April 2, 2022
Wow! It's already the end of March - which means our sailing season is upon us! Soon the trees will sprout leaves, the sun will warm up our faces, and the wind will be in our favors. I am so excited to see everyone around the club...getting the boats prepared, cleaned, and in the water.
As most of you know, a couple weeks ago there was a horrible fire at the Walmart Distribution Center...sending hazardous debris all over ECSC. I immediately contacted club member, Dr. Karen Bumb Lauer, who is a past President of the Eagle Creek Park Foundation. She put me right through to the Regional Manager of Eagle Creek Park, Brittany Davis. Brittany was in contact with city officials and they sent out Heritage Environmental (paid for by Walmart) to clean up the debris to protect our drinking water supply, natural habitats, and sensitive bird sanctuaries at Eagle Creek Park - including Eagle Creek Sailing Club. They ended up getting dozens of bags full of debris and cleaned up our land, beach, and waters. The majority of the hazardous debris is gone, but there is still plenty of work to be done around the club. Please contact Bill Harrington to volunteer for work credits during the Spring Work Party which is April 16th (or really work anytime this year).
I am thrilled to get somewhat "back to normal" this year and we can celebrate together with fun regattas, events, and the beach party! I am truly looking forward to seeing you around the club and hanging out at the new cozy Captain's Corner...as well as the upcoming new Pirate ship playground for the kiddos! Also in 2022, Eagle Creek Park is celebrating its 50th Anniversary! The picture on the park pass is a throwback of sailboats on Eagle Ocean from the 1980's with our very own Tom Newgent along with others being in the photo! I want to take this opportunity to encourage ECSC members to get your Eagle Creek Park passes directly from the Eagle Creek Park Foundation...as the proceeds stay at Eagle Creek Park (https://eaglecreekpark.org).
With the days growing longer and the weather becoming favorable, I look forward to seeing all you sailors around the club and on the reservoir.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than those you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
Ki Hickok,
Commodore
April 2, 2022
In my last article, I shared with you the decision of the Board to apply a financial penalty to members who fail to place a membership decal on their boat and trailer by December 1. Please refer to the General Rules posted on the website to review this new rule.
At the February meeting, the Board also approved an update to the Bylaws that the Chairperson of each Standing Committee, subject to review and approval of the Commodore, may appoint an Assistant. The exception is the Chairperson of the Racing Committee may appoint two Assistants – the second Assistant being responsible for scoring club races and regattas.
For Committees that have a full plate of organized activities and work responsibilities, Assistants help the Committee Chairs perform a variety of duties. In many cases, an Assistant may also be groomed to become a future Committee Chair, although this is not required. Although every Committee may have one Assistant, if the expected activities and work responsibilities being pursued by a Committee do not justify filling the Assistant position, then the expectation is that an Assistant position will remain vacant. Thus, the policy includes review and approval by the Commodore.
The Board also approved clarifying language in the Bylaws that Officers, Committee Chairs and Assistants shall be entitled to receive a waiver of current year’s membership dues. This is not new. However, it was necessary to clean up the language.
At the upcoming April meeting, I am presenting a more thorough policy on work credits that has already been circulated for feedback to the Board. The proposed work credit policy will create five categories of work credits – standard, project-based, custom, professional-based, and leadership-based. If approved, the policy should then be available on the website.
Rich Fox
ECSC Secretary
April 2, 2022
Work party April 16th at 8am.
Bathroom cleaning crew hired.
Lawn mowing contractor hired.
Lawn fertilizer / weed killer hired.
Waiting on playground pieces and parts – most likely in the next week or
two.
- 5 members have volunteered to help
- Probably a few more will be needed
Hope to spray & clean shelter floor then seal.
- Will need at least 6 people to help move tables
- Hopefully can be started at work party
Bill Harrington
ECSC Facilities
April 2, 2022
Soon we will feel the sun on our face and the wind in our hair. The club will be filled with the hustle and bustle of launching our boats and preparing for another successful sailing season. We are looking forward to the warmer weather and making progress with our plans for a calendar full of fun social events too!
As mentioned in the last newsletter, we are seeking volunteers to host and help with our events. If you have an interest in supporting social events, please let us know. You will earn work credits that convert into cash off of your next year's dues! Our immediate need is for our Mother’s Day Brunch. Remember you will receive work credits for volunteering with events!
Below is our calendar of events: (click here for our website's calendar)
Mother’s Day Brunch – Sunday, May 8th from 11:30 – 1:30
Memorial Day Celebration – Saturday, May 28th from 6:00 – 9:00
Father’s Day Brunch – Sunday, June 19th from 11:30 – 1:30
Kids/Family Fun Day – Saturday, July 2nd, Time to be determined
Beach Party – Saturday, July 16th, Time to be determined
Labor Day Celebration – Saturday, September 3rd from 6:00 – 9:00
Lobster Fest – Saturday, September 24th, Time to be determined
Chili Cookoff – Saturday, October 8th, Time to be determined
Final Bash – Saturday, November 5th, Time to be determined
Please feel free to contact Jen Curtis or myself with any suggestions on how we can enhance your social experience. You may locate us in the Sail Club Directory.
