It’s the end of June, and 7 of our 23 scheduled events have already passed us up. The bad news is that the weather has been somewhat quirky, from rain, to too much wind, to not enough wind, so for the most part we haven’t done a whole lot of sailing. The good news is that we still have about 70% of our season left, so maybe we can do some catching up!!!

Looking ahead for the month of July, on Saturday July 8^th is our Moonlight sail out of Chicago harbors that will end with fireworks off of Navy Pier. Then July 15^th is the Start of the Chicago to Mackinac Race-always a thrill!!! Then we’ll sail up in Kenosha, Door County, and Winthrop Harbor. For the most part people have been shy about signing up for sails-both boat owners and crew. Don’t let the summer slip by without doing some sailing!!!

I want to thank all the people that have so graciously stepped forward to be cruise captains for the majority of our sails, but we still need a cruise captain for the Air and Water Show on August 19^th, as well as for several sails at the end of the season. Please, please step forward to help organize these events. Even if you share the responsibility with an experienced club member such as yours truly, that would be a big help!!!Please see me at the July 17^th meeting to discuss being a cruise captain, or a co-cruise captain!!!

Have a safe and happy season, fair winds and calm seas!!!

Mike Saavedra

Fleet Captain

Overall we have very few boats and crew signed up to participate in any of our sails. Perhaps you’ve meant to do so, but have forgotten about it or put it off. I want to encourage you all to go online and sign up soon. For those of you without computers you can call the cruise captain for your event(s), and they’ll be happy to sign you up.
 
We had our first sail scheduled for Lake Geneva on May 20th, but due to Thunderstorms it was cancelled. Our Icebreaker sail often does get cancelled from rain, or cold weather, so this year we also have a 2nd sail at Lake Geneva planned for June 3, but we need more boats. So far there’s a strong chance for more thunderstorms that day as well. Hopefully that won’t happen.
 
Our first Lake Michigan sail in Chicago will be our Ed Gans Memorial sail out of Montrose Harbor on June 3rd.  Asayo Horibe is organizing the event. We have a good number of crew signed up, but only one boat participating so far. If you have a boat and would like to participate please go online and sign up at nwsail.com, or contact Asayo.
 
Our first Lake Michigan sail up north will be out of Racine, if there is an interest! So far we only have 1 person signed up for the sail, and no boats!!! Perhaps your boat isn’t yet ready to sail, and you’ve put off signing up for the sail until it is. I’ll leave the event open until June 10, so you’ll have plenty of time to decide.
 
At the last General meeting in May, Hal Shanafield volunteered to have a Father’s Day sail at Bangs Lake like we did when Margaret Fritzinger who used to live there was in the club. It is a very picturesque place. There is a large Gazebo there to eat under, so even if it rains we can still have a BBQ and socialize. Trailer sailboats and Kayaks are both welcome!
 
Finally, our last event in June is the Summer Sailstice. This event is for everyone in the club whether you have a trailerable boat that you’d like to bring up to Lake Mendota for the weekend of June 23-25, or whether you have a boat moored or docked on Lake Michigan and you’d like to sail on Sat June 24th , or if you want to be crew on someone’s boat. Just go online and sign up for one of three options: Lake Mendota, Lake Michigan Northern harbors, or Lake Michigan Chicago harbors.
 
A couple more “mini vacation” options are Door County at the end of July, or Green Lake in mid- August. Start making plans and booking overnight accommodations soon!
 
We are still looking for a cruise captain for the Air and Water show in August. I was going to do it, but I’d rather offer it to someone else. Please consider volunteering. If you have never been a cruise captain before we have several mentors available to help you with it. It’s easy, fun, and a great way to give back to the club.
 
Remember to sail safe. Check the weather before and during your sail. If there are small craft advisories, stay in the safety of the harbor, and ALWAYS wear your PFD when going on deck.
 
Fair winds and calm seas!!!  –Mike

Get your sailing shoes on!!!(Light colored soles that won’t scuff the deck in case you didn’t know) it’s already May and in less than 3 weeks we’ll be having our first trailer sail up at gorgeous Lake Geneva!!! Joe Rittner and John Gallo are both co-cruise captains for this event. The event is posted on the web site, but only 3 people have signed up for it so don’t forget to log on to nwsail.com, if you’re capable of doing that, as our general May meeting is only 5 days before the event takes place on May 20^th. If the weather doesn’t co-operate we still have another chance at Lake Geneva planned for June 3^rd, so hopefully we’ll be guaranteed some really fun sailing there this spring!!!!

Then we have a Lake Michigan opener sail, the Ed Gans Memorial sail, out of Montrose Harbor on June 10. Hopefully a good number of boats in the Chicago harbors will be launched and ready to sail by this date. Asayo Horibe is our cruise captain for the event. If you don’t have a computer, and you’d like to sign up for this sail, you can do so at the May meeting, as the June meeting will be too late.

We have another Lake Michigan sail planned for the folks up in Northeastern Illinois and Southeastern Wisconsin out of Racine Harbor, but so far we still don’t have a cruise captain for that event. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO BE CRUISE CAPTAIN FOR THIS EXCITING EVENT!!! as I wouldn’t want to have to cancel it.

The following week on Saturday June 24^th is the SUMMER SAILSTICE out of ALL HARBORS. I will be a co-cruise captain organizing the boats in all of the Chicago harbors, and George and Sally Andersson will be co-cruise captains organizing all the boats sailing out of the northern harbors from Great Lakes and north all the way to Racine Harbor. The SUMMER SAILSTICE is also for our trailer sailors who will be sailing up at Lake Mendota the entire weekend of June 23-25^th. John Morris and Joe Rittner are co-cruise captains for that event.

Finally, I want to thank all the people who came forward to volunteer to be cruise captain for 16 out of the 21 events that were tentatively planned for the season so far. That was a wonderful response, but that also means that 5 events, mostly at the end of the season STILL NEED A CRUISE CAPTAIN. Cruise captains are a vital part of our that we can’t do without because they organize our sails. This is a great way for members that have been with the club a year, or more to give back to the club, especially if they don’t own a boat. Also, many thanks to our boat owners for making their boats available.

The May and June events will soon be posted on the web site so you can start signing up. Don’t forget to dress warm for these events as the weather in Spring can be quite cold out on the water. Crew-always bring your PFD (life jacket), sun protection, sun glassed, lunch with something to pass that isn’t messy, like chocolate, and a sense of humor. Have a safe and fun year!!!!

Fair winds and calm seas!!!
Mike Saavedra