FROM THE EDITOR...
By Steve VanderVoort, Telltale Editor
Although we’re now in the dead of winter, it’s not too early to start preparing for our upcoming sailing season. You can do this in a number of ways. First you can lay out your sailing gear to see if anything needs replacing. Are those sailing gloves pretty tattered from last year’s wear and tear? Does the canister in your PFD need replacing? Do you have an emergency whistle attached to your PFD? Is your foul-weather gear adequate for early or late season sailing? Do you have a knife with a marlin spike that you carry with you when sailing? You never know when that can come in really handy.
Second, review the rules of the road for sailing, and remember the most important rule of all: never assume that the other boat is familiar with the rules of the road.
Third, review the Sail Chicago Rules and Regulations, and make sure that you understand the penalties for infractions.
Finally, report your volunteer service. If you don’t, you could be left “high-and-dry,” unable to participate in any on-the-water activities next summer.
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ANNUAL MEETING AND BOARD ELECTIONS
By Rachel Grannemam, Board Secretary
Sail Chicago’s Annual Members Meeting will be held Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 7 PM. The current plan is for the meeting to be held virtually / online. The meeting will include a presentation from Board members and program leads updating members on last year’s season and plans for 2022. As always, an important element of the Annual Meeting is the election for board members!
This year we will be filling 6 Board seats. Four of the vacancies are the normal 3-year term, and 2 are filling vacancies – one of these will be for a 2-year term, and one is for a 1-year term. The 4 candidates with the most votes will win the 3-year terms, the candidate with the 5th highest number of votes will win the 2-year term, and the candidate with the 6th highest number of votes will win the 1-year term. As with any Board seat, the winners of the shorter terms may seek re-election after their initial terms are up.
Important dates and links:
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SAIL CHICAGO INITIATES PILOT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
By Ashleigh Luttery, DEI Committee
ThisThis year we are piloting a scholarship program as part of Sail Chicago’s commitment to increase diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) among its members within the organization as well as in the sport of sailing. The goal is to promote the sport of sailing to groups that have historically faced barriers to participation, such as people of color in the United States and people from low socioeconomic households. These barriers have included racial segregation in/exclusion from boating clubs, actual or perceived lack of access or acceptance, and/or high costs of participation in the sport. The application is open January 3 - March 4, 2022. Recipients will participate in SC’s beginner Crew classes (including Pre-Sail Orientation and US Sailing Basic Keelboat online course fees) and have membership fees covered, along with priority access to class sign up.
Sail Chicago existing members can support the scholarship program by directly donating at https://www.sailchicago.org/donate. To do so when in the donation portal, simply choose “Add special instructions to the seller,” indicating donations are for the scholarship program. If members have donation question, please contact Rachel Granneman (grannemr@umich.edu) or Ashleigh Luttery (ashleighluttery@gmail.com).
If you know someone within your network who may be interested in applying, please share the application link here. The application can also be found on Sail Chicago’s homepage banner at sailchicago.org.
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VOLUNTEERING IN 2022
By Gerry Stacy, Service Time Coordinator
As we all look forward to the start of the 2022 sailing season, the volunteerism team would like to remind you to start thinking about how you’re going to contribute to the life of our organization this year. There are many opportunities to fulfill your service time requirement which can take advantage of the skills and abilities you already have, or perhaps teach you something new. Here’s some additional information for you about volunteering in Sail Chicago:
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First, we remind you that service time requirements were relaxed last season due to the way the pandemic prevented many of us from participating in the organization in our usual way.. Please note service time requirements for all members will be in effect in 2022.
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If you’re considering joining Sail Chicago as a new member, remember that your service time requirement is waived for your first year.
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Returning members, if you don’t think you’ll have time to meet your service time requirement in 2022, remember to select and pay for the Service Time Waiver when you renew your membership. This will waive your need to volunteer during the current season.
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Please note the following rule change: If you fail to meet your service time requirement in 2022, either because you didn’t volunteer for a position or you failed to fulfill the responsibilities of the position you were assigned, you will be required to pay a service time waiver for the 2022 season before you can renew your membership in 2023.
There are plenty of volunteer opportunities available each season, and many of them can be carried out in just a few hours each month. You can review a list of positions on our volunteering site.
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DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION AT U.S. SAILING
 At the November, 2021 U.S. Sailing Stakeholders Summit, a panel discussion was held on diversity , equity, and inclusion in the organization and among its affiliates. Members of the panel shared what U.S. Sailing and its affiliate members are doing to promote DEI among the nationwide sailing community. Sail Chicago is an affiliate member. In 2020 we formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. To watch the video of the panel, click here.
