Well it's October all ready! Our racing season will be coming to a close soon. The junior team has one more weekend to race.  We are packing up to travel to Lake Lemon on the September 25th-26th weekend.  It's called our Rookie Regatta.  Matt Johnson is our rookie this year. Also going is Reagan Lessick, Olivia De Grella, and me.  We have been going down to this Lake Lemon regatta near Bloomington, Indiana for over 20 years now.  It's like going back to the 50's in time, a very laid-back club (Bloomington Yacht Club).  At one time many years ago, the showers and johns were outside.  Now they have indoor facilities.  The club members there go out of their way to help us...and they love our kids coming down there. Someone asked me for more statistics on the team over the past years. My records show we won the Junior Bay Week Laser Division 5 times, the I-LYA Travelers Series Laser Division 4 times, we have traveled to Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois. Just this year, we traveled over 2,500 miles going to battle.  The lads have over 60 races in the bag...with 5-6 more to go before the end.  I was trying to remember how many kids I've taken on the road in total, must be over 30. Just this year, I've watch over kids for two & half months at the club and on the road with the team.  How fast time goes by....... So, what is the plan for next year?  I'll let you know next year! Thanks to all of our club members and to all of you that support the ECSC Junior Sailing Team. Wayne USA 996 ECSC Junior Program  

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  

June is gone and what a month! First off, I would wish to say THANK YOU to Olivia DeGrella, Dianna Nicholas, Sam Riley, Dennis Robertson, Jr., and Dunkin York, for all their hard work this 2021 Junior Sailing Camp. And, also helping (my other right hands) for their time and support: Katie DeGrella, Sue Tennant, and Amy Sheppard. It's been a long 5 weeks and over 80 would-be-sailors have learned the art of sailing. So, what is coming up in the month of July for your Junior Team? - June 30, 1, 2 ~ U S Sailing Area E Championship at Sandusky Sailing Club, Ohio - July 7-10 ~ U S Sailing Junior Olympics and Clinic at Mentor Harbor, Ohio - July 12-16 ~ Sandusky and Vermillion Sailing Club for the I-LYA Travelers Series- July 18-22 ~ Junior Bay Week, Put-In-Bay, Ohio - July 30, 31, 1 ~ Cowan Lake, Ohio, I-LYA Travelers Series - August 7 ~ Eire Yacht Club, Cleveland, Ohio, I-lYA Travelers Series   So, what has happened the past month with the Junior Team on the road? - Travelers Series, Hoover Sailing Club, Sam Riley, 1st with 28 boats on the line. - Travelers Series, Hoover Sailing Club, Olivia DeGrella, 18th with 28 boats on the line - Travelers Series, North Cape Yacht Club, Sam Riley, 20th with 35 boats on the line. - Travelers Series, North Cape Yacht Club, Olivia DeGrella, 30 with 35 boats on the line. - Travelers Series, Cleveland Yacht Club, Sam Riley, 6th with 41 boats on the line.   Your ECSC Junior Team will be on the road over 12 days this July...not a record, but close! Thanks again to all for your SUPPORT! Wayne Myers ECSC Junior Program   [caption id="attachment_177373" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Sam Riley Laser[/caption]

Well, June is here...about time! What a busy month for us, Junior Sailing Camp has started...it's 5 weeks long this year. We have more than 85 juniors signed up for various weeks. PLEASE take care driving at the club this month, there will be many kids on our property! On the road June 4 - 9, it's the US Sailing Level 1 & 2's certifications at Mentor, Ohio. Then, we have three weekends on the road with races at Hoover, North Cape, and Cleveland to finish off the month. I wish to say Thanks and a Job Well Done to Katie Degrella for taking on the duties of Assistant for our Junior Sailing Camp 2021. Check out our Junior Sailors page on Facebook (click here) for more pictures and updates for June. Wayne Myers ECSC Junior Program

