FROM THE EDITOR...
By Steve VanderVoort, Telltale Editor
While there’s still a bit of snow on the ground in patches, spring seems not far offI By the end of this month activity in the boatyard should be picking up. We’ll need to get our boats in shape to launch around the first of May. After that, classes begin, and we’re off to another great sailing season, hopefully with no COVID restrictions this time.
If you’re in your second year with Sail Chicago you need to start thinking about how you’re going to meet your service requirement for the following year’s sailing. Helping out in the boatyard is a great way to learn more about our boats and what it takes to keep them in the water during our busy sailing season. A list of all our volunteer positions may be found on the my.sailchicago.org website under membership/volunteer positions. And don’t forget to attend Sail Chicago’s upcoming virtual job fair (see article below).
If you’re looking to improve your navigation skills or wondering how you might become a Sail Chicago Instructor, we’ve got even more information for you. Just keep reading.
|
|
ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS PLANS FOR UPCOMING SAILING SEASON
Over 60 members and friends attended the Sail Chicago virtual Annual Meeting on Tuesday, March 1. Chairman Adam Wisneski reviewed activities in 2021. A total of 345 volunteer assignments were made through the new volunteer database. Last year, 2021, was a rebound year for Sail Chicago. Much effort was spent in formalizing processes, documentation, and organization. Class availability was limited due to the backlog from 2020.
Chairs of our various committees highlighted their activities throughout the year and plans for 2022:
- Finances Despite problems with COVID, we are in good financial shape. We are looking to expand our fleet over the next couple of years.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Community Cruise outings will be continued, and a new scholarship program will be implemented.
- Volunteerism Tracking of volunteer activities will be highlighted in 2022 in order to make our volunteer processes easier. A new volunteer fair is planned for later in March.
- Social Volunteers are needed to help plan social activities.
- Instruction There were 30 new Colgate skippers in 2021 and 6 new BKI instructors. Classes will start in early May. A new Instructor Course will be available for members who want to become instructors.
- Racing One of the best ways to improve your sailing skills is to participate in racing. In 2021, 58 racers signed up for the program.
- Cruising Cruising classes will be offered in a six course format on both of our cruising boats. A bareboat cruising course is planned for 2022. More member cruise outings will be scheduled.
- Technology Several processes have been automated, making it much easier for members to sign up or get information regarding programs.
- Maintenance Downtime for maintenance was greatly reduced in 2021 thanks to our Caring for Colgates program. Chainplates and bulkheads will be inspected before boats are put into the water this spring.
Members elected to the Sail Chicago Board are: Daniel Hazlet, Adam Jabs, Rachel Granneman, Gerald Stacy, Manny Conde, and Norris Larson.
|
|
|
VOLUNTEER JOB FAIR SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 22!
By Adam Wisneski
 Sail Chicago will host a virtual job fair on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 pm. The volunteer team, board members and program coordinators will have the opportunity to meet with members who may be interested in certain volunteer roles. New members, or returning members who want to learn more about different volunteer positions can ask questions or meet volunteer leaders from different areas of Sail Chicago. Review volunteer roles at www.my.sailchicago.org/membership/volunteer positions.
Format: Via Zoom, with breakout rooms that participants can self-select to learn more about different volunteer roles at Sail Chicago. Click here to learn more and register!
|
|
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM - BOATING BUDDIES NEEDED!
By Ashleigh Luttery, DEI Committee
We’ve received significant interest in the pilot Scholarship Program for the 2022 season and will select recipients this month! In case you missed it, the Sail Chicago Scholarship Program is part of our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative with the intent to provide access and encourage participation for those not traditionally well-represented within our organization. One thing we would like to offer the Sail Chicago Scholarship recipients is the opportunity to be paired with 1 or 2 Sail Chicago “boating buddies” who can show them the ropes (no pun intended!), help them navigate the organization, and perhaps even take them sailing. This is a great way to help support new sailors and share your experience and love of sailing! If you are interested in being a “boating buddy,” please contact Ashleigh Luttery at ashleylutterly@gmail.com.
|
|
LEARN BASIC NAVIGATION SKILLS THIS SPRING
By Dan Pilch
 Sail Chicago will be hosting a two-day Basic Navigation course this year on Sundays, March 20th and 27th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Columbia Yacht Club (note that you must attend both days in order to complete the course). The course will be taught by Maureen Huston and Dan Pilch who last taught this course to a sold-out class in March of 2020!
This course will teach sailors basic navigation skills and techniques that can be used within sight of land. It is primarily focused on the use of paper charts. Specifically, it will teach sailors how to read a chart and its symbols, convert between true and magnetic readings, plot course and position, calculate time/speed/distance, and take bearings and fixes. In addition, there will be a brief review of some basic information on chartplotters. Completion of this course is a prerequisite for Sail Chicago's Bareboat Cruising class.
The cost for the course for Sail Chicago members is $160. Proof of vaccination is required and the wearing of masks will be strongly encouraged. If you are interested, then please email me at daniel.pilch@sbeglobal.net. The deadline for signing up is March 13th, so if you're interested, don't wait, email me today!
|
|
HOW TO BECOME A SAIL CHICAGO INSTRUCTOR
By Monte Lewis
Interested in joining the Instructor Team? The Instructor Prep class will get you ready to teach classes at Sail Chicago. Instructor Candidates (IC’s) should have a minimum of two years experience as a skipper at Sail Chicago and be a confident and competent sailor. Classes are limited to four (4) students each.
