Ahoy,

Hopefully the late snow has not put a damper on everyone’s preparations for the upcoming sailing season. It is nice to see new faces at the meetings, as that is the only way that the club can continue to grow. I hope everyone has enjoyed the guest speakers that we have had so far this year. I have received positive feedback from all of the guest speakers, so far. They enjoy the enthusiasm of the club members, and the interest in the subjects presented. Last month we hosted Al Veenstra from Chicago Sailing, and he presented “navigational aids”. Most of the members present, including myself were educated on a variety of navigational aids, and hopefully we all walked away learning something. Next month, the club will be hosting Bill Bloom.

Bill Bloom is an independent financial planner and principal of Bloom Financial Company in Chicago. He helps individuals and business owners understand their current financial situations, define future goals, and develop a strategy that is flexible and will allow them to reach their retirement objectives. Bill helps clients “Retire as You Desire” by providing them with meaningful solutions to a wide range of financial matters including: investments, risk management, tax planning as well insurance needs analysis.

Bill is also an avid sailor out of the Chicago Yacht Club and has participated in many races in Chicago.  He has also competed and won international regattas such as the Antigua Sail Week in 2015.  Last year, Bill and his crew set the record for earliest arrival ever for the Race to Mackinac.  Bill specializes in working with fellow yachter's to help them achieve their financial goals along with helping them plan for retirement.

I am really looking forward to hearing Bill speak on May 20^th. Good luck with everyone’s sailing season preparations.

Wayne Smith

Vice Commodore

I sent a special thank you out to Dan Bochnovic who was our guest speaker for March from Crowley’s Yacht Yard. He provided some very informative information and is a great resource to have on hand for future information. He enjoyed speaking so much that he asked if he could come back later in the summer and discuss a different subject with the club. I hope everyone has enjoyed the speakers so far this year.

Our guest speaker for the April club meeting will be Alan Veenstra, from the Chicago Sailing Association. Alan will be presenting ”Mooring, Anchoring, and Docking.” I have seen Alan present in the past and I believe his talks are informative as well as interesting.

Thank you to all the club members that come to the presentations. I hope everyone walks away with new knowledge. The meetings are a good source of information for everyone.

—Wayne Smith

I feel that everyone would agree that Don from Battery Service Corporation in Bensenville, was a very informative speaker. I found it interesting that you can bring in any battery, drop it off and they will run a full series of battery performance tests that will give you the actual condition of your battery. This is far more than the load test you get from most battery retailers and auto parts stores and they do this for free, whether you buy a battery from them or not. There were a lot of questions, and I think it made everyone think of subjects that they may have not considered.

This month, our speakers will be former member Ed and former commodore Sally Ballinger. They will be speaking and showing pictures of their journey from Chicago to Florida. I believe that there are a lot of sailors (myself included) that one day want to experience the freedom that the live aboard lifestyle, and living off the grid can provide. I am looking forward to seeing their presentation. —Wayne Smith