Telltales
January/February 2025


Commodore
Vickie Greenough

Upcoming Events
Jan 14Board Meeting
Jan 22Race Meeting
Feb 9Super Bowl
Feb 28ECSC Dues Due
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are as excited as I am to embark on the 2025 sailing season!   It is truly an honor to serve as your Commodore this year.   Having been a member since 2010 and serving on the board since 2011, I can honestly say that the members of ECSC are like family to me.   Together, we will continue to build on the Club’s legacy of camaraderie, adventure, and growth.

Looking Ahead:   Budget and Planning
In December, we held our initial budget meeting for 2025, and we are on track to finalize everything next week.   Our committee chairs are doing a fantastic job of assessing areas where we can reduce spending while still ensuring that we are preparing for the long-term future of ECSC.   This year, our focus will be on building a surplus to fund significant, necessary improvements in the years ahead.

Club Stats
Memberships 280
Members Waiting a Slip Abt 20
Wet Slips 174 plus 2 temp
Water Level 788.5 (790 Normal)
Lake Acreage 1,360 Total (850 south end)
However, even with careful budgeting and cutbacks, there will be a slight increase in some of our dues and fees.   These adjustments are essential to cover the rising costs of materials and repairs...ensuring that our facilities remain in top shape for all of our members.

Dock Replacement Project
Speaking of improvements, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve placed a deposit on materials for the next phase of our dock replacement.   This spring, we will be replacing B Dock (formerly known as A Dock).   One of the key upgrades is the widening of the main section, which will make it easier and safer for members to pass one another when launching or retrieving their boats.   Additionally, the new design will bring the dock closer to the ramp...reducing the risk of anyone getting too close to the drop-off while launching their boats.

A special thank you goes to Erich Rose for his hard work coordinating with Floating Docks to make this project a reality.   We are excited to see this important improvement come to life and know it will greatly enhance your experience at the Club.

Onward to a Great Year!
As we enter the new year, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support and involvement in ECSC.   It’s your dedication that helps make our Club the wonderful place it is...and I look forward to all that we will accomplish together in 2025.

Let’s make this season one to remember!

Warm regards!



Our forlorn Club awaiting coming to life this spring


Facilities Manager
Erich Rose
Steve Koehn

Happy Winter, Everyone!

For those who don’t know me, I’m Erich Rose, the Facilities Manager here at ECSC.   I'm excited to introduce Steve Koehn as our new Assistant Manager and Bill Harrington, who will be stepping in as Assistant to the Assistant.

Boats in hibernation  

This year, we’re looking forward to the installation of a new B dock along the ramp, expected to be completed by late March or early April.   We’ll be turning the water back on at the end of March, and we’re planning a spring work party during the 2nd or 3rd week of April...weather permitting.   The work party is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with friends you haven’t seen all winter while helping to get the Club ready for another sailing season.   Plus, work credits will be given for your time and effort!

We’ll keep everyone updated when the new dock is ready to be used and when the water system is back up and running.   I’m looking forward to another great sailing season ahead!

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.   Let’s make this season another memorable one!


New docks being installed for A & F docks


Social
Jen Curtis
Karen Orndorff

Hello Fellow Sailors!

Another year is upon us and soon another awesome sailing and social season!

We want to give a huge shoutout to Rick Graef and Abigail Harlan for an incredible evening at the Final Bash this past season!   The boats inside the venue were a great photo backdrop and nice touch.   Walking out onto the Colts practice field is always a thrill and the DJ kept us dancing until the end.   It is no small feat to host this event and it was a job well done!

Our past Commodore celebrating his freedom!  

While we are working on budget meetings and planning out this season’s calendar, hopefully you are all staying warm and looking forward to seeing all your fellow Club members this coming season.   It is a great time to discover new recipes to try out for our pitch-ins, look for that perfect outfit to wear to the Beach Party, or finesse those dance moves for when the warmer weather brings us all together.

With membership renewals coming soon, if you are interested in volunteering with any of our social events, or work, please indicate so as you fill out your renewal.   We are always looking for volunteers to help our events run smoothly or to help with special projects we might have.   And, you will earn work credits for your time and efforts and meet some fantastic people who help make our Club the wonder that it is!

For those interested in reserving any of the shelters located on the Club grounds for an event, you can find the reservation request form on our website at http://ecsail.org/reserve.   Please complete and submit for commodore and social approval.   Depending on the number of guests, deposits and fees may apply.   It is limited to 100 guests due to parking limitations.

If you have any questions, please always feel free to reach out!


Stayed to the last dance at the Final Bash!



Membership
Jesse Wriedt
Tyler Yost

Dear ECSC Members,

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first membership update of 2025!   As we reflect on 2024, we are proud to share that our membership finished with a total of 280 members...welcoming 18 new members to our Club.   We are grateful for each of you and look forward to continuing to grow and strengthen our Club family.

Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to announce enrollments will again be handled online.   This streamlined process allows for a more efficient experience for all members.   In addition, we strongly encourage everyone to opt for the digital directory when renewing your membership.   In 2024, the use of the digital directory option resulted in significant savings of approximately $2,000...funds that can be redirected to things like upcoming dock renovations.

Jordan Kane (left) and John Kohne (right) receiving their racing championship awards.  

The 2025 enrollment forms will be emailed to all members by the end of the first week in February, so please be on the lookout for this important communication.   Please note that for 2025, we will be compacting and changing member numbers.

Thank you for your continued support of the Club and for being part of what makes ECSC such a wonderful place to gather, connect, and grow.   If you have any questions or need assistance with your membership, don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly at membership@ecsail.org.

Wishing you all a safe and exciting 2025!



Racing
John Kohne
Nancy Goff
Bob Hickok

Racers and Aspiring Racers,

Winners of the Day-After-Thanksgiving regatta  

I imagine that by now you are beginning to recover from the New Year celebration as well as the bad cold you got from the holiday virus obtained when visiting with your family over the holiday.   This means you are just starting to wish you could get in your boat again and get onto the water.   Since you can’t do that yet, we would like to offer you the next best thing and have all those interested in racing this coming year - a get together at the traditional racing program’s first Winter Meeting (….Party?)!!

We are hoping to have the first meeting on Wednesday, January 22 or 29th depending on venue availability.   We usually start the meeting at 6:30pm with food and beverages while going through the agenda...so we can all get done by 8:00pm.   Our first meeting will get ideas from racers and newcomers about how they would like the coming racing season to look.   Then, after this meeting, we can begin getting the resources together to accomplish our goals.

At this first meeting this year, we will also be inviting the PROs, PRO Assistants, and Food Helpers that made last year so enjoyable.   They can share their feedback regarding last year’s operations and help provide feedback on new ideas for this coming year.

Our sailor of the Year:   John Zinn  

We hope that you will save some time on your calendars to join us, and we will communicate details regarding time, place, and agenda to you as soon as we can firm them up.

They really do not have blue hair  



Publicity/Communications
Evan Williams

It's that tweener time for our Club.   We finished our 2024 season essentially with the Final Bash, and we're now doing planning for our upcoming 2025 season.   Lemme address the Final Bash.

Jordan Kane passing on his Party Trophy to Cody McCoun  

Once again, we were able to reserve the Colts Complex - always makes for a great backdrop for frivolity.

Notes:

  • Our new board members, officers, and committee heads were "sworn in."   Take a look at who's in charge now here .

  • Results of our spring race series, click here .

  • Results of our summer race series, click here .

  • Awards for 2024:

    Boats of the Year
    Special K – John Kohne
    Spontaneous Combustion – Bob Hickok
    Dancer – Bill Grant
    Queen K – Jordan Kane

    Broken-Mast Award
    Scott Douglas & Crew

    Sailor of the Year
    John Zinn

    ECSC Championship Award (won all four series races)
    Queen K - Jordan Kane
    Special K - John Kohne

    Party Trophy
    Cody McCoun

    Sportsman of the Year
    Tyler Yost

    Laser backdrop at the Bash  

    Heroism Award
    Geoff Endris
    Bob Hickok
    Erich Rose

    Family Sailing and Service Award
    The Michael Denney Family

    Leadership Award
    Rich Fox

    Lifetime Achievement Award
    Bill Harrington

    Now, just a comment on logistics for 2025.   On average, our Club loses about the same number of members each year as we gain...around 20 or so.   Many of these non-returning members have slip assignments (permanent or temp)...but, we won't know which slips will be available until after our membership fee is due (March 1st).   So, you members looking for a slip assignment for 2025, we won't be able to do such until after March 1st.

    We've changed slip priority over the years (learning) and I believe it's currently now based simply on your membership number.   This number reflects the order in which our members have joined our Club.   Hence, longer-time members get priority over newer members...probably a decent system for such assignments.

    Come March 1st, our membership chair works with our harbormaster to handle the assignments...such as determining which slips are free, look at location-change requests, and assigning empty slips to the next lowest membership numbers.   I believe there might also be some juggling based on keel depth and other seemingly-endless factors.

    This is usually a somewhat stressful and time-consuming chore...so, please go easy on our volunteer membership/harbormaster chairs at this time of year.   I wonder if kindness might be rewarded during this process??   :)



    Our 2024 race series winners


    Recruits for next year's Colts team


  • 2024 Board Meetings
    January 14 TBD
    TBD TBD
    TBD TBD
    TBD TBD

     



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