Newsletter
March 2000

From the Commodore’s Desk

The mild winter and recent really warm days have been teasing us. Surely the sailing season can’t be too far off. I know that at least one optimistic sailor has already launched their boat for the season, as I see it neatly moored at the Lakewood Marina.

In fact, my optimism all winter caused me to delay taking my sails off of my boat until just two weeks ago. And I only did it then because I had to send them off for some repairs, and I wanted them back as soon as possible. I kept thinking all winter that I’d launch the boat for a weekend of sailing before the crowds come. Like everybody else, however, I stayed on dry land, only dreaming of spring’s warming breezes.

It didn’t help that the Americas Cup races were on TV, reminding us all that at least somewhere the weather was perfect for sailing. Of course, New Zealand is a long way to go for a sailing fix. Maybe next year.

While we have been waiting for a sign that the time has come to launch our boats for the season, the Sailing Club’s board and committees have been working hard to plan for a great 2000.

The social schedule has started to take shape, with the Walls energy and enthusiasm making the difference. Something for everybody! More on that later.

The racers have also held their first meeting, with Paul Schattgen agreeing to serve as Race Chairman for 2000. Don Allebach and Steve Easterwood, who will attempt to learn all of the scoring secrets that Norm West has mastered over the years, will assist him. No doubt Norm’s phone will ring more than once as we try to figure out handicaps and the like. More on racing later too.

Some of you have been kind enough to mail in your membership registrations for the year, and I thank you. For those that haven’t, please take a few minutes to fill out the membership form and send it in. As the board and committees work to plan for the year, it is always helpful to have the membership totals, and the dues for the year, to properly budget our time, money and resources.

If you wish, you can even complete your membership application on-line at the club’s new website. Of course, you’ll still have to mail in your check. And, at the request of some of our members, we have a new address for our website, which we hope will be easier to remember. The new address is http://www.lakestlouissailing.com. Be sure to check it out. A big thank you goes out to John Heilmann for all of the work he has done getting the site up and running. More later in this newsletter.

Pearson

Hey, New or Beginning Sailors, We’ve Got a Spot for You at the Starting Line!

Those of you that have been avoiding the starting line on Sundays have no more excuses. The racing committee has proposed splitting the racers into two fleets.

The more experienced racers will compete in the regular Gold fleet. Beginning racers (or those unsure of their skills) will compete against each other in the Blue fleet. This will allow those less experienced racers the chance to sharpen their skills without the pressure of challenging the more competitive racers. It will also be a great way to try racing for the first time! We’ll even provide racing mentors for those who wish. If you think you might be interested, please contact Paul Schattgen at 561-8069 or Pearson Buell at 625-2154. As more racing details are finalized, we’ll let you know.

Cold Duck

The Cold Duck regatta has been scheduled for Saturday, April 29. This first official race of the season will provide racers of all skill levels the chance to tune up for the season before the racing series begin. Even if you don’t plan on joining the racing series, this is a great time to task your skills, and your boat, before the sailing season gets underway. As always, we’d love to see a huge fleet this year. Not only does it make the racing more fun for everybody, but it also sends a message to all of Lake Saint Louis that sailing is fun! Look for more information in this event in the coming weeks.

Sailing Seminars

Are there things about sailing you’ve always wanted to know, but never known who to ask? How about boat maintenance? Or the racing rules?

Well, our friends at the Saint Louis Sailing Center will be hosting an Open House on Saturday, March 18^th from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Besides the opportunity to pick up any new gear you might need for the 2000 sailing season, you can also attend some of the great seminars scheduled for the day. And contrary to the old saying, there is such thing as a free lunch, with hot dogs, chips and sodas for everybody that shows up.

The seminar schedule is as follows:

10 a.m. – Boat Painting
11 a.m. – Boat Maintenance
12 p.m. – Winch Maintenance
12 p.m. – Learning to Sail
1 p.m. – Bareboat chartering
2 p.m. – Basic Racing Rules
3 p.m. – Starting and Roundings
4 p.m. – Safety and Righting

So sneak out of the house and join Jeff, Linda, Harry and the gang at 13616 Northwest Industrial Circle in Bridgeton. If you aren’t sure how to get there, call me, or call the Sailing Center at 314-298-0411.

Welcome Aboard Party

Of course, we can’t start the sailing season without our first social event of 2000, the annual Welcome Aboard party! This year the party will be on April 1 at the Community Association Clubhouse. As always, this is a great chance to get together with all of your old sailing pals. It is also a great chance for us to welcome new or prospective members.

This year we would ask that each Sailing Club member try to invite at least one person or family (that might enjoy sailing) to the party. The club needs to grow, and we need to introduce all of the great things we do to as many new people as possible. Look for more details about the party coming soon.

www.lakestlouissailing.com

Yes, not only have we created a website for our club, now we even have an easy (more or less) address to remember. John Heilmann was clever enough to come up with the "Lake St Louis Sailing" address. We hope that this will make us a little easier to find for members and non-members alike.

If you visit the site, you’ll find a membership list, a schedule of events, the latest newsletter, racing standings, and more. If you have any ideas for things you would like on the website, please let us know. You can send your ideas to sail.ho@gte.net.

We’d like to add a want ads section to the site as well. If you’ve got a boat (or gear) to sell, or you’re looking for something, let us know. We’ll post it on the site, and we’ll also add it to the newsletter.