Self-Serve

My family has spent 4 generations operating gas stations. Growing up, I could be found slinging hot dogs and hamburgers for customer's while their cars were washed, much like Chicago Sailing's Tuesday Night BBQs. The stations that we operate are all self-service and I recently found myself on the dock referencing 'self-service' for Chicago Sailing.

Chicago Sailing is also a self-service operation. When you have rented a boat with us, we expect you to treat it as if you owned it for that 2 or 3 hour period. Your assistance allows us to keep our costs low, allowing us to maintain low rental rates.

So gas that motor up yourself, keep your eye on the weather and above all stay away from danger - including rocks!

The 102nd Mac is here!

We're leading in to the Mac race. The cruising division gets their head-start on Friday, with the parade of boats and race on Saturday.

Chicago Sailing's staff has been working hard preparing boats for the weekend and getting everything on B Dock ship-shape before they take off for the longest annual freshwater race in the world. Read more about the history of the Mac at the official website, here.

Instructor Andrew Boren (of the Raven) and Fleet Manager Kyle McVane are racing together on Northstar in the J109 section. Captain Chris Berger is racing his Mumm 36, Graffiti Train in Section 4. President Alan Veenstra is joining the crew of Bodacious again this year, a Baltic 45 in section 1.

You can track all of their progress online, here.

Instructor Monica Trejo is traveling to the east-side of Michigan to participate in the 2010 Thistles National Championship. She'll be sailing with a team from St. Louis.

Meanwhile, in Ohio and Michigan, two very special occasions will be taking place. Instructors Brett Doudican and Scott Meyers are getting married! Not to each other, but to two wonderful ladies. Scott and his fiancee Brittany met racing sailboats on Lake Michigan. It's only appropriate that they're getting married Mac weekend.

Back on B Dock, we've got a busy weekend ahead with almost all of our boats booked already. We look forward to seeing you this weekend!