2021 is starting off on a good foot. The Club has not been this active for many years! Plans are underfoot to really have an amazing year.
Last night, the Cruise Committee of Waukegan Yacht Club had its first planning meeting. The members of the committee discussed various possible cruise destinations on Lake Michigan for this year. Among those named were Chicago, Milwaukee, New Buffalo, Muskegon and our perennial favorites Kenosha and Racine.
The Cruisers and some surprise guests met for dinner at the St Joe Yacht Club
The Cruises are open to all members, and even non-members. Our goal is to promote cruising and comradery in the boating community. Cruising can be done on sail or motor boats. We try to obtain berths at the destination harbor close to together and plan group meals and activities while in the harbor.
Cruisers assemble at dawn at St Joseph River Yacht Club
If you would like to participate in the planning or the cruises, please send your name and contact information to Jim Maivald at sail@waukeganyachtclub.com. Our goal is to finalize our port-to-port cruise schedule by April 1 and have at least one cruise each month. Impromptu cruises are also a possibility, where we pick a beach or nearby location, such as Winthrop harbor and cruise to it for a swim party or cookout.
Come cruise to distant ports with the club
Don’t miss the fun this year. Join the WYC Cruisers!
In response to interest and an effort to get more people involved in sailing at a lower entry cost, the Waukegan Yacht Club is forming a group for remote-control sailing. Initially, the group will be focused on DragonForce 65-class boats, one of the largest and most organized RC groups. The club negotiated a 10% discount for WYC members in good standing. So, join the Waukegan Yacht Club or renew your membership as soon as possible. Our plan is to challenge the Chicago Yacht Club a couple times this year and any other interested groups. Help us build the fleet!
Email: treasurer@waukeganyachtclub.com to get the discount code.
I am pleased to announce that the Waukegan Yacht Club has come to a resolution with the Waukegan Port District. Jim Banovitz, Nikki Sullivan and I met with the Port District early last week and successfully negotiated the continued use of the building. Fundamentally, the Port District wants the club in the building. The next step is to formalize a business plan to increase membership. We need to show the Port District that we have a plan to be self sufficient.
Since the club was closed most of 2020 due to the pandemic, our revenues were much lower than normal, we ask that members who can pay their 2021 dues early or pay any outstanding dues to help us catch up on our utilities and other debts.
As we move into this new phase of our history, our foremost concern is increasing our membership. We have a unique opportunity in 2021 to get new people on boats and grow the club. I ask that members submit any ideas that they have to bring in more members or generate revenue. Once we review all the suggestions we will then follow up with a town hall style meeting to discuss them. Please send your suggestions to – Membership@waukeganyachtclub.com.
The WYC Sail Committee is working on a plan to get a frostbite series going as soon as February. I think racing boats in the winter is a good way to start off the season with the yacht club. However, to enable the frostbite series, we need a chase boat. If any member has any suggestions for this, we would love to hear them.
In addition to the frostbite series, we are working on the calendar for 2021 and hoping for the best in regards to the vaccine. We have worked with the people at Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club (CCYC) to formalize the running of the Chicago to Waukegan race this summer.
I am elated about the negotiations with the Port District, and their willingness to work with the club. I’m excited for what the future brings for The Waukegan Yacht Club and I hope you are too. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Jason Fergurson was elected Commodore of the Waukegan Yacht Club on December 10, 2020. He recorded the following address:
Greetings to WYC Members and the boating community.
I was voted in as Commodore of the Waukegan Yacht club on Thursday night. I would like to say thank you to everyone for the Trust that you have placed in me. I understand the Yacht Club has a long history, and I intend to continue the tradition of it being a great Yacht Club.
We have a number of issues that are being addressed at present. I know there are a lot of pressing issues in the minds of the members and I would like to address a few of them here.
I know that the most pressing issue is the lease with the Waukegan Port District. At this time, I have reached out to the Port District to let them know that we would like to meet with them. I have assembled a small committee. Our committee is meeting tomorrow night at 730 via zoom to work on the details to begin the negotiations with the Port District.
We have heard some dissatisfaction about the lack of Yacht Club Reciprocity. That issue has been resolved. We are added to the book for 2021. We had an anonymous donor pay the fee for us. We thank them for their donation.
There was an issue that the Board is working on with the Insurance on the building. We did not have sufficient cash to pay the premium the last few months, and all of the Board committed to paying their 2021 dues now, so that we could have a policy in place. I would like to thank Joanne for working with us on that.
We have also formed a committee to look at our options as a restaurant. We know that is a big deal for the Port Authority, as they want us to be an operational restaurant, and for all of our members and the community as a whole. Bo Harper our Vice Commodore has been diligently working on this issue and I anticipate some great things coming from his house committee.
Howard Fasnacht is working to assess the needs of the building. His committee as Rear Commodore is looking to find problems in the building and assess repair costs. This committee is also working to make sure the building stays in good working order. I anticipate he will do excellent work, as he has in years past.
Christian Olsen has formed his Treasurer committee and is working to address the issues related to the current club expenditures. This committee has already been formed and are doing the things that need to be done to keep the club running. Christian has a tough job, as there are a lot of bills and not a lot of capital.
Johnathan Gaetz is working to keep and maintain all of the minutes. We are holding a lot of meetings (as most of the committees have scheduled meetings this week) and he is doing his part to make sure that this process is as transparent as possible.
