Today we welcome newly appointed Port Captain Mark Clymer. Here he shares a little about his boating experiences... I have been a year-round resident of Clark Twp. the unit of government covering the Les Cheneaux Islands, Mich. (H-81), and the communities of Cedarville & Hessel, Mich. since 1974. My wife and I now live in a log cabin on McKay Bay, where Kimow II is moored. Please click here to read further.
GLCC News
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Whatever Great Lakes region you’re near, there’s a boat show that needs you… The 2020 Progressive Chicago Boat, RV, and Sail Show will be held on January 8–12 at McCormick Place. Arguably, one of the largest shows based on the number of square feet utilized. As with the other Midwest shows, the GLCC will once again have a booth that needs GLCC members to work it. It’s a lot of fun and a very rewarding experience. You will get to know other GLCC members, while explaining to non-members all the benefits of being a member. But the main purpose of the booth is to recruit new members. The boat shows are one of the major sources of new members for the GLCC. And to make the job of selling the GLCC any easier than it already is, there is special boat-show-only pricing. Please click here to read more!
Let's say "Ahoy" to Ken Vannorsdall, our newly appointed Port Captain for Cooley Creek, Ohio (E-20.5)! Here's what he shares about his boating experiences... I believe I owe my love of sailing to my Mom and Dad. It was the summer of ’78 and was at my parent’s campsite. I expected to spend the day fishing with dad. Rather than renting our usual rowboat, dad rented two sunfish. What a great day it was. Back at the campground, dad gave me a brochure for an AMF Sunbird. I bought my first boat on Monday. As they say, the rest is history. To read further, please click here.
Winter Lifeline is here. Instead of a late fall — as most have hoped — we had an early winter, so this issue is apropos to this season! Inside, check out the Harbor Report Update Package changes for the 2020 season, past and upcoming event highlights, boat shows (volunteers always welcome), and the GLCCSchool kicks off its 10th season! Special notes: Please update your online profile as we will be sending the 2020 GLCC Membership Card in the spring. The Commodore and Lifeline Editor encourage your photo submissions for events along with Harbor Report updates from the areas you visit. Please click here to read more.
Congratulations to Port Captain Jim Lee for Mentor, Ohio (E-8) on completing the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society 2019 Lake Erie Solo Challenge this past August. Jim sailed single-handed from Toledo Beach, Mich. to Buffalo, N.Y. and back to Erie, P.A., a distance of 271 nautical miles or 312 statute miles. One can follow his trip at http://woolamaloo.com/lake-erie-solo-challenge/. Click on the pictures to read the narrative.
Both Cristina (Crissie) and John (Jack) have a long history of sailing the Great Lakes, most notably Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel, in various sailboats, spanning the last 40 years or so. They belong to Crescent Sail Yacht Club on Lake St. Clair, now as non-resident members. Crissie has sailed in numerous Port Huron to Mackinac single handed races. Crissie and Jack sailed, for several years, up and down the inter-coastal and over to the Bahamas. Please click here to read more!
Meet the new Co-Port Captains for St. Clair Shores, Mich. (D-48), Victor and Susan Camaiore. Vic and Sue have been sailing for over 30 years. They have been GLCC members since 2013, but the first social event they attended was the 2016 Rendezvous in Superior, Wis., after buying their boat in Barker’s Island Marina where the Rendezvous was held. Since then, they have attended the 2018 and 2019 Rendezvous, the 2017 Lake Superior Rally, 2018 Wilderness Rally, 2019 Lake Huron Rally and GLCC meetings in Toledo, Ont., Windsor, Ont., and London, Ont. Please click here to continue reading.