Instructor Prep class begins with the rigorous Instructor Exam which is based on the Sail Chicago On-The-Water (OTW) Skills Standards for Colgate 26. From there, Instructor Candidates (IC’s) shadow a minimum of one Sail Chicago instructor and complete the Shadow Form.
Next, attend two OTW classes with your Basic Keelboat Instructor certified Sail Cchicago Instructor Trainer (Sail Chicago-IT) on our Colgate 26 sailboats. In the first class, IT’s share a series of learning practices that make Sail Chicago’s classes safe and fun. In the second class, the IC’s demonstrate those learning practices.
Finally, IC’s conduct two Tiller Time sails while being observed by Instructor Mentors (IM’s). The IM completes the IC Observation Form, gives solid feedback and makes recommendations on how to improve their teaching styleClasses open soon, and there is limited space for this new Instructor Prep class. Questions? Reach Monte Lewis at monte@lewisadvantage.com.
|
|
SAIL CHICAGO BKI COACH MONTE LEWIS DECLARED U.S. SAILING VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
By Norris Larson
 Monte Lewis won the U.S. Sailing Community Sailing Volunteer of the year award for 2021. He has coached nearly twenty Sail Chicago skippers through the demanding the US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor (BKI) Test, a rigorous three-day practicum. As part of Sail Chicago’s plan to increase diversity in its membership, Monte reached out to the Jacmbership. Monte’s infectious enthusiasm and energy for volunteerism and community sailing is a major asset to Sail Chicago.
Monte first went sailing with his family and friends at age ten and never stopped. He and his wife Kathy are graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. They went to sea on ships and sailed around the world. Today they reside in a condo unit in the South Loop area of Chicago.
The award ceremony, originally scheduled for Savannah, Georgia, was held by ZOOM. The clip for Monte begins at minute 36.
|
|
GREAT NEWS FOR THE GREAT LAKES
By Matt Stuczynski, Lead Instructor
 In a series of recent Chicago Tribune articles (one here) the good news is abundant about the one billion dollars that has been allocated to cleaning up toxic waste sites around the Great Lakes. The funds are part of the infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Congress last fall. Before Congress passed the "Clean Water Act" of 1972, many industries routinely dumped and released toxic chemicals in and around the lakes; including PCBs, PAHs, mercury, cadmium and lead along with oil and grease which resulted in 43 "areas of concern" around the Great Lakes slated for eventual clean-up by the federal government. Luckily, we only have one in Illinois at Waukegan Harbor; however, the nearby Grand Calumet river at the Indiana Dunes is one of the worst; an EPA administrator once called some of the waste in that area, "sediment from hell". Let's hope that the one billion in clean-up funding is spent swiftly and well to help make this source of recreation and drinking water for 40 million people as clean as it can be.
|
|
SPOTLIGHT ON VOLUNTEERS
By Norris Larson
Art Witkiewicz joined Sail Chicago when it was still part of AYH Chicago and before we had Colgates, when our only training boats where Rhodes 19s without motors. Art took his first class in 1997 with three other students and this writer as instructor. He passed his on-the-water and written skipper tests the following year (1). Art sails on Colgates and Ideals, but remains a dedicated fan of the Rhodes 19. Art was introduced to the water on family fishing excursions and later made a canoe trip to Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario. After watching sailboats on our lake front, he took an introduction to sailing cruise with the Columbia Yacht Club and decided he wanted to learn to sail.
Art has made and continues to make significant contributions to the maintenance of our Rhodes fleet. In addition to routine maintenance—prepping boats to meet Coast Guard rules, stepping masts, launching, varnishing the cockpit sole and other wooden parts. Art also worked on two major projects: mounting motors on the Rhodes and buying a new mast for Two Fish. He worked with Frank Loftus, a past member of Sail Chicago, to mount the first motor and he completed the work over 2014-2015. The Rhodes has a high freeboard stern and is designed to carry a long drive shaft outboard motor. Sail Chicago decided that all outboards in our fleet should be of the same design and Colgates mount a motor with short drive shaft. Art redesigned the factory-issued mounting hardware, which required a custom-made part, to accommodate the standard motor to the Rhodes. He also contributed to the installation of the fuel tank and the run for the fuel lines to the motor. Then the yard broke Two Fish’s mast. Art chose a new mast and made sure that it had all the proper fittings for stays, shrouds, and flying a spinnaker.
Art is a retired chemist with additional work as an HVAC technician where he learned to rivet and braze* and use a variety of specialized tools. This background is not obviously relevant to boat maintenance, but what he brought to his work on our Rhodes were analytic skills he acquired in his professional and technical work—the ability to assess a problem and work through a solution, with carefully thought out trial-and-error and improvisation. Art now lives on the city’s southwest side near Midway airport and continues to be an active member of Sail Chicago. He is deputy boat manager of Two Fish and works with Tim Rice to manage our Rhodes fleet.
Author’s notes: When Art joined Sail Chicago/AYH there was a separate on-the-water test conducted by an examiner and not the class instructor. Unlike the Colgates, which are mostly fiberglass, reinforced plastic, there is a lot of wood on the Rhodes—hence the need for varnishing. *Brazing is a type of “welding” with non-ferrous metals.
|
|
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."
|
|
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Click on the links below to find more information about Sail Chicago.
|
|
|
|
