Newsletter
May 2005

From the Bridge…
…a word from the Commodore

I'm going to try to keep my comments shorter than usual (which isn't saying much), because our Junior Commodore has some information for the junior sailors. I do want to highlight a few items, however.

The annual Blessing of the Fleet is on Monday, May 30. This is a great community event, and it is always a lot of fun. It would be great if every sailboat on the lake was part of the parade of boats, but I know that isn't likely. Let's see how many sailboats we can have anyway. You can decorate your boat or not, just join the parade and blessing. Look for more details in NEWSTIME.

Paul Schattgen is organizing the first Cabin Boat racing of the season. We'll meet at Windjammer at 2:00pm on Sunday, June 5. We'll try to complete two races, and no races will start after 4:00pm. Note that we do not have the Windjammer pavilion reserved for that date, so we'll probably be meeting in the parking lot or on the L-shaped dock. Experienced racers and novice or brand-new racers are strongly encouraged to attend (as well as spectators). Even if you have never even seen a sailboat race, we'll tell you everything you need to know to survive on the racecourse. Plus, it should be a lot of fun. If you would like to crew, show up and we'll try to find you a spot.

The On-the-Water Boat Show will be at Windjammer Point on June 11 and 12. This is our show, so it is critical that every Sailing Club member make an appearance. Ray Grossmann works very hard to make this show happen, and the proceeds help keep the club operating without a significant increase in the annual fees. Several local dealers also work hard to get their boats to Lake Saint Louis, and they are always happier if there are lots of folks on hand to look at the boats. Admission is free, so there is no reason not to stop by for a visit. If you see something you like (and it doesn't even have to be a sailboat), you may be able to take it for a test drive on the lake. So please, come to the show and bring some of your friends and neighbors. Let's make this the biggest and best show ever!

Lastly, everyone needs to visit our newly redesigned website (www.LakeStLouisSailing.com). We have added a lot of information and photos, and are working to keep the site current with the latest club information. This should be the first place that club members and prospective members go for information about the club, including upcoming activities. You can also sign up to be on our email list. This list is especially helpful if we need to get word to our members about an upcoming event, as it is much faster (and cheaper) than the US mail.

If you have any suggestions for the site, please let us know. A huge thanks for John Heilmann for his past and ongoing work on our website.

Pearson Buell
Commodore

From the Poop Deck…
…a word from the Junior Commodore

As our club grows, more and more kids are discovering sailing (or maybe it's the other way around). As Junior Commodore, I have been asked to help all the young club members learn how much fun sailing can be. With the help of some of the older members, we are planning lots of fun stuff this summer. If you are a junior sailor (or just a junior hoping to become a sailor), I hope you'll come join us for some of these events.

For those of you that want to build your sailing skills, I strongly recommend our Sunfish regattas. These are much easier than they sound, and being forced to sail a race course is a great way to figure out how to make the boat go where you want as fast as you can. There are regattas every month, and we'll crown a fleet champion at the end of the season, so please come race with us as often as you can.

We've also started to schedule some social events. Many of us made pigs of ourselves on marshmallows and s'mores at the cabin boat overnight party. Sometime in July we'll have our Pirate Party. I don't have the exact date yet, but I do know that there will be hidden treasure somewhere around the little lake. With the help of treasure maps, we'll be setting sail to search for the mother lode of pirate loot. We'll let you know as soon as we have the details, so look for them coming soon. Note - no pillaging allowed!

If you are just learning to sail, sign up for sailing lessons. If you already know how to sail, come help teach (adults are welcome as well). My dad swears he can teach anyone to sail in just one lesson, so teaching sailing can't be that hard, can it?

Once you know how to sail, we have Sunfish moored on the little lake that you can borrow. The best way to learn to sail, or to improve your sailing, is to sail, sail, sail. Let's all keep the boats as busy as possible this summer.

The club has asked us to take some responsibility for our fleet this year, so I have a couple of tasks for the junior sailors. The first is to help us fix up the committee boat. This will mostly involve painting and some cleaning. The design is up to us, but my dad asked me not to make the boat look like the Partridge Family bus, whatever that means. We're also going to test your creativity by having a "name the boats" contest. We need to name each of our boats, so we're going to ask you for suggestions. We'll narrow down the choices and let everyone vote. The winners will get prizes and the boats will get names! Look for more information on this contest on the club's website.

If you have something you think would be fun for the junior sailors, or if you would like to help us plan our events, please send me an email at joebfive@centurytel.net.