With the slow onset of summer, a lot of us have been hoping it will be made up with a late fall. That remains to be seen. In the meantime, Lifeline is a great way to keep the memories alive! This issue has all the staple ingredients needed for just that. There are event recaps on the fun we’ve had in the summer and reports on upcoming events that we won’t want to miss. The 2019 Rendezvous centerfold will have us reminiscing and looking forward to next year’s event in Little Current, Ont. (NC-17). Let’s be sure to read the final installment of Past Commodore Niels & Vicki Jensen’s Founders Award log (and also the previous two issues) before putting away our boats! Please click here to access the 2019 fall Lifeline magazine, and here for updates and information on GLCC Events.
Dee & Brian McClure are our newly appointed Port Captains for Suttons Bay, Mich. (M-11), so be sure to give them a holler when you're in their port, they'll be happy to see you. Welcome aboard, McClure's! As a middle-schooler Dee’s Dad infused his love of sailing to her on a 16-foot day sailor. Dee became a very active racer of one-designs (Laser, Star, Lightning) and PHRF (32 to 42-foot boats) on Long Island Sound and in the Atlantic. After Brian and Dee married, they raced and cruised in New England. Please click here to read more...
Let's congratulate Bill & Jan Stover as our newly appointed Port Captains for Honey Harbour, Ont. (GB-25)! Bill and Jan have boated on Georgian Bay since the mid-1980s, spending wonderful family times with their two sons. They are power boaters and most of their time is spent in the Honey Harbour to Parry Sound area. They know these waters very well and have also travelled to the North Channel and west to Mackinac Island via Lake Huron, as well as the Mackinac Straits to Lake Michigan. Please click here to read more...
Now's your chance to do some EARLY end-of-season shopping!
We have several clothing items that were sold at the 2019 Rendezvous available for purchase on the GLCC website’s Ship Store. Also, several of the welcome bag items are also available to be purchased. Check out the huge canvas tote bag that you may very well be able to fit the galley sink into! You might need a drink after working on that so grab a couple GLCC 'boat friendly' beer tumblers! There’s a nifty pocket knife that has some handy gadgets for toolin’ around, and some nice Rendezvous shirts in case you make a mess and need to change. These items may be found in the Clothing or GLCC Items & Jewelry sections. They would make great gifts, so hurry before they’re gone! GLCC Ship's Store
Today we are welcoming newly appointed Deputy Port Captains for Lexington, Mich. (H-54), Sam Webster and Charlene Blondy. Please say hello when you are in the area! Sam started boating on the St. Clair River at age nine in a 10-foot rowboat with a 1/2 hp motor. He was a naval aviation electronics operator for the U.S. Navy in the 1950s. He joined the Detroit Yacht Club (DYC) in 1977 and cruised in his next three Chris Craft boats while serving on various committees at DYC as well as Fleet Captain in 1993. Please click here to read more!
Let's give a hearty welcome to newly appointed Port Captains Leonard & Nancy Buchanan for Muskegon, Mich. (M-22)! The Buchanan’s reside in Grand Haven, Mich. They have been around boats and boating all their life. Nancy sailed a pram and a Sunfish as a child and teen, while Lenny was around runabouts and pontoon boats. They have been boating as a couple for almost 26 years. Please click here to read further.
Port Captain Dale Lashbrook, Port Huron (D-1), was recently interviewed on EBW.TV (Everything Blue Water) discussing the Great Lakes Cruising Club. Click here to see the interview.
02/08/2022 Updated link to Welland Canal schedule. JM The GLCC has received notice that St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation has announced changes to procedures for pleasure boats transiting the Welland Canal. The changes come into effect July 15th and are described on their website here https://greatlakes-seaway.com/en/recreational-boating/lockage-schedule/…
Anne Wech is our newly appointed Port Captain for Geneva State Park, Ohio (E-6.5). Let's give her a warm welcome when we see her! Here's a little background about her and her husband Barry... Ann and Barry have been boating together for the past 30 years. They have cruised the Florida waters and most of the Great Lakes. They did the Trent-Seven Waterway twice, and have done most of the Intercostal Waterway. They have been the marina manager at the Geneva State Park Marina (a 391-slip marina) for the past five years and were previously the marina manager at Everglades National Park in Florida, for seven years. Please click here to read more!
