Newsletter – Page 65 – Eagle Creek Sailing Club

Harbormaster

Harbormaster January 2017

January 9, 2017 - By Kenny Chapman

Hello Eagle Creekers,

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. All is well at the club and looks like everyone got a spot to park their boat for the Winter that wanted to stay. All boats have been counted and my list has been forwarded to Membership. Your dues must be paid before the end of February. Do not delay this payment as you may lose your wet slip or prospects for a wet slip. All payments must be post marked by the last day in February or sooner. If you are on the slip waiting list, please send membership a separate check for your prospective wet slip. In the event we are unable to lease you a slip, your check will be returned to you un-cashed.

Boats on the Hard

Concerning current stickers; I have noticed several boats and trailers were not outfitted with 2016 stickers this year. It is imperative to place your membership stickers on all of your boats and trailers. All boats with out proper stickers will be considered as abandoned boats. There are several lasers, sunfish and small dingys on site without any way of distinguishing ownership. These boats will be removed from the club by mid June if they are not identified by a current ECSC sticker. Please email Jane Schmidt or Christy Merriman if you need additional stickers.

Many of our members have more than one boat, which is just fine, on the other hand if you simply never use your other boat(s) you are regarding our club as a never ending storage lot. As our membership expands it becomes increasingly hard to supply parking for new members wishing to dry sail or even keep their boat at the club for Winter storage. It may be time to sell any boat that is no longer used for the good of the club.

This upcoming year, the grounds work will be headed up by a newly formed Grounds Committee (two officers and the Harbormaster department). The Chairman for the committee will be Mark Walker (our new Vice Commodore), Tom Moore (our Treasurer) and the Harbormaster Department (myself -Kenny Chapman and Dennis Robertson). All works will be planned out as much in advance as possible. These include work parties, lawn care, expanding trailer parking in the trailer lot, beach sand replenishment and expansion, construction of any kind (other than dock work).

Lonely Boat

Weed eating the parking areas was finally addressed near the end of summer by several members willing to earn work credits. We actually have quite a few members that can be trusted to work on their own time and during scheduled work parties. One of my plans to present to the grounds committee is a way to expand the number of hours certain members will be able to work for the club without the need to waste our club’s money on contracted work. The basic plan is if you worked the full 15 work credits last year you will be allowed to work another 15 on projects for the grounds committee.

Please remember to pay your dues on time and ask for membership stickers for all of your boats and trailers. Sailing season is just around the corner.

Kenny Chapman and Dennis Robertson,

Harbormasters
Racing

Racing January 2017

January 9, 2017 - By Geoff Endris
We have a great racing program planned for 2017. Lots of racing. Lots of hot dogs and hamburgers! As in the past, all club members are welcome to attend the regatta parties at the Mayor’s Cup, Governor’s Cup and ECSC regattas. Your $10 ticket gets you food, beverage, music and dancing. I am new to booking entertainment for these events, so if you know of a good band or DJ, send an email to the racing contact and I’ll take it from there.

Race Ready Meeting #1

Mark your calendar for Wednesday January 25, 2017. That will be our first “Race Ready” meeting for all those who are interested racing this year. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30. We will have pizza and sodas for those who attend. The location isn’t set yet, but we will send out an email blast to the newsletter distribution list in a week or so once we get the room locked down.

We have 4 topics on the agenda for the meeting:
1. Registration and PHRF discussion
2. Race Committee sign up
3. 2017 Racing Calendar
4. Review of the ECSC RC Handbook
North U Tactics and Rule Seminar at ISC

On Saturday January 28, 2017, Indianapolis Sailing Club will host the North U Rules and Tactics Seminar. Check in is at 8:30. The seminar runs from 9:00 to 4:30. Andrew Kerr will be the instructor. The cost is $95, which includes a copy of Dave Perry’s North U Racing Rules and Tactics workbook. This is a good seminar if you are a little rusty on the rules or want to sharpen your racing tactics. Click HERE for a link to the seminar flyer.

PHRF Ratings

We have several races that are scored based on PHRF rating, so it is very important that we have an updated PHRF rating for all racers. This applies to virtually all of the Wednesday and Sunday series racing. In order to be scored properly, make sure we have an updated PHRF registration form on file for your boat. If we don’t have an up-to-date form, we will assign you the base rating for your boat with no adjustments. This is the absolute worst rating you can receive.