Josh Buell
Junior Commodore

Cabin Boat Overnight and Marshmallow Toasting Party

May 20th turned out to be a perfect night to toast marshmallows and spend the night aboard, and several sailors took advantage of the conditions. If you weren't there, you missed some delicious s'mores being prepared by junior and senior sailors alike, with many of the young sailors already dressed in their pajamas. Once the crowd had their fill of marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate (and some required more to fill them up than others), a few of us headed for our berths onboard for a great night of sleep with the sound of waves lapping at the hull. As the sun roused the sailors from their slumber, we headed to Krispy Kreme for fresh hot donuts. What better way to start the weekend?

May Sunfish Regatta

Sunfish sailors of all ages, test your sailing skills against your fellow sailors in the May Sunfish Regatta on Saturday, May 28. We'll gather on the CA's clubhouse beach no later than 1:00 and the racing will begin soon thereafter. We have club and CA owned boats that you can borrow, but if you have your own boat, please bring it. Depending upon the number of sailors, we will likely have singles and doubles fleets for the juniors, as well as adult singles. There are prizes for the winners, and the results will count toward the end-of-season standings. Even if you have never raced a sailboat before, you should consider participating in this regatta. The races are relatively short, and there will be plenty of experienced racers on hand to talk you through your first race. We hope you'll join us!

Calendar

We continue to update and expand our calendar for the 2005 season. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Pearson Buell.

May
28 - Sunfish Regatta - Little Lake - 1:00pm - Come test your skills against your fellow club members!
30 - Blessing of the Fleet - Dress up your boat, and yourselves, and get the season started on the right note. Watch NEWSTIME for details.
June
2, 9, 16, 23, 30 - Open Sail Night - Little Lake - 6:30pm - Club members will be on hand to help with Sunfish sailing.
5 - Cabin Boat Racing - Windjammer - 2:00pm - Cabin boat racing returns to the big lake. We'll attempt to get two races in, with no race starting later than 4:00pm. All cabin boat sailors are encouraged to attend.
10, 11, 12 - On-the-Water Boat Show - Windjammer - Boats of all types will be available for test rides. This is our annual fundraiser/community event, so you need to be there!
11, 25 - Sailing Lessons - Little Lake - 9:00am - Learn to sail, or help teach.
15 - Board Meeting - CA Sunfish Room - 7:00pm
17, 18, 19 - Midwest USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival - Island Bay Yacht Club, Springfield, IL
25 - Sunfish Regatta - Little Lake - 1:00pm - Come test your skills against your fellow club members!
July
2, 23 - Sailing Lessons - Little Lake - 9:00am - Learn to sail, or help teach.
7, 14, 21, 28 - Open Sail Night - Little Lake - 6:30pm - Club members will be on hand to help with Sunfish sailing.
17 - Sunfish Regatta - Little Lake - 1:00pm - The season is well underway, so why not race?!?
20 - Board Meeting - CA Sunfish Room - 7:00pm
TBD - Pirate Party - Little Lake - Time TBD - ARRRGGH! Try to find me treasure, will ya? Our junior sailors will chart a course around the little lake, following their treasure maps, with the ultimate goal of finding the hidden treasure!
August
4, 11, 18 - Open Sail Night - Little Lake - 6:30pm - Club members will be on hand to help with Sunfish sailing.
13, 20 - Sailing Lessons - Little Lake - 9:00am - Learn to sail, or help teach.
14 - Sunfish Regatta - Little Lake - 1:00pm - The summer season is winding down, so why not race?!?
17 - Board Meeting - CA Sunfish Room - 7:00pm
September
4 - Sunfish Regatta - Little Lake - 1:00pm - It's getting cooler, the winds are picking up. Now is the time to race!
21 - Board Meeting - CA Sunfish Room - 7:00pm
October
9 - Sunfish Regatta - Little Lake - 1:00pm - Last call to race the Sunfish!
19 - Board Meeting - CA Sunfish Room - 7:00pm
November
11 - Awards Party - CA Clubhouse - 7:00pm - Let's end the season with a bang!
16 - Board Meeting - CA Sunfish Room - 7:00pm

Membership

We have attached a membership list as of May 25. If your name it not on it, then we have not received your registration and dues for 2005. You'll need to be registered to take advantage of all the fun we have scheduled for the season, and to use the Sunfish. You'll find the registration form on the website, so complete it and mail it today! For those of you already registered, think about introducing a friend to the club. We're the best bargain in town at $20 for a family membership. We recently priced renting a Sunfish at an out of town yacht club, and the price was $60 per day!