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Unfortunately February isn't the best time of year for sailors, but it IS a great time to plan your Sail Chicago participation! Sign up for winter, spring, and summer maintenance and keep your eye on Slack for upcoming social events. It's a time to stay warm and plan for a great season of sailing. Also, for those wondering about changes at the TellTale, we have decided to drop the newsletter on the first Tuesday of each month, rather than Saturday.
—Meighan Depke, Editor
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Volunteer Reporting Continues
Gerry Stacy, Chairman
Volunteer reporting is still open, and we have over 50 members who haven't yet completed their reports. Please report your volunteer hours from 2024 today!
At this point you should have received multiple e-mail reminders from the volunteer team in charge of your volunteer positions for 2024. Click through each position, provide an estimate of the hours you spent doing the work, and tell us know if you would like to keep that position in 2025. If we missed any volunteering that you did, you'll be able to indicate that also. We will close the reporting process after March 1, record service time flags for 2024, and open the volunteer site to signups for 2025. If you have questions about volunteering or the reporting process, please contact volunteer@sailchicago.org.
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The Sail Chicago 2025 Scholarship Application is Live!
The DEI Committee is continuing our scholarship program as part of Sail Chicago’s commitment to increase diversity, equity, and inclusivity 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 now live through March 3, 2025. Recipients will participate in SC’s beginner Crew classes (including Pre-Sail Orientation and US Sailing Basic Keelboat online course fees), have membership fees covered, along with priority access to class sign up. Scholarship recipients will also have Racing sign up fees covered if they complete their Crew course and would like to try Racing!
Please share within your network to all who may be interested in applying!
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Our Annual Meeting is Moving!
In order to maximize member participation in the annual business of Sail Chicago, the Board has decided to move our Annual Meeting to coincide with our end-of-season dinner. This is when membership is at its highest and our new members have had the summer to get to know the organization and leadership. You can look forward to the annual elections of board members at that time. This spring, Sail Chicago will host a membership meeting just before our kick-off happy hour. Be on the lookout for a "save the date" in May for that event, and join us as we celebrate the start of the sailing season.
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Maintenance Volunteer Opportunities
If you haven’t signed up for maintenance yet, now is the time!
Winter/spring: Boatyard volunteers are needed to prepare the fleet for the upcoming season. We meet every Saturday (February through April) from 10am to 2pm, weather permitting. Watch for announcements in Slack for sign-ups.
Summer: The RIB Maintenance Team still needs a few RIB Crew members. Qualification are must be First Mate and two years working in maintenance. Contact Rich Costello in Slack to sign up.
Spring and fall river trips along with mast stepping/un-stepping will be the same as last year, and we will utilize SignUp Genius once we have firm dates. Specialty Teams (electrical, essential equipment, and tops/bottom hull repairs) will also be the same as last year.
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Basic Navigation Course
April 26 and 27
9am to 4pm at Columbia Yacht Club
This season's course will teach sailors basic navigation skills and techniques that can be used within sight of land. Its primary focus is on the use of paper charts and 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 chart plotters. Completion of this course is a prerequisite for Sail Chicago's Bareboat Cruising class. Note that sailors must attend both days. The course will be listed on the Sail Chicago website for sign-up
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 Social News
It’s never too early to mark your calendar for the season kickoff party! Catch up with old friends, make new sailing buddies and celebrate the start of the sailing season. We'll have food, drinks, games and more. Signup for the event will be available in the March Tell Tale so watch your inbox!
Kickoff party at ColYC:
Saturday, May 17, 3-6pm
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Remembering Guy Whitney
 Guy Whitney, a Sail Chicago member from the early days of the organization’s formation, passed away peacefully on January 23. Sail Chicago old-timers will remember him as a tough old salt who wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense. He was on the Sail Chicago Board for several years, and was in charge of maintenance when we had only Rhodes 19s and a couple of cruising boats in our fleet. Younger members might remember him as one of the tender drivers who helped us get to our boats in Monroe Harbor throughout the summer months.
Guy was born in Paris, France and fell in love with sailing at an early age. He was a longtime member of the Corinthian Yacht Club out of Montrose Harbor, when he had his own Rhodes 19 as a part of the Club’s Rhodes fleet.
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Merch for Sale
Check out our cool line up of Sail Chicago merch. We’ve sourced T-shirts, polos, jackets, fleece, and hats from top quality vendors, all embroidered with our burgee logo. Take pride in Sail Chicago and wear your merch at social events and on the water. Gift cards are available in increments of $25.00.
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