August 20, 2021
Greetings fellow Sailors.
As we reach the midway point of the season, I wanted to pause and reflect on the great year ECSC has experienced. It’s truly a pleasure to be part of such an active organization that has developed so many social and racing activities that encompass all skills, age levels, and interests. Currently, we are blessed to have a thriving healthy club, but we must look to the future to maintain our club’s health.
Last weekend as I listened to Peyton Manning give his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, he spoke of everything football had given him as well his responsibility to the future of football. It made me wonder, just what is our responsibility to ensure the future of sailing? Sailing has given us much joy and has taught us all many lessons. I have had discussions at several other sailing clubs around the country and know that although we are healthier than most, the trend is sharply declining in participation. There are several reasons, but most clubs have aging members with very few young people showing any interest in the activity we love.
Our Junior Sailing program team and its camps are extremely successful, but that won’t fill the void alone. All types of volunteer organizations are struggling to meet their needs. That means we need to continually ask and collaborate on the following questions: How do we save sailing? Are we attracting new people to sailing? Are we serving as good ambassadors to sailing? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but hopefully I piqued your interest to volunteer in some capacity. This is a volunteer club and change begins here-and-now with you. Please step forward with suggestions followed by actions to help us improve our club and to ensure the future of sailing.
Chuck Goff
Commodore
August 20, 2021
Our beach party in July was a great success and I do believe a good time was had by all! A big THANK YOU to Nick Mates and his crew, Jackie Deppe, Chuck & Nancy Goff, Tom & Kathy Newgent, Tim & Ardi Hollingsworth, and Jim & Weir...and Amy Miller for arranging the caterer. Also, I do believe the Hobie raffle was a great success as well! Thanks Dennis Robertson and Jenipher Gee for taking the lead on the fundraiser for our Junior Sailing Program!
Although we are taking a break from events in August, Amy and I continue the planning process for the remainder of the season. Our Labor Day event will be held on Saturday, September 4th from 5pm to 7pm. The club will provide the Burgers and Brats and are asking attendees to bring their own side dishes to share with their own group. As we did for Memorial Day, we will cue the tables to the serving line. We are actively seeking a host/hostess and volunteers for this event.
September 18th is our Lobster Festival! We will begin at 5pm. Due to the increasing cost of Lobster and Steak, we are requiring Pre-Paid Reservations. Cost will be $20 per members and $25 for non-members. RSVP and Payment required by September 8th! No reservations will be accepted after September 8th as I will be submitting the final lobster count to the lobster company. We will have a table set up at the Labor Day event to take reservations and payment. You may also mail your reservation and check made out to ECSC to Vickie Greenough – please refer to the club membership directory for address. Please contact me for alternative payment options.
The final bash planning is well underway! Be on the lookout for our survey and additional information. We will require Pre-Paid Reservations for this event as well.
Thank you all for your patience as we continue to navigate the pandemic. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sail On –
Vickie Greenough
Social Chair
August 20, 2021
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August 20, 2021
Racers,
If you have been well-practiced these last couple of months racing in the series racing at ECSC, then you will be ready for the up-and-coming next couple of months of regatta racing. Because of the cancelling of the ECSC Regatta due to low wind, many have asked that it be resailed. This regatta will be added to the upcoming other regattas scheduled for September and October – the Flying Scott Regatta on September 4th and 5th, the Indy 200 Regatta on September 11th, the Governor’s Cup and Lobster Fest on September 18th and 19th, the ECSC Pursuit Regatta on October 2nd, and then the Hornback Regatta and Chili Cookoff on October 16th. They will provide many opportunities for enjoyable racing in two of the best sailing months of the season. We hope that you will join your fellow racing members and out-of-towners and make them enjoyable for all. The NORs are available on the ECSC Racing web page for the ECSC, Indy 200, and Governor’s Cup.
The Spring Series racing has ended. The Summer Series is in full swing with new leaders in some categories and new participants. There are still some RC and Safety spots to be filled and hope those who have not yet fulfilled their committee responsibilities will do so soon. We have appreciated some non-racing members helping out and enjoying the racing on Wednesday night by going out on the RC boat with the RC Committee. Hope other non-racers might avail themselves of this opportunity.
John Kohne
Racing Chair
August 20, 2021
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August 20, 2021
What a busy month of July:
The team traveled to Mentor Harbor, Ohio for the US Sailing Level 1 sailing Certifications.
Then: Racing at North Cape Yacht Club, Sandusky, Mentor Harbor again, Vermillion, Put In Bay, Cowan Sailing Club, Hoover, and lastly at Erie.
The team raced in over 60 races with light wind with chop, heavy air with waves, no wind, and with upwards to over 45-50 boats on the line. We put 2,550 miles on the great white van this year!
"I loved all the time we had together."
Well, what happened....
In Junior Bay Week we placed 6th in Gold Fleet (Sam) and 13th in Silver (Olivia) with 40 Lasers on the line. I was betting on a 4th and 8th place, but the bear got me. Many thanks to Ralph & Cathy for pulling the RIB safety boat up. Also, a thanks to Ray & Katie for their support.
At Cowan (#8 in the series), Sam finished 3rd with 15 points toward Series standings. Then one more race the following weekend at Erie Yacht Club (#9 in the series).
At Erie, Sam placed 1st without winning any races. He battled it out with a junior from Edgewater Yacht Club who had led the Series up till then. Sam finished with 10 points. Olivia Degrella finished 30th overall in the 64-person Laser Radial Fleet. Sam has only 2 years experience in the Laser Class, but over 5 years in the Opti Class from the East coast.
Just for the record, we have won the I-LYA Traveler Series Laser Division 4 times in the past 15 years:
2007 - R. J. Graef
2008 - John Fisher
2016 - Cameron Douglas
2021 - Sam Riley
Great job team!....We got the BEAR!
The team now has a month off. Our next road trip is to Bloomington (Lake Lemon) - September 25 & 26. This is a regatta in which we invite younger sailors who just might join our team for next season.
Wayne Myers
ECSC Junior Program
August 20, 2021
Hello ECSC sailors!
Safety & Education wishes to hear from those of you interested in learning more about boat sailing, handling, docking, engine maintenance, etc.
How can we help you be a more confident & knowledgeable sailor?
Please email John George with ideas, questions, or points of interest.
Happy Sailing
Safety & Education
John George