For your convenience, you have 3 ways to review and/or register your boat’s PHRF rating:
1. You will receive a race registration form in your membership packet. If your boat has a PHRF form on file, you will be able to verify the information on the form. If you receive a blank form and are racing, simply fill it out and mail it back with your dues payment.
2. Come to any of the Race Ready meetings and fill out the form at the meeting.
3. Get a blank form at the RC Shed and leave it in the marked folder.
We are changing some of the PHRF adjustments this year to lessen the penalty to cruiser boats on windward/leeward courses. Come to the first Race Ready meeting to find out more.

Race Committee Signup

Volunteering for Race Committee is part of every racer’s responsibility. If everyone serves just one time per series, we will have a smooth sailing season. The Sign-up Genius web site has been updated with all of the sailing events for the 2017 season. Congratulations to Bob McCoun for being first to sign up for RC duty. There are 12 racing days in the Wednesday Spring series and 2 slots, so we need just 24 skippers to sign up. There are only 10 Sunday Spring races, so we only need 20 skippers to sign up. If everyone takes a slot, we can get them all filled. If you want to get your choice of days, sign up early. Note that on March 31, if we have any open slots for the two Spring Series, I will have to start assigning people who have not yet signed up. Sign up for RC duty by clicking here.

2017 Racing Calendar

We are making a couple of changes to the sailing calendar. Our goal is to reward participation, yet recognize individual champions.
- Wednesday Night series start time will change.
- Fleet Champions will not be part of the Sunday series.
- We are adding a Club Championship 1-day regatta to crown the best skipper and the fleet champions.
- The Boat of the Year selection is being changed slightly.
Come to the first Race Ready meeting to find out more about the changes. All 2017 races have been added to the web site calendar.

Race Committee education

On March 11, 2017 ECSC and ISC are sponsoring a one-day Club Race Officer seminar at the ISC clubhouse. This is a great one-day event that will give you a great foundation on how to run a proper sailboat race. The seminar will cover all aspects of running a race from setting up the course, to starting and finishing boats, to changing and shortening the course. The cost is only $45 and that includes continental breakfast and lunch. It’s a great way to get into sailing mode for the upcoming season. Go to the US Sailing web site to register.

Scroll down to the ECSC seminar and register online.

I am updating the Race Committee Handbook to provide more “on the water” guidance and reference to those running races. This will also be covered at the Race Ready #1 meeting.

Geoff Endris,

Racing Chair
Membership

Membership January 2017

January 9, 2017 - By Jane Schmidt

MEMBERSHIP

Welcome to the final new members of 2016 – bringing our new members total to 27.

Richard Rockwell of Pennville, IN. Richard is a returning member who’s sailing a Cal 22 and a Hobie 18 Magnum.

Doug and Jenny White of Carmel sailing a Laguna 24 ST.

RAISE IN RATES FOR 2017:

At the December meeting, the board voted to raise the annual fee for all kayaks, canoes and sailboards. In 2017 it will be $25 for rack storage and $100 for inside storage. This will be reflected on the Annual Dues statement which you will receive during the last week of January. If you wish to be on the wait list for indoor storage, pay the rack fee and indicate your desire to be on wait list.

Your individual work credits will be indicated on your Annual Dues statement. If your credits are not what you think they should be, please contact the committee chair under whom you earned your work credits and they will then contact us with the correct number of hours.

The same will be true with the indication on your statement regarding the # of boats you have in winter storage on ECSC property. Kenny Chapman is the contact person if you do not agree with the number indicated.

As always, your check for 2017 dues will need to be postmarked by the due date of 2/28/17.

Annual dues statements will be mailed 1/20/17. If you have not received yours by that first week of February, please call 317-575-9837 with that information.

Please call the same number with any change in mailing and/or email address. Hope to see all of you on the water during the summer of 2017.

Your Membership Committee,

Jane Schmidt and Christy Merriman
Safety & Education

Safety and Education January 2017

January 9, 2017 - By Chuck Lessick

Hi ECSC Members,

There is not much going on on the Safety & Education department this time of year. We are wrapping up 2016 and looking toward 2017. Looking back at 2016 shows that it was quite productive.

