hog did not disappoint. 

Our next event is Labor Day Kickoff.  Please note this event will be on Saturday evening the weekend of Labor Day in hopes to allow for extra time on the water!  We will have a DJ so put on your dancing shoes!  The club will provide the main course and beverages and we ask that attendees bring a dish to share in true pitch-in fashion. 

We are also beginning our planning for the annual Lobster Fest.  We have been able to keep the cost to members down in the past, however with the rise in cost of both Lobsters and Steak, we may need to increase the cost this year.  Stay tuned for more information.

Below is a quick snapshot of the remaining season’s events.  Those in bold font require RSVP and Pre-payment.  More details to come closer to the events.

 Labor Day – Saturday, Sept 2nd – 6:00 pm – Host/hostess needed

Lobster Fest – Saturday, Sept 23rd – 6:00 pm – Hosted by the Orndorff’s

Chili Cookoff – Saturday, Oct 7th – 6:00 pm – Host/hostess needed

Final Bash – Saturday, Nov 4th – 6:00 pm – Hosted by Ki and Erin Hickok

Thank you in advance to those willing to volunteer their time to assist in making our club a more enjoyable place to be. 

 Vickie Greenough – Social Chair

Jennifer Curtis – Asst. Social Chair

Pictures

If you have pictures from the club – social events, racing, out cruising – and you wouldn’t mind sharing them with us we would love to be able to put them on the site and/or to include them in telltales articles.  You can send them to publicity [at] ecsail.org and if you would like credit to be given please let us know with the images how you would like them attributed.

The next version of the website and struggles with the current version

Work continues on the new version of our website.  We’ve been facing some issues with the publication of the newsletter and proper formatting of the newsletter particularly for archived editions of the telltales.

While we hope to have the new version of the site ready soon the current version keeps absorbing time and taking away from the time available to develop the newest version of the site.

We appreciate your patience as we work through the issues on the current site and continue to work on the new version of the site and ask that if you spot any issues at all with the website to please reach out to us at publicity [at] ecsail.org and let us know.

Thanks!

Michael Denney
Phyllis Gillingham
ECSC Publicity