Photo Contest 2011

Photo by last year's winner Roger Huang

It’s not too late, keep the photos coming! The Chicago Sailing annual photo contest is still taking place.

Have you captured any fabulous shots out on the water this season? Send us your best shots and enter to win a free rental. We’ll post our favorites for all to vote on.

Submit your photos by email to contactus@chicagosailing.com

Appropriate Foul Weather Gear

Chicago Sailing would like to give you tips on appropriate weather gear for the recent shift in weather patterns. The current September weather has developed below-normal temperatures that are much cooler than expected. Considering the temperatures are beginning to drop we want to make sure everyone keeps warm for the rest of our sailing season.

Keep covered! As many know, it can get much colder out on Lake Michigan and because of this we recommend to wear layers, layers, and more layers! It is much more effective to wear layers of clothing rather than one heavy item of clothing. This will prepare you for any sudden changes in the weather.

One of the most important things to keep warm are your hands! Between pulling the lines and rigging the boat, your hands do a great amount of work while sailing. Sailing gloves are the best way to keep your hands warm and comfortable.

Stay dry! The recent high winds can create larger waves in Lake Michigan. To avoid getting your clothing wet and becoming cold, we recommend wearing a waterproof jacket. Wearing a waterproof jacket as your outer layer will keep you dry and warm for the entire sail.

Let’s all keep warm and dry while making the end of this sailing season a great time!

A word about Reservations for services at Chicago Sailing

Over the years, Chicago Sailing has found that its customers are well served when we deliver on our promises. This includes providing seaworthy equipment and professional staffing, all at the agreed time. Our objective is for you to come back regularly because you had such a great time with us.

As with airlines and hotels, Chicago Sailing has limited capacity and, in our case limited seasonal capacity. Every hour of every day is unique and requires careful scheduling of services. Unlike hotels and airlines however, we do not overbook in anticipation of no-shows. We also do not rely upon waiting lists or foot traffic to fill unexpected vacancies. Each boat or class slot that goes suddenly idle represents a lost sailing opportunity for another sailor and irreplaceable revenue for Chicago Sailing.

In order to accommodate all our customers fairly and keep our prices low, we must rely upon each other’s commitment to reservations. To that end, please understand that every reservation you make with Chicago Sailing is a guaranteed reservation.

• Chicago Sailing guarantees that, when you make a reservation with us, we will confirm all details of your unique reservation and our cancellation and rescheduling agreements. Equally important to you is the assurance that we will have removed that particular vessel or service from availability to other customers. Your reservation will be waiting for you.

• In return, you are guaranteeing that you will honor your reservation and abide by our cancellation/rescheduling policies, including payment for untimely changes.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Photo Contest!

Have you capture any fabulous shots out on the water this season? Send us your best shots and enter to win a free rental. We’ll post our favorites for all to vote on.

Submit your photos by email to contactus@chicagosailing.com

Here is the photo taken by last years winner Roger Huang

Chicago's Air & Water Show 2011

August 19^th began one of our busiest weekends at Chicago Sailing. It was a perfect weekend to experience the 53^rd annual Air and Water Show while sailing along the lake.

The show took place along the shore of Lake Michigan from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street Beach. I must say that the view from the water is spectacular and essentially the best way to watch this show.

Flying above our sails were civilian planes and military aircraft. You can’t miss the U.S Air Force Thunderbirds as they pass by producing loud blasts. The Air and Water Show does an excellent job in representing the U.S. Military.

The show was a great success and drew in millions of people. Crowds were tremendous on both the shore and the lake.

This is an amazing show you do not want to miss, so be sure to come experience it with us next year at Chicago Sailing!

Making Connections

One of the best things, or at least we think it is, about sailing is the social nature of the sport. When you are out sailing, be it racing or cruising, you are sure to swap stories!

Our instructors get to spend the most time getting to know you, I'm sure you've found them to be a very social bunch. The office staff is also prone to story telling. Especially when it's you telling us about your latest sailing adventure (it's hard to get out of the office sometimes, so we live vicariously through you).

This season, we've had many new friends to add to the Chicago Sailing storytelling group.



Peter, Jessica, and Dennis recently joined our family - taking the ultimate sailing adventure on our Cruising class. They return to Belmont Harbor today and we are eager to hear all about their trip and what they learned along the way!



Andre has been delighting our Monday staff all summer with his sailing tales. He works for Cirque du Soleil and has toured all over the world. Many of his stories revolve around sailing, food, and drinking... They are definitely up our alley! For the last three days Andre has been sailing with our Dock Staff Supervisor, Jayme in the Rhodes 19 Nationals.

Whatever your story, please share it with us! We look forward to seeing you soon.

Regatta Team Building Sail

Today we had four of our J22’s racing in a team building regatta sail. The teams sailed through four races, the last one bringing them back to the dock. They sailed two WL 2’s and one WL 4. The race was about 200 yards. There were a few things noticed during the first round that the teams had a chance to improve on during their last few rounds. We noticed that one team went around too far making it a difficult turn. Also, some teams had difficulty keeping a straight path when sailing. It helps to have control of the tiller for a straight path. It ended up to be a great race as all teams did well as a team!