Vickie Greenough Jennifer Curtis
Social Chair Social Assistant
317-847-7400
April 2, 2022
Registration for Summer Junior Sailing Camp is now open. Click here for more info.
Junior Sailing Camp Dates:
Week 1: June 6 – 10 (12 – 18 years old)
Week 2: June 20 – 24 (8 – 12 years old)
Week 3: June 27 – July 1 (8 – 12 years old)
Junior Sailing Update:
The 2022 sailing season is just about here!
First off, I would like to say "THANK YOU" to all the members that made a donation to ECSC Junior Team this year. You guys are the best! The $$ go to cover Gas, Camping and Major Jr. Events.
Jr. Team Members 2022
I've been working out with our newest rookie, Matt Johnson (age 15), who goes to Avon High School. This young man shows he has the will and the heart to be a champion.
Olivia DeGrella, age 17, will graduate from high school this year (which is one year early for the smart lady). This will be her 3rd year on the team so we are looking forward to some wins from her this year. Time will tell.....
The Junior Sailing Camp registration opened up on March 30th. This fun camp involves learning to sail in small boats and getting to enjoy the fun of being on a lake. This year we are limited to 3 weeks and around 60 kids. New to the 8-12 year-old age group are Kayaks that we bought for this year. This is the perfect size for younger kids.
So don't wait! Sign up your sailor-to-be soon! The spots will fill up FAST!
Also I wish to thank Katie DeGrella for taking the lead on Junior Sailing Program. She is my right hand. Also thank you to Perry Cameron for working on the Jr. Camp web page. Other members I'd like to thank are Ralph Merriman, Jeremiah Johnson, Sue Tennant, Dennis Jr. and Dennis Robertson.
Wayne Myers & Katie DeGrella
ECSC Junior Sailing
April 2, 2022
The registration process is now over and it is almost time for the new season to begin! The new online system received a ton of feedback in which the overwhelming majority was positive. There were a few issues that had to be overcome, but I expected more than we had and was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it went. I will keep working to improve it in the future and am open to productive suggestions from members.
One of the main benefits of going online is the improvement of our data. For example, using email to verify who you are added the benefit of making sure we have the correct email for you. I was surprised how many we had wrong. Another benefit was having the ability to collect data that people would normally ignore using paper copies. An example of this would be our collection of approximate birthdates. This is something we always asked for on our new membership application forms since 1992. It is a good idea for the board to be equipped with correct and useful data so that decisions can be made with facts in mind. It gives us the ability to make tweaks and adjustments to better serve all of you.
Have a great season!
Perry Cameron
Membership Chair
April 2, 2022
Racers and Non-Racers
Nancy and I wanted to thank all the racers and non-racers who came to the Winter Race Meeting last week. There was an excellent turnout, the pizza was great, and the company even better. Many provided input to the main agenda items to include approval of the racing schedule for 2022, determination of work credit values for the racing program, approval of Dedicated Race Committee proposal, and the major racing program work projects for this year. The proposals were all modified and improved with your feedback and suggestions.
The schedule was approved, and two additional regattas were created. The first is a weekend focused on providing a racing experience for beginning or new racers. It would be comprised of a day of experienced skippers using their own boats hosting beginners to race with them to learn the ropes and a second day to have new racers skipper their own boats with experienced crew members from the club helping them learn to race on their own. Our main goal is to attract new racers into our racing program. The second planned regatta would be a single-handed regatta in a traditional fleet race format. These dates for these new regattas along with the traditional ECSC regattas will be posted soon on the ECSC web page.
A consensus about work-credit values was determined for racing volunteers for major regattas and Wednesday night races. This will be incorporated into the racing work-credit process of the racing program going forward.
The discussion of the Dedicated Race Committee program received the most discussion. Many new ideas were provided. The most central concept of having dedicated trained PROs (Primary Racing Officers) present for each Wednesday Night and Major Regatta was validated by all. The issue of how to provide the Assistant PROs to support the dedicated PROs was a more difficult problem to solve. There were several very good alternatives provided in the discussion. Nancy and I will continue to work on a final solution to this later issue and intend to launch this program with the start of the racing season this year. More to follow.
Lastly, we updated the attendees of the purchase of a galvanized scissor-pontoon trailer to enable removal and storage of the RC pontoon and the Aircraft Carrier pontoon each year. Major racing projects this year will include the repair and upgrade of the Aircraft-Carrier pontoon, an addition of an anchor-winch device to the RC pontoon (to facilitate anchor movement and pontoon alignment in the pre-start sequence), and an addition of new buoy between buoys 1 and 6 to facilitate additional racing course options.
Hope to see our usual racers and many new racers enjoy the fun of racing at ECSC this summer. See you on the water.
John Kohne
Nancy Goff