Jim Maivald is heading the Sail committee and Social committee. He has some really great ideas as to how best to continue to make sailing fun. He is looking into the boats that we have with the potential of a 2 person round robin match race frostbite series. Jim is on the board for another year as well as being our club webmaster and is doing a great job of filling in for all sorts of roles.
Kris Kaminski is on the board and the Club owes Kris a big thank you for stepping in as Commodore after the unfortunate passing of Jim Hellquist.
Jonathan Burba has been made a director as well as Nikki Sullivan. Both of these people will be a tremendous asset to our Board of Directors as we move the club forward.
One thing that I would ask all of our members to be aware of is, I have asked all of the Committee chairpersons to form a committee. So they may reach out to any of you to join the committee. A lot of roles have been filled in the past by just one person, and sometimes that can be a lot for any one person to do without getting burned out. I am of the opinion that small committees will offer differing perspectives and share the workload to find resolutions to Club issues in a way that lays out a concise solution to the Board that can be voted on and approved.
I’m sorry to have lost Jim Hellquist as Commodore of the Waukegan Yacht Club this year. I did not know him well, but Jim is the reason that I am in the Yacht Club. He will be missed by all. I hope to be half as good of a sailor and community leader as Jim.
As we continue to try to fill the needs of our members, feel free to reach out to myself or any other member of the board if you feel you have an issue that we need to be addressed..
On behalf of myself and the Waukegan Yacht Club Board of Directors I want to thank everyone who attended Tuesday night’s TownHall Meeting. I hope you found it informative.
As reported, our first step is to fill a nomination slate of officers & directors for the upcoming year. I am very happy to report that we have nine or ten people who have volunteered to be on the nomination slate. In addition, the people who have volunteered have good qualifications and skills needed to fill these roles and improve our Club. This slate of new officers will be voted in on the December 10th Board Meeting by members of the club in good standing.
During the meeting we discussed the challenges and opportunities we have to move this Club forward. It may or may not be in our current building because of the high rent rates, but we are fortunate to have so many enthusiastic members who want to continue having a presence at the Waukegan lakefront. Furthermore, we will have new board members who have creative and new ideas for needed change.
With the New Year, this board will have to tackle difficult decisions. These decisions will include a possible new lease from the Port District, or a change in venue for the Club. Our financial situation is not good, therefore dues may need to be increased.
The new board will be seeking our membership’s support as they try new membership drives, new revenue streams, and new ways of moving us forward. I ask for your patience as we develop new concepts, I ask for your understanding that not every new idea implemented will be a success, I ask for your continued support and your continued membership while we work together towards a fresh start with new approaches.
The Waukegan Yacht Club is following state and local government advisories to prohibit all face-to-face activities. We have postponed all events scheduled for March and April as of this writing. We are monitoring the daily reports and will advise members when the club reopens and events can be scheduled.
In the meantime we ask that all members stay safe and take all precautions to prevent infection and communication of the virus.
Our last Movie Night featured Ford vs Ferrari, an excellent movie detailing the creation and development of Ford Motor Company’s entry into professional racing.
Dinner consisted of Pasta with pesto or marinara, homemade meatballs and salad.
We had a great turnout for Movie Night #2. Members and guests chat over dinner before the movie starts.
Old and new members enjoyed a dinner of pasta with pesto or marinara, homemade meatballs and salad.
The Waukegan Yacht Club provided a great location for Movie Night.
We had a great turn out of almost 30 people. Everyone had a great time. Hope to see you at our next event.
The first WYC trapshooting event occurred Saturday, February 22, at noon. The event was attended by 14 members and their guests and everyone had bang.
The event was hosted at the McHenry Sportsmen’s Club in Johnsburg, Illinois. Several members brought extra shotguns so everyone could shoot. Trapshooting was conducted in “rounds”. A round consisted of 25 clays at 5 stations. The shooting started at noon and everyone was able to shoot as many rounds as they wanted. The group continued shooting until after 3pm.
Get your own FOID card
Although you don’t need a FOID card to shoot you do need one to buy your own ammunition or a gun. We plan on scheduling another event soon. So you may want to apply for a card. You can apply for a FOID card by clicking the following button:
We had a good turnout for our first Movie Night of 2020. The bar was open and members caught up after a brief winter hiatus from club events. The movie was chosen by attendees and was “Yesterday” a fantastic tale that examines what would happen if you were the only person on the planet who remembered the Beatles.
Poster for the movie Yesterday
Movie night at the club
Dinner was served before the movie and consisted of deep dish pizza and spinach salad with cherry tomatoes.
Deep dish pizza and spinach salad
Don’t miss our next movie night, Saturday, February 15, 2020.
A motion was made during the Members Meeting to approve the 2020 slate for the Board of Directors unanimously. The motion was seconded and approved.
Please congratulate the members of the board at your earliest convenience.
Slate Position/Title
Name
Commodore
Jim Hellquist
Vice Commodore
Kris Kaminski
Rear Commodore
Howard Fassnacht
Treasurer
John Rouse
Secretary
Denise Lapins
Director
Jose Guzman
Director
Jim Maivald
Director
Mark LeVan
Past Commodore
Kathy Larsen Sivia
All members should understand that the club is a members organization run entirely by volunteers. All members are asked to step up and participate in the operation of the club and its events. We need your help and participation!
Contact any board member if you wish to pitch in! Please watch for emails calling ALL HANDS. That’s the sign that we need your help.