One of our accomplishments this year was the construction of the new ECSC Junior Sailing school building. It turned out great! It has a pavilion area for teaching larger groups such as camp or our adult training classes, as well as an indoor area. Our intent is to be able to use the facility not only for camp, but also physical training of our junior sailors. It should also work well for chalk talks and video training regardless of the weather. Looking forward, we are planning on outfitting the structure with a few items to facilitate these activities.

2016 junior results were on par with expectations. As previously reported, Cameron Douglas finished 1st in the I-LYA Junior Traveler Series for the season and Reagan Lessick tied for 6th. Cam also finished 3rd at Junior Bay week in a very tight four day regatta consisting of 18 races. Cam has aged out of his Junior status at the end of this season and is off to college at Eckard in ST. Petersburg, Florida. Jon Schwartz competed in a limited schedule this year, but spent much time behind the scenes instructing possible future additions to the team.

Educationally, it was a good year for the Juniors as well. Cam earned his level 3 coaching license, Jon earned his level 2 license, and Reagan & Tina Williams completed their level 1 instructors licenses. ECSC’s help of these young adults in furthering their education is critical to the success of our youth camps. ECSC has had a long history of employing US Sailing certified instructors as our youth camp instructors. Our youth program could not happen without these dedicated young ECSC juniors. There is also a long term benefit for both the good of the sport and the good of ECSC in having more people available to teach sailing.

2017 Sailing Camp dates will be set soon. Check the camp page or watch your ECSC email for more information.

Chuck Lessick,

Safety and Education Chair
Store

Ships Store January 2017

January 9, 2017 - By Les Miller

Ship’s Store,

As noted in the December Tell Tales, significant changes are afoot for the Ship’s Store. We are anticipating a change in how ECSC merchandise is bought. Al Wilkins has done a great job of getting the best pricing for the merchandise ordered in anticipated quantities and handling their sales, particularly at club events.

Going forward, it is our intention to handle club merchandise in the same manner as other sailing clubs. We will have an arrangement with a vendor that will have our logo to apply to any item ordered by an individual. You will go to that vendor’s website and order your T-shirt, hat, etc. in various colors, pay for it online and have the merchandise shipped directly to you. As we transition to the new approach, we will no longer order new inventory. The existing inventory will be sold at a yet to be determined discount. More details to come soon.

Thanks,

Les Miller,

Ship’s Store
Publicity

Publicity January 2017

January 9, 2017 - By Rick Graef

Hello ECSC Members,

January is definitely a quiet month for us sailing types. While most of us sit at work, we day dream about warm breezes and the sounds of water rushing past the hulls of our sailboats or the organized chaos that is a yacht racing starting line. Many of our members are lucky enough to head south for a week or two or twelve. I doubt that I am the only one at ECSC that actually misses their boat during these cold winter months.

Tony and Jake Hubbard, Cam Borkowski, Rick Graef and Cristina DeProspero on Mac Island after competing in the 206 Port Huron to Mackinac Race.

As for publicity, I would like to start a member article section in the coming months issues of our beloved newsletter “The Tell-tales”. If you are interested, just write an article and send it along to me at publicity@ecsail.org . Write about anything sailing related; your favorite cruising spot, a regatta you attended, your favorite ECSC memories, why cruisers are more fun than racers, why racers are more fun than cruisers, your own stupid boat tricks, how you managed to ground your boat on the point….Anything sailing. Or even just a regatta report as I have done below.

Racing Lasers in Biscayne Bay

Between Christmas and New Years I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Open Orange Bowl Regatta in Miami Florida. For years our club has sent juniors down to compete against the worlds best youth in the Junior Orange Bowl Regatta, so I have attended this event many times with my kids and other ECSC Juniors. This year I was able to take my Ex-Junior son, Austin Graef along for some racing. He and I competed in four days of very competitive and challenging Laser racing. Coconut Grove Sailing Club hosts an adult Laser regatta in conjunction with the junior event that also occurs during this time.