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CHICAGO TO HOST U.S. SAIL GRAND PRIX AT NAVY PIER
 SailGP announced recently that Chicago has been selected to host the United States Sail Grand Prix at Navy Pier, June 18-19, 2022 as the league unveiled the first eight cities that will launch the global racing league's expanded Season 3 race calendar!
SailGP is one of the fastest emerging properties in world sports featuring exciting, up-close action as teams race identical F50 catamarans – a highly-technical, hydrofoiling race boat that boasts highway speeds – in an annual global championship held in some of the most iconic cities around the world.
Additional information including details on tickets and hospitality opportunities will be released in early 2022. Click here to receive updates about tickets and further U.S. Sail Grand Prix Chicago at Navy Pier announcements. We're looking forward to welcoming this incredible event to Chicago for Father's Day Weekend 2022!
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SPOTLIGHT ON VOLUNTEERS
By Norris Larson
Adam Jabs joined Sail Chicago in 2012 and took a Beginner (now Crew) Class. He earned his Colgate skipper card in 2013 and his Cruising card in 2016. His interest in sailing began after he saw Charlie St. Cloud, a film featuring sailing in Minnesota. After he moved to Chicago, Adam decided he should learn to sail on our great inland sea and found our Sail Chicago website. He and friends have chartered boats in Bayfield, Wisconsin to cruise the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior; and in the British Virgin Islands. They plan to continue these excursions.
During his first two years with Sail Cchicago Adam worked on boat maintenance. In 2015 he started teaching Beginner and Intermediate (now First Mate) classes. In 2019 he took and passed the three day practical and written Basic Keelboat Instructor examinations. This last season he taught his first Skipper Prep Class as well as a First Mate Class.
Adam is an experienced software engineer. He joined Sail Chicago to sail and sees teaching as his primary volunteer contribution to our community. For Adam, sailing is a break from his IT work and he did not want his work with Sail Chiocago to be a continuation of his day job. Yet he saw our need for IT support and he began this year to work with our principal IT volunteer, Bhargav Patel. Bhargav welcomes the aid from Adam and eventually, he will know our IT systems well enough to succeed Bhargav.
Adam lives with his two cats, Toast and Bagel, near Western and Division, between Wicker Park and Humboldt Park. He works for a professional services firm. Sail Chicago benefits from his contributions as an experienced sailor, instructor, and software architect.
[Author’s note: What’s to like about maintaining a Sail Chicago boat—scraping bottom paint, working with smelly paints and solvents, getting into uncomfortable positions in order to work in tight spaces, …? The answer is that it’s the best preparation for the day you acquire your own boat.]
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USING HAND-HELD FLARES
By Ed Schroeder
 All of our boats are equipped with handheld flares. In an emergency, pyrotechnic signals remain one of the best ways to attract attention. Recently, however, a burning flare caused more problems than it solved. According to a recent article in “Practical Sailor” magazine, during a training course at the Annapolis School of Seamanship, a USCG-approved Orion handheld flare melted through its handle and began dripping hot slag on the trainee who was, luckily, wearing leather gloves. The hot slag had burned all the way to the plastic end cap and then melted its way through the cap itself.
Users need to recognize that they are literally holding fire in their hand and should be prepared to cope with a malfunctioning flare, including holding the burning flare at an angle, holding the flare over the water and wearing heavy leather gloves. It would be good practice, while on a pleasant sail, to read the directions on one of the flares. It might save your life.
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SAIL CHICAGO REMINDERS
Who to Contact
Need information on an area in Sail Chicago, but don't know who to contact? Just click here.
Join or Renew Your US Sailing Membership at a Discount Through MVP
Sail Chicago members can join or renew their US Sailing membership at a $10 discount through the US Sailing Member Value Partner program.
Sail Chicago Gear
Purchase gear with the Sail Chicago logo on it. Caps, shirts, pants and other gear are available. To shop now, click here.
Like us on Facebook
You'll get updates, reminders, and other information on Sail Chicago events and activities. Click here.
Shop Amazon Smile and Donate to Sail Chicago
When you shop online at Amazon Smile, Sail Chicago will receive a donation of .5% of your eligible purchases. It's a great way to both give and receive. To get started, click here.
Missing Previous Issues of Between the Sheets?
You can always find the current issue and an archive of previous issues of Between the Sheets at the first (and open to the public) page of the Sail Chicago website.Look under "News/Newsletter."
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Click on the links below to find more information about Sail Chicago.
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Voting will open through the 