Well, what do I write about this month? To start off with, your Junior Sailing Team and I would like to say THANK YOU to Katie and Evan Williams for the donation of a new projector for the sailing school. We will be able to video and use the DVR of the junior camp sailors on the water and show it on big screen. Also, we will have movie nights for the members. More on this next month. Last week was our "Go For The Gold” regatta. In that, 11 sailors on Lasers did battle on Eagle Ocean. The water was quite cold! At the skippers meeting, they were told that after a capsize and 2 minutes in the water, they were being pulled out. Only three turned over, but only in the water 45 seconds. "Safety is number one duty with junior's on the water!" The teams came from Carlyle Sailing Club (Illinois), North Cape YC (Michigan), Leatherlips YC (Ohio), Indianapolis Sailing Club, and ECSC. Saturday’s wind was from the east at 5-7 and we got in 4 races before our phones and VFH radio gave us the high pitch tone that thunderstorms were coming. So, we picked up our marks and made for the barn. Sunday's wind was from the northwest and 16-18 mph and very cold. 4 more races in the bag. Ohio won the Gold…Illinois Silver…ECSC Bronze. I wish to say thanks to: Ralph Merriman, Dennis Robertson, Jr., Bob McCoun, Tony Hubbard, Ray DeGrella, and Deanna Nicholas for a Job Well Done on safety and RC duties. Also, thanks to Kenny Chapman for moving members’ boats off of the beach for more room for the teams. The Junior Sailing Camp is just about full. This is the largest camp in history of the club! Our Junior Team is looking forward to June. Olivia DeGrella is team leader. Sam Riley, Deanna Nichols, and Dennis Robertson Jr. are instructors. I'm driving Sam & Olivia to Mentor Harbor YC, Ohio so they can finish their US Sailing certified Level 1's and 2's. They started them last year, but was slowed by CV19. So, May and June will be a very busy month for your Junior Sailing Team. Along with our Junior Sailing Camp, they start racing the weekly I-LYA Traveler Series each Saturday. Our first race is at Hoover Sailing Club, Columbus, Ohio. After that, we move on to North Cape YC in Michigan. There are 11 Saturdays and 3 major championships on the schedule for your team this year. So let the games begin! One last note, Our US Sailing Coach, Reagan Lessick was missing last week. Where in the world was she? Actually, she was in sunny Florida working at an Indy Car Race in St. Petersburg…as a hostess for the Indy teams. What a way to make money! Fun in The Sun! Wayne Myers ECSC Junior Program

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

To all the members that support the ECSC Junior Sailing Team...thank you for donations, again. This year, as in the past, your team will do battle against much larger teams, but we have something they don't have, your support! Some of the Lake Erie Clubs have a $30,000 budget and field 10 - 15 sailors. We are a small club with a limited budget, but our size is our strength.. We are like David vs. Goliath. Your junior sailors have finished in the top ten so many times, it's hard to count. But this is a new year, with some new faces and skills. Our 2 returning team members are: Sam Riley, age 16, from Zionsville, plays hockey for his school, and loves sailing and racing. He comes from the Opti Class and has done battle on the East coast. In 2019 at his very first Junior Bay Week, he finished 9th in the gold fleet out of 40 boats. Sam is also training to be an instructor. Last year he completed his first part of US Sailing Level 1's and is waiting this Spring to finish. Sam's father owns a race team called "Riley Motorsports", so racing is in Sam's blood.   Olivia DeGrella is also 16, from Carmel, a straight-A student, and has many hours flying "tail dragger" airplanes (as she calls them). Last year she finished her difficult, one-week-long Wilderness Medical Course. She has her CPR and Red Cross First Aid certifications and is working toward the US Sailing Level 2's this year.  She is also the team "Medic". She loves racing, sailing, teaching, flying, kick boxing and climbing. Our support team this year is: Ralph Merriman.  Ralph is a long-time supporter of the team who volunteers to drive and provide safety on the water. Katie DeGrella is our assistant chair of Jr. Program and my right hand. Reagan Lessick is Head Coach and previous Junior Racer. Dennis Robertson Jr. is Assistant Coach and Jr. Camp Instructor Deanna Nichols is Jr. Camp Instructor, Sue Tennant is Jr. Camp Advisor Captain Tony Hubbard volunteers his 32' yacht for Jr. Bay Week, Amy Sheppard (IUPUI sailor) is our trainer and physical therapist. ZAT Graphics, (Chuck & Jacqui Lessick) provided our team and camp T shirts. I have in the works two more possible Jr. Team members to be named later. I'm always looking for more potential sailors, so if you know of someone, please send them to me for a try out this Spring...practices start in April....... The team's tentative schedule for 2021: April...... Practice May........at ECSC May........at ISC 7 Saturdays on the road, Buckeye Lake, Hoover, North Cape, Edgewater, Vermillion, Cowan and Erie for the I-LYA Traveler Series. US Sailing Smyth Area E Championship at Sandusky (2 days) USA Junior Olympics at Mentor Harbor (4 days) Jr. Bay Week at Put-In-Bay (4 days) Orange Bowl at Miami (4 days) The Jr. Sailing Camp News will be out March 1st on our "ecsail.org" web site. There will be a 5 week camp this year. We are opening the camp to 8 - 10 year old for the first time. There will be a limited number of campers each week due to COVID.  Come check us out during the sailing camp! For more information on the team and to see pictures of our regattas check out our ECSC Junior Sailing Team Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/ecscjr Wayne Myers Junior Sailing Chair   Below is the I-LYA Junior Bayweek Trophy for Lasers.  The 2008 - 2018 trophy winners are shown.  ECSC is listed the most out of any club with our Juniors earning it 3 times across those years. Let's go ECSC Junior Racing!