Conditions ranged from one day of postponement (light winds) to steady 18 gusting to mid 20’s. While the fleet was small (17 entrants), it was chock full of laser olympic hopefuls, former laser Masters world champions, Star mid-winters champions, and even a former Snipe world Champion. Having not been in a Laser in almost a year for both of us, the learning curve was steep. After the first day of racing (three races) I was able to hold a solid mid-fleet position slightly ahead of Austin. I guess the old man does still have some tricks up his sleeve. Day 2 was a great day for Austin as he moved up in the standings….ahead of me (I knew it was inevitable). His best finish of the day was a 3rd!! (beating several world class sailors) Day 3 was a sit and wait day with light and variable winds. The 4th day brought a cold front and winds sustained near 20 knots with higher gusts. With Austin only a few points ahead of me, I saw my chance to show him I could handle the heavy air and regain my place ahead of him. . . . After leading him around the upwind mark I thought my sail looked a little dry, so I capsized and watched him (and another boat) shoot past me. So much for race 1 in the heavy air. Raced 2 was looking equally as promising for me… until I decided to practice my death-rolling skills…twice. Needles to say, Austin handled the heavy air in a much better fashion and had some nice finishes. In the final race that day, I chased Austin around the course and just couldn’t quite get him….until the last mark when the death-roll bug hit him during the final gybe not 500 yards from the finish.

ECSCs new coach boat??? Actually the Melges coach boat modeled after a Melges 24

After finishing nine races in 4 days Austin finished with a solid 6th overall, beating me by a solid four points ( I was7th place overall). Not that I like being beaten, but it is a proud day when a junior sailor (who is also your kid) who you have trained and coached all of his life not only beats you but competes solidly against some of the worlds best racing talent. Congrats on a great regatta to Austin.

I hope you all stay warm. Start making lists of all those spring boat projects. I will see you on the water in a few short months.

Rick Graef

Publicity Chair
Commodore

From our Commodore –

December 2, 2016 - By Larry Conrad

[one_second]

ECSC – Our slice of paradise – Photo Credit Kate McMillan

“Starboard” – Commodore Larry Conrad tacking to avoid Dr. Bob on Starboard during the 2016 Governors Cup. Photo Credit – Terry Holland

Larry, Bob and Rick doing some fly fishing….or preparing to remove the RIB hoist. You make the call.

[/one_second]

Sadly, the colder weather is upon us. Most boats are out of the water. Some members will be continuing their sailing adventures in warmer climates. The rest of us are a bit envious, but we wish you safe and happy sailing.

This is a good time to reflect on the season behind us and start planning for next year. All will agree 2016 was a very good year for ECSC. We had the benefit of a great leadership team and generous volunteer support. Social events were great. The racing and education programs enjoyed high levels of participation with many new sailors and racers. Boat trailer parking improved with the removal of several derelict boats. The web site is better organized with a new look and feel. There are many more. Please give a big “thank you” to the 2016 team and volunteers for the many benefits we enjoyed as members of ECSC.

The 2017 team will work hard to make next year a success next year. We are already working to complete 2017 budgets in December. We will work to preserve and improve on the 2016 successes. We want to continue making ECSC a fun and safe place for sailors of all ages.

We will also work to have an adequate cash reserve for major capital replacement projects. Past Commodores have projected the timing of major capital replacements. Some of those replacements may be drawing near. We have heard concerns about the condition of the boat ramp. Dock board replacement may be accelerating soon due to general age. Lighting maintenance and lighting improvements can further enhance security. The Board and our new Grounds Committee will be carefully reviewing the capital plan.

Recent Bylaw changes will have their first impacts next year. The most significant change clarifies responsibility for buildings and grounds that are not part of the Harbormaster responsibilities. ECSC had an on site caretaker for many years. We do not have a caretaker now, and there are significant challenges associated with having another. A review of the Bylaws revealed a need to more clearly establish responsibilities for buildings and grounds. Your Board added an new Grounds Committee, chaired by the Vice Commodore. The detailed responsibilities are available in the Bylaws on our improved web site.

We hope to improve online access and items to our Ships Store in 2017. Many sailing clubs are starting to use online services that will put our logo on many more items than we can keep in our inventory. Les Miller has agreed to lead this worthy initiative.

[one]Best wishes for the holiday season. I am already dreaming of sailing next year. Larry Conrad[/one]

Race Ready Meeting #1

North U Tactics and Rule Seminar at ISC

PHRF Ratings

Race Committee Signup

2017 Racing Calendar

Race Committee education