After many long years of dedicated service to the Great Lakes Cruising Club, Yvonne Murray has announced her retirement from her role as Club Office Manager for the GLCC. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire membership, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Yvonne for her many years of outstanding service. For nearly two decades, Yvonne has been the steady and welcoming presence behind the scenes, helping to ensure the smooth operation of the Club and providing exceptional support to our members, officers, and volunteers.
GLCC News
Are you gearing up to shove off on your summer cruise, but wondering if your cruising skills needing a little boost? Look no further than the GLCCSchool Recording Library for help. Our library is packed with cruising skill webinars designed to ease out the wrinkles of any cruising adventure. So, if you are planning to transit the Soo or Welland, facing an all-night passage, having to feed a hungry crew or feeling like a klutz when you talk on your radio? Look no farther than the GLCCSchool Recording Library.
Celebrate Summer at the Lake Ontario Rally August 14-16, Trent Port Marina, Trenton, ON
Join us at Eagle Island (NC-25) for a GLCC Wilderness Meet-Up on July 15 and 16.
Go West for the Amazing ’26 Rendezvous Register now for the 2026 Rendezvous!
Soo Rally 2026 - June 26-29, 2026 Make your cruising plans now!
Pirates focus on fun at ’26 Lake Erie Rally! June 12 – 14 (early bird arrival June 11)
Are you gearing up to shove off on your summer cruise, but wondering if your cruising skills needing a little boost? Look no further than the GLCCSchool Recording Library for help. Our library is packed with cruising skill webinars designed to ease out the wrinkles of any cruising adventure. So, if you are planning to transit the Soo or Welland, facing an all-night passage, having to feed a hungry crew or feeling like a klutz when you talk on your radio? Look no farther than the GLCCSchool Recording Library.
Have you ever been chatting with a fellow boater about the GLCC who is potentially interested in joining? Many of us do so while we’re cruising or strolling the docks. So why should this potential member have to wait until a boat show to get a discount?
Hello All GLCC Members,
Many times We are asked about the benefits to join the Great Lakes Cruising Club & our Port Captain program is just one of the many reasons to become or even to be a GLCC member. This is a recent excellent example of the Port Captain program that demonstrates why GLCC membership is so valuable...
As a GLCC member, you can be sure that you and your family will be welcomed anywhere you cruise on the Great Lakes. Our membership is divided up between Rear Commodores that support Port Captains and help members within regions. If you look at the illustration, you will see, based on where your boat rests, which region you would belong to. The election of Rear Commodores at the Annual General Membership Meeting on Oct. 24, 2020 now supports the realignment of the Great Lakes Region that was approved by the Board of Directors at the July 18, 2020 meeting. As a member, if you knew which region you belonged to before, it may have changed. For more details, please click here.
04/27/2023 Corrected link to Harbor report. JM
04/27/2023 Corrected link to harbor report. JM
Let’s give a warm welcome to newly appointed Port Captain Thom Serafine for Monroe Harbor - Chicago, Ill. (M-37)! Thom grew up near the shore of Lake Ontario in Webster, N.Y., and later moved to Chicago, Ill., where he learned to sail as an adult. He has been sailing out of Belmont Harbor for over ten years and has done a bare boat charter in the British Virgin Islands with friends. In 2014, he bought SV Inspiration, a 1988 Pearson 31 MK2. After getting her seaworthy, he sailed her to Chicago (M-36) from Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (M-72.5). Please click here to read on!
Introducing George and Mary Thor, as newly appointed Port Captains for Sodus Bay, N.Y. (O-5)! Here’s an inside look at their boating experience. Mary and George moved to the Rochester, N.Y. area in 1973 and started boating on Lake Ontario in 1984 with a Catalina 22. They kept the 22 for only one Summer as they found it a bit small for their two daughters and themselves. They moved up to a Newport 27, a C&C design. In 1985, their second year with SeaWeeter, their 27, they crossed Lake Ontario for Toronto accompanying friends in their Newport 33. In 1987 they cruised to the West entrance to the Murry Canal to enter and explore the Bay of Quinte. Please click here to read more!
Let's give our newly appointed Port Captain, Matt Perry for Bay Harbor, Mich. (M-5.5), a hearty welcome! Matt is a life-long sailor, who grew up on the East Coast with summers spent on Martha’s Vineyard. He started racing in Beach Boats, moving up to Rhodes 19, Shields and went to the nationals in an International 110. Family vacations included bare boat charters from Maine to NYC and the Caribbean before his parents purchased their Bristol 40. Please click here to read further.
We’d like to welcome Christine Moore Skrocki as newly appointed Port Captain for Caseville, Mich. (H-59) in addition to her title of Port Captain for Linwood, Mich. (H-62). Christine is a second-generation GLCC member. She has been boating her entire life. Her parents, Norman and Gloria Moore, would say "she was born on a boat". They became members of GLCC around 1978 when Chris was a young girl. She has participated in GLCC functions ever since. Please click here to read more!
Looking for a way to contribute to your GLCC? Consider becoming a port captain. The harbor reports for each port in the Great Lakes are the mainstay of the Club, and Port Captains maintain the report for their port. Want to learn more? Contact Pam Jackson, Port Captain Coordinator, at pam@dougandpam.com. (Photo by Rear Commodore (Ret.) Brad Somers: Past Commodore Niels Jensen and Port Captain Chester and Ceann Kolascz, 25-year members)
Here's a link to the North Shore Visitor's webpage about the whale sightings on Lake Supeior. It's always fun to follow the reports as they come in during the summer, mainly from along Minnesota's North Shore... and my appologies for posting the link one day later than it should have been. Please see https://northshorevisitor.com/activities/whale-watching/
We're weloming our newly appointed Port Captains for Hamilton Harbour, Ont. (O-48) today! Fairly new-to-GLCC members Rick and Debbie McQuin started sailing about 35 years ago with a short hiatus while their two boys were young. They joined Royal Hamilton Yacht Club (RHYC) 22 years ago when their sons started to race competitively. Deb and Rick started the cruising program at RHYC about 15 years ago and continue to represent the Club as Cruise People who organize the reciprocal cruises with Clubs around Western Lake Ontario. Rick is the cruising representative on the Sailing Committee at RHYC. They look forward to welcoming you to Hamilton, Ont.
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.
Looking for a way to contribute to your GLCC?
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!