Changes in Parking

There have been some changes to parking in the harbor that we wanted to alert all of our customers to.

Last week the Park District appeared to be putting in an automatic parking tender to the parking gates at the entrance to the harbor. It can now accept credit cards (hooray) as well as bills and change. We were all surprised this morning to arrive and have the parking gate down. Apparently they have decided to charge for parking 7-days a week in the harbor area (boo).

The parking area in the harbor is the only area with changes.



The metered parking along Recreation Drive by the softball fields remains free Monday - Friday until 6 pm on Friday. It is $0.50 an hour from 6 pm on Friday - Sunday at 11 pm. Like the rest of Chicago's automated meters, you can use quarters or a credit card.

The parking lot accessed by the left turn just south of the tennis courts is paid parking 7-days a week. Parking is $1.00/hour from 9 am - 9 pm. From 9 pm - 11 pm and again from 7 am - 9 am it is $0.25/hour. This parking lot closes at 11 pm with the park and cars will be towed from the lot if left later than 11 pm. The machines in this lot accept bills, change and credit cards.

If we get any other information regarding changes to parking around the harbor, we will update everyone as soon as possible.

Vote for your favorite!

Our photo submissions are live. Check out all the photos sent in to us from sailing this season and vote for your favorite.

View the album.

If you have a facebook account, sign in to "Like" your favorite photo. If you don't have a facebook account, email us to let us know which photo you like best.

More Photos!

We've enjoyed the submissions we have received over the last week to our photo contest.

Here are some of our early favorites!


by Roger Huang


by Janet Gunn

Yesterday, we shot some photos of our own during the Tall Ships Parade. We didn't capture every boat, but the ones we shot are gorgeous.



What have you captured out on the water? Share your photos with us for the chance to win a free sail!

Photo Contest

We got out on the water the Friday during the Air and Water Show practice to capture some photos and take in the action. I have never seen so many boats anchored in the water! Luckily Kyle went out with us and drove, weaving his way in between the different boats and getting us up close. He definitely proved how maneuverable our J/22's are.

We were distracted by the awesome view and missed the money shot as the F15 flew right over us, but here's some of the shots we did manage to capture.



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.

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!