What's in a name?

We've been speeding full force into August. What a crazy, hot season it has been! Some of you may have noticed the inconsistency on weather predictions for the Chicago area. While thunderstorms and rain have been predicted for many days, very few of those have actually hit Chicago.

If you're curious about whether we'll actually have thunderstorms, check out the radar and hourly weather prediction from Weather.com. Then check it every couple of hours. Generally, storms have been marching back further and further in the day or breaking up entirely. Regularly checking to see how weather systems are developing will give you a more accurate picture of the day's forecast.

This season, we've enjoyed the addition to our staff of Frank and Des from the University College of Cork. Des was sitting in the office one day when he commented on the pronunciation of one of our boats, Cathach.

As rumors go, Cathach was named by Ronan and is Gaelic. The American staff members have struggled with how to pronounce it properly for a long time. People generally vary between ca-thach or cat-hach. As it turns out, neither of these are correct!

Des informed me that it should be pronounced ca-hawk with long a's. It took me a couple of tries to remember how to properly pronounce it.

Des wasn't quite sure what it meant, so we consulted the internet. Turns out Cathach means Battler. So, next time you're on the boat with the green shamrock take on a warrior's pose at the tiller.

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!

25th Anniversary

We've been listening to the pressure washer all day at Chicago Sailing. The dock has gotten spruced up in preparation for our Anniversary Party tomorrow and the 4th of July weekend.

Tomorrow, join us for $25 Club Sail and real, southern style barbecue. Yes, barbecue that requires the whole word getting spelled out. Anything less would be cutting it short.

Chef Andrew Lawrence has flexed his creative muscles in the past. His menus feature cuisine from different cultures, all geared for sailing excursions. One of his passions is barbecue and we're excited he's sharing it with us tomorrow.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow or this weekend!

Summer Sailstice

As if learning to sail wasn't enough to keep one busy last week, we had Summer Sailstice this past weekend.

Saturday was an incredible day. There were so many people on the dock! The weather behaved for us too, delivering a beautiful sailing day.

We grabbed some shots of the busy dock.



This following Thursday is our Anniversary Party. We hope you can join us for the celebration! Chef Andy Lawrence is joining us to smoke food all day in preparation.

A Recap - Day 5

Sorry this was a bit delayed. We had a busy weekend with Summer Sailstice and Father's Day. Here it is Allison!

If all goes well during your prior sessions, the last day should be fun. Each person gets the option to practice anything they are unsure of and just have fun at the tiller. We had some gorgeous winds that allowed us to sail with the main and jib the entire time.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but that day I shot some video. Here you go!

Heeling Over Day 4

Yesterday was glorious. The wind was 15 knots out of the east, creating a little chop on our way out, but otherwise perfect conditions on the water.

It was my turn to take us out of the harbor, which an unnamed member of the Chicago Sailing staff questioned, and we got quickly out and underway. With the main and jib up we were cruising out there.

The day was devoted to saving Steve, our lifejacket dummy. He spent a ton of time in the water. Luckily, all of our crew members stayed where they should be in the boat, so we didn't have to do a real man over board.

I have heard over and over from our instructors as they start lessons that a keelboat cannot tip over. There's a 700 lb weight at the bottom. Even though mentally, I know this, there is something a bit unsettling when a J/22 heels over until one of the rails is in the water. And when I say unsettling, I really mean my heart jumped up into my throat for a second and my body fought against what the boat was doing.

By the end of the day we had not only saved Steve, but everyone in the class was moving with the boat as it heeled over. We also learned to control how much the boat heeled using the main sheet. (Remember, we have sheets or lines on boats. No ropes.)

Today's my final day, and while I'm not as obsessed as some Chicago Sailing staff members, I'm very excited to get more time on the water.