Most members would agree that it's official boating season... especially when we have our summer Lifeline magazine at hand! There are so many events—there's no getting bored! You can plan ahead by reading all about summer and the events coming up in the not-as-near future. You may want to "Avoid Sinking" while out on the water, so be sure to read the article on the lesson learned aboard the 56-foot sailboat Monterey! We're at the second of three installments of the Founders Award and encourage you to read past and future issues to follow the stories. Please click here to access the 2019 summer Lifeline magazine, and here for updates and information on GLCC Events.
Welcome Bill and Helen Ayre; newly-appointed Port Captains for Parry Sound, Ont. (GB-31)! Bill and Helen live in the Hamilton-Burlington area and started sailing many years ago on Lake Ontario in a C S-27. As their children grew, so did their boat! They are now on boat number three named Raven, a 38-foot Dufour Classic. Please click here to read more...
Jim Lee has been appointed as Port Captain for Mentor, Ohio (E-8). Let's welcome him by stopping by at some point this summer! Jim took an interest in boating in 2005; a friend took him along on a Wednesday night race in a Beneteau 36.7. After an exciting race, he thanked the owner profusely. He was invited back and became a member of the crew. He rarely missed a race. Please click here to read more!
On Saturday, April 22nd, fourteen Great Lakes Cruising Club members led by GLCC Lake Superior Rear Commodore Jim Passe met in Duluth, MN, with Representatives from the Rock of Ages Lighthouse Preservation Society and National Park Service to present a $10,000 Grant to the Society from the Great Lakes Foundation. For more information about this grant, the Rock of Ages Lighthouse Preservation Society, and how you might get involved as a volunteer or supporter, click HERE.
Past Commodore Mel Wallbank has been appointed as Port Captain for Gore Bay, Ont. (NC-14). Mel was born in England, immigrated to Canada at 14 months of age and grew up in Cambridge and Kitchener, Ont. He started sailing in 1968 on a 13-foot Fireball dinghy on inland lakes and on Lake Huron in Southampton and Port Elgin. In 1976 he bought, trailered and sailed a Hobie 16 with enthusiasm. In 1982 he immigrated to Port Huron where he has lived since, for 36 years. He is married to Mariette Labrosse, who is a fine cruising companion and outstanding cook aboard Bliss. He is a proud father of a grown son and daughter, grandfather of three children. Please click here to read more!
Jim Willett is our new Port Captain for Barcelona Harbor, N.Y. (E-3.5) & Conneaut, Ohio (E-5). If you stop by, please give him and Kathy a hearty "Ahoy!" Here's a little about their boating experiences... Kathy, the four kids and I relocated to Erie, Penn. in 1986, and I purchased our first sailboat, a Tanzer 22. It was our learning boat, and learning by watching others and reading all we could. Please click here to read further.
After serving as GLCC Port Pilot and Harbor Report Chair since 2012, plus being involved in Harbor Report editing prior to that, Lou Bruska has decided to retire. Commodore Barzyk was pleased to recently announce that Julie Thorndycraft and husband Dan Deweese have agreed to assume duties as Harbor Report co-editors effective April 1st. For more information on Lou's contributions over the years and Dan's and Julie's extensive backgrounds as they take over this critical GLCC function, click HERE. Thanks and best wishes to Lou, and congratulations to Julie and Dan.
Mike Powers has been appointed Port Captain for an additional harbor; Monroe, Mich. (E-23). His homeport is located at Bolles Harbor, Mich. (E-22), where he and his wife Kathy have served as GLCC Port Captains since 2012. They have been members of the Monroe Boat Club since 2008 where Mike has served as Power Fleet Captain, Financial Secretary, Rear Commodore, Vice Commodore, Commodore and Past Commodore. He previously served the I-LYA as Trustee in 2015 and as Powerboat Chair in 2016 and was honored by being named Mid-America Boating’s Skipper of the Year in 2016. Please click here to read on!