This has been a crazy start to the sailing season, with the cold weather, mixed with the rain, and the heat.

Hopefully this summer will bring some decent weather soon for sailing.

I hope that every one enjoyed the guest speaker, from Double Action Divers. It was interesting to learn about the more that 2000 wrecks we are sailing over in Lake Michigan. Some are wrecks, some are pristine, some are deep, some are shallow, some have been found, but many have not been found.

Thank you to everyone who comes to the meetings, and interacts with the speakers. They all speak very highly of our group.

This month (July) we have 2 members from the Great Loopers, https://www.greatloop.org/ Randy Schmidt, and his wife Kristen Berg will talk about their experience boating the great loop.

—Wayne Smith

This month we will host Captain Bob from Double Action Dive Charters, who will speak on the great opportunities that Lake Michigan and Lake Erie provide when it comes to shipwrecks. Lake Michigan is the grave to nearly 2,000 vessels, and only 600 have been found. I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting, and thank you all for being good ambassadors to the sailing community.

Hopefully you have had a chance to get your boats wet and not just from the rain. I know this is a busy time of the year for everyone, but I wanted to make sure to relay the positive feedback that we have received from the speakers. They all have similar messages, that we are a great group that shows a genuine interest in the subjects covered, and that the questions asked are thought provoking.

Last month we hosted Bill Bloom, who sparked a lively discussion on retirement plans for living on a boat and what capital is required to live comfortably. Bill had an interesting point that we need to plan for the three stages of retirement, the Go-Go years, the Slow Go years and the No Go years. That is one of the things that is hard to judge for most of us.

—Wayne Smith

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