March 30, 2021
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
March 30, 2021
An update for the social events this year will be sent out on a later date. Thank you to the 160 members who took our survey. We are considering your responses as we move forward.
March 30, 2021
Hello fellow Eagle Creekers, I hope this year is great for everyone.
I will be doing some jobs onshore...so if you can get your boat into the water sooner than normal, we will be able to get things started.
Please be advised that if you don't have a slip yet, you will be able to use the 48 hr. docks. This means 48 hrs. and another 24 hrs to get in and get out...no more than 72 hrs. total.
If this rule is broken you may be fined and your boat may be locked to the dock. This system was overly misused last year and it will not be happening again this year. We currently have 10 people waiting for slips...not to mention another 10-20 members who prefer to dry sail. We only have about eight 48-Hour slips along with a few other "spare" slips. We also have members who sometimes need to work on their trailers. If that is the case, please contact the Harbormaster Department...that would be me (Kenny Chapman) or the other half (Dennis Robertson). Either one of us can give you extended permission.
If you are parked along the sides of the grassy area South of the lower shelter, expect your boat to be moved around to accommodate heavy equipment that will be used to expand parking for sail boats. If you can get into the water soon, it will help as I will only have to move your trailer.
The water is almost at full pool, so getting your boat out into your slip will be good for all. The Trailer Park shouldn't be used until May 1st, but if there are plenty of leaves on the trees blocking vision from 46th street or the neighborhoods, we may be able to park up there a bit sooner. The last thing we want to do is upset the HOA in the nearby neighborhood.
Also, I have pulled out all junk trailers from the upper Trailer Park. They are on display in the grass area on the incoming road. We are not a storage facility. If you see your junk on display, please take it elsewhere.
Lastly, please put your stickers onto your boat and trailer. If this a problem due to lost stickers, please contact Perry Cameron for more stickers. If you don't put stickers onto your boat and trailer, then you will have to deal with the Harbormaster Department!
Kenny Chapman
Harbormaster
March 30, 2021
The beginning of racing season is approaching rapidly, and we hope that you are preparing for it. The ECSC Work Party was on Saturday March 27 and by the time you will be reading this article much of the racing infrastructure will be in place. The racing buoys, Race Committee pontoon, Aircraft Carrier and Safety Boat will be deployed and ready for use. The first Wednesday night race will occur on April 21st at 6:50 PM. Also, by the time you will be reading this, the last meeting of the Winter Member Race Committee will have occurred. At the meeting, a Blue /White Fleet assignment policy discussion will have occurred and fleet assignments for all racing fleets will be in place. The final Spring and Summer Series Wednesday Night and Sunday Honor racing Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions will be posted very soon so watch for them. The Mayor’s Cup will be the first regatta of the season on Saturday and Sunday, May 22-23, so also watch for those NOR and SI documents and mark your calendars.
This season the racing program will be putting on a total of 60 races to include 9 regattas, two of which will be boat specific, two will be open and five will be ECSC specific. Several of the regattas will be linked with significant social club activities. The number of racing activities is weighted to the later part of the season hopefully in association with a decline in COVID incidences. I hope we can make this a breakout sailing and racing year with the difficulties of 2020 behind us.
The committee intends to focus on growing the number of racers and the number of times each boat races this year. We are going to try to do this by engaging non-racers and new members with current racers as mentors. We hope to increase the satisfaction current racers experience with racing by organizing a dedicated and experienced race committee presence on Wednesdays and migrate this formula into Sunday to gradually build participation there.
More volunteers from our Membership could help get these projects off the ground and create a more enjoyable environment for all. I hope that you can volunteer early in our efforts to enable a rapid start to improve racing this year. We will need to continue the volunteer race committee ( SignUp Genius) particularly at the start of the year until we can recruit more dedicated RC staff. We also count on volunteers to sign up for regatta PRO's and race committees, food and beverage overseers for Wednesday Night racing and mentors for new racers. Please contact Nancy, Rich Fox, Geoff Endris or myself to volunteer for an activity that fits your fancy. Or ask how you can help or participate in the racing program.
See you out racing !!
John Kohn and Nancy Goff
March 30, 2021
It is shaping up to be a year returning to normalcy. Currently we have 260 active memberships, which consist of 256 returning memberships, 3 new memberships, and one returning inactive member. This means that there are 644 active members at the club. We'd like to welcome our new members: Idelle Ritterskamp and Jeremy Pooler, Bob and Isabelle Spolyar, William and Martha Constantine. Also, Jason Bewley a returning member has rejoined.
Please be sure to get your stickers applied to your boats and trailers. I see that many of you have already done so.
I am looking for a few volunteers to put stickers on the docks this weekend for work credits. Email membership@ecsail.org if interested.Perry Cameron
Membership ChairMarch 30, 2021
ECSC Sailing Camp opens June 1-4 with 8 - 10 year olds. This is our 1st year with this age group. The second week for this age group is June 28-30. Our US Sailing certified instructors are looking forward to these two one-week courses.
June 7-11, June 14-18, and June 21-25 are for the older sailors (10 - 18 year olds). On-the-water drills, classroom, and many games are planned.
Olivia DeGrella is the head instructor with Dennis Roberson Jr., Sam Riley, and Deanna Nicholas helping out. We provide a safe and fun outdoor environment for all.
Class are filling up fast, so get the kids out of the house and onto the water.
Go to our web page and check it out (ecsail.org)! If you have multiple campers, SAVE $ 25 on each registration.
GO FOR THE GOLD REGATTA
Our first race of 2021 will be the weekend of April 24 - 25. It's open to juniors and adults sailing Lasers full and radial rigs. There is NO fee for this weekend of racing!
Need a boat? Just let me know and I'll set you up.
Camping is OK. Pizza Saturday night and maybe a movie and camp fire.
Last year's race, we had 12 boats on the water and Sam Riley brought home the Gold. I hear he is gear-up to repeat this championship again! He's a hard sailor to beat!
The NOR will be out April 1st.. So come race with us!
WANTED: More junior sailors!
The ECSC Junior Team is looking for 12-14 boys or girls to try out for the team this year. So, if you know of a would-be junior who likes competition and being outside (and likes being on the water is a bonus), bring them down to the sailing school any Saturday in April or E-Mail me.
Wayne Myers
Junior Sailing Chair
March 30, 2021
ECSC Members,
The Club is deferring to federal, state, and local mandates for our COVID-19 safety requirements. We ask that members use the links posted on the front page of our website to determine the current government mandates for Marion County. These will be the mandates that ECSC members will be expected to follow this sailing season
If you have any questions, please direct them to John George at safety@ecsail.org or Chuck Goff at commodore@ecsail.org.