Ahoy all!

So far, it’s been a good summer for NWSA. The skippers and crew appear to be enjoying the sails and socializing afterwards. Due to cancellation of Door County and an open sailing date on July 29, only two sails have been completed since our last Communique. The July 24 North Point sail presented steady winds and flat seas but concluded with a short but drenching downpour. The August 7 sail out of Kenosha was a story of choppy seas and zero wind. Life on Lake Michigan. Good times at the North Point "afterwards" and a great turnout for the Kenosha sail that concluded with our first post-Covid social gathering from land and sea, also at North Point. There are seven more sails remaining for the season.

Three boats and eight crew members signed up for the Port Washington long distance sail. The crew members will meet the boats in Port Washington and sail on Saturday, August 28. Port Washington and the surrounding environs present an interesting area for exploring. For those who wish to stay for the weekend, reservations should be made at either a location in Port Washington or the immediate area. The cruise captain will be in touch regarding reservations for dinner and meet up locations and times for the Saturday sail. .

As usual, many thanks to the skippers, crew, cruise captains, and sail reporters for their time, energy, and interest in our sails. Reports on the individual sails are included in the August Communique.

-Lorraine Klabunde, 2021 Fleet Captain

Four sails down and twelve sails to go. Our Sailstice Sail on June 19 worked out well with skippers and crew departing from both Montrose Harbor in Chicago and North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor. The same can be said of our July 3 sail, also out of two harbors, Monroe St. Harbor in Chicago and Southport Marina in Kenosha. Both events had wonderful weather and great camaraderie.

Unfortunately, our Kenosha on June 26 experienced a classic "weather interruption" with storms across all of northern Illinois. However, sailing is often about more than just about time spent on the high seas and thanks to Robbie Leighton, Jim Haude, and Casey Bezec-three of our Kenosha skippers-crew and skippers alike had multiple learning experiences which everyone enjoyed, not to mention dinner at Kenosha Yacht Club. Please read all of the sail reports in this Communique for more detailed info.

As always, I would like to thank the skippers who so generously donate their time and boats. Four new skippers this year are included on that list-Jim Haude, Dave Melendorp, Marty Holmes and Robbie Leighton.

ALERT!! Cruise Captains are needed for four upcoming sails: July 24 (Waukegan/North Point); August 21 (Chicago Air Show); August 27-29 (Long Distance to Port Washington) and September 11 (Racine/Kenosha.) Please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or sign up at our upcoming in person meeting in July to volunteer for this position.

Please remember to check/use the CHAT BOX created for members to communicate availability for non-scheduled sails or to pass along information that club members may find useful/interesting. The Door County sail may be canceled this year due to difficulty in finding hotel reservations for members. More to come.

And lastly…. "Believe me, friend, there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." K. Grahme

-Lorraine Klabunde, 2021 Fleet Captain

It looks like things are getting back to normal both in Chicagoland and in the world of NWSA. Our sailing schedule is complete and quite a few skippers have signed up for sails in both Chicago and the north harbors. It's shaping up to be a great summer for our members, both skippers and crew. So check out the schedule, volunteer for a cruise captain position, sign up online as either crew or skipper, and prepare for good times ahead!!  

The June 12 Shakedown / Ed Gans Memorial Sail was scheduled to take place with members sailing out of both Kenosha and Chicago. Although we had over twenty slots available for crew, only five members signed up for the sail. Three members who live further north were assigned to Jim Haude's 35-foot O'Day in Kenosha. Jim is a new member to the club and was looking forward to his first outing with NWSA. Unfortunately, one member canceled on Friday and the other two members were a no-show.

As the Cruise Captain for this sail, I would REALLY like to thank all seven skippers who signed up for the sail. Four of the skippers who volunteered their time and boats were new to the club and so I was hoping for a great outing with dinner afterwards. Alas, the sailing gods did not shine upon us. I would urge everyone to be considerate and both mark the date of the sail on your calendar and if there is a need to cancel, to please notify either the cruise captain or the skipper of the assigned boat.

To fair winds and following seas.

 - Lorraine Klabunde, 2021 Fleet Captain