When you're short-handed...

Even the boss has to lend a hand!

The forestay on our J/24 broke and it seems like these things always seem to occur at the wrong moment. Jayme and Todd, our crack fleet management team, both had pre-scheduled duties away from the dock. So Alan lent a hand and took care of it.

Of course they chose just when it got cloudy to head up the mast, they must have known I was going to snap a picture of the work!



Some of you may have seen Chicago Sailing featured with Living Social on Tuesday. We sold 1,000 certificates for our Introduction to Sailing class. That translates to 250 boats full of landlubbers that we're going to convert into sailors! We are spreading out all of these classes so that we maintain plenty of availability for our regular rentals and charters.

NEWS

The newspapers beat us to the news this morning. As reported by Dan Moran of the Lake County News-Sun, Chicago Sailing will have a satellite operation in Waukegan Harbor this season. Read the full article.

We plan to be operational by May 15th in Waukegan Harbor. Our offerings will include many of our most popular courses, including Basic Sailing 101 and Advanced Sailing 161. In addition, we will offer Club Sailing on Tuesday evenings, rentals, and captained charters. Jim Sauser, who has previously instructed with Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago and the Lake Forest Recreation Department, will be managing our programming and facility in Waukegan.

If you have any questions regarding the offerings for Chicago Sailing in Waukegan Harbor, just call the Chicago Sailing office at 773.871.SAIL.

For our Belmont Harbor sailors, don't forget to take advantage of our early season sailing specials. The weather is looking much improved for enjoying your sailing experience this weekend. Through May 16, all annual check-out fees are waived and you get a third hour free when you rent for two hours!

How about a little food with your sailing? We'll have lunch on the dock all weekend. Saturday will feature our new grill in action, with Magda serving as your chef. Rebecca will be on dock Sunday serving up chili with all the fixings (we know that's a weird combination with Easter, but go with it). And in regards to Easter, we will be open at the normal time on Sunday morning with Club Sailing from 8:30 - 11:30 am.

Opening Weekend 2011

It certainly wasn't warm and harbor conditions are quite interesting, but Chicago Sailing did indeed open over last weekend. Saturday's lake conditions included heavy waves, rain, and gusty winds - necessitating a postponement of our festivities until the next day.

Sunday brought heavy western winds, but otherwise fine sailing conditions. Those who planned ahead and brought many warm layers enjoyed themselves significantly more. Tom and Todd are modeling the layers necessary for staying warm on the dock.



Right around 11 am, our houseboat headquarters returned to B Dock. We were happy to have it back in its spot on the dock. The return also kicked off an afternoon of grilling and learning more about some of our customers.



The weather prediction for this week continues our trend of unseasonably cool temperatures. If you're thinking about doing some sailing this week, give us a call to make sure boats are going out.

Operations have been slightly disrupted by the construction in the harbor. Despite the houseboat being on dock, we are currently maintaining our office at 2712 N Campbell due to a lack of power! Hopefully we will have power by the end of this week and will be able to move the office to its proper location in the houseboat.



If you have any questions, just give us a call at 773.871.SAIL. We look forward to seeing everyone and enjoying a long 2011 sailing season.

Moving Back to B Dock

Things are getting busy at Chicago Sailing. We're hoping the weather improves for opening weekend, 43 and rain requires a lot of serious equipment on Lake Michigan.

Today's sunny weather was beneficial for our crew hard at work getting the boats ready. Check out what they've been up to.

How did you choose a sailing school?

One of the projects we're currently working on is updating our website. We're adding a page that gives tips on choosing a sailing school.

Which brings us to our question... How did you choose a sailing school? What factors did you look at and which were most important to you?

52 days to go!

Dreaming of the Sailing Season

On this frigid day, I've been dreaming of a return to sailing.

Starting up the motor at the dock and feeling the boat jump forward against the dock lines...

Standing at the tiller as we head down the channel with a hand on the boom, scouting ahead and eager for the open water of the Lake...

The rush of raising first the main and then, later, the jib...

Feeling the wind catch the sails as we leave the confines of the harbor and the boat tip in response...

Finally, the calm of killing the motor and working with the wind to sail where ever the boat and I decide to go...

Sun making me squint and wind pushing hair in my face, the gurgle of the water at the back of the boat. We... Just... Can't... Wait.

I've got 3 more months to hang onto this memory, until we can get back out there.

Sometimes things just get in the way.

This past Saturday, online registration for our lessons was supposed to launch. Some people may have noticed over the weekend that we hadn't updated our website. We are sorry for the delay. In short, we've had to change our provider.

The company we had been using to provide a secure internet registration process changed their fee structure right after the New Year. We discovered last week that our costs for using the system had been increased by 600%.

At Chicago Sailing, we strive to keep our administrative costs as low as possible allowing us to focus on delivering the best sailing experience for all of our sailors. So, we're making a switch!

After a slight delay, registration will be available for all of our lessons. We anticipate being fully functional before the end of this week.

In the meantime, we would love your feedback on our Frequent Sailors Program. Please take this survey and tell us what you think!