02/08/2022 Corrected link to East Jordan. JM
Please join me in welcoming Director & Port Captain Vern Meyer as our new Port Captain Coordinator, replacing Director and Port Captain Bill Matley. I certainly appreciate Bill’s energy and contribution during his three years of leadership in that position. Vern is currently a Director and Port Captain for Charlevoix (M-6) and East Jordan (M-6.5), and also the 2011 recipient of the prestigious William J. Kivell Memorial Award. Welcome Aboard, Vern!   -Chuck Mead, Commodore

In welcoming newly appointed Deputy Port Captain Michael Brookins for Kelleys Island, Ohio (E-17), here's a little about him and his boating experiences:  Growing up on the water, I was introduced to boating at a very young age. I learned to drive our family’s Boston Whaler in my pre-teen years and owned a 19-foot Boston Whaler by the time I was 16 years old. Our family took many long distance cruises through Lake Erie, Lake Huron, the North Channel, Georgian Bay, Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario — it was during our many long distance cruises in my teenage years that I learned to pilot my family’s larger boats. Please click here to read more.

01/20/2024 Updated link to article. JM
Just in time for the 2016 GLCC Lake Superior Rendezvous, GLCC member and frequent author on Great Lakes cruising destinations, Fred Bagley, recently had his latest article on cruising Lake Superior's Isle Royale published by Sail Magazine. Check it out here! 

Please join us in welcoming newly appointed Port Captains Julie Thorndycroft & Daniel DeWeese for Old Dave’s Harbour, Ont.. (S-30). Here's a bit about Julie and Daniel's boating experiences.

Please join us in welcoming newly appointed Deputy Port Captain Bill Stover for Honey Harbor, Ont. (GB-25). Here's a bit about Bill and his wife Jan's boating experiences:
   My wife, Jan, and I have cruised, since the mid 1980’s, primarily in the 30,000 Islands area of Georgian Bay. We are power boaters with most of our family time on our boat being spent in the area between Port Severn and Parry Sound along the eastern shore line of Georgian Bay. We have also extended our cruising into the Killarney and North Channel areas and also west to Michigan harbors such as Rogers City, Mackinac Island, Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. Our favorite anchorages include those in the Massassauga Provincial Park south of Parry Sound, and those in the Killarney area. No summer seems complete without a few days’ rest at Killarney Mountain Lodge, which now prominently flies the Great Lakes Cruising Club burgee at their docks. Please click here to read on.

02/08/2022 Updated link to decals. JM

Please welcome Pamela Carr-Jackson, our newly appointed Port Captain for the Bay Point  Area (E-16.4). Give her a call if you’re planning a visit! Here’s a short bio about her boating experiences:
I have been an active sailor since 2002, learning to sail from my husband, Doug Jackson. Prior to that time, I owned a 20-foot power boat that we used on local lakes in and around Central Ohio. Long ago, while in college, I sailed on a 16-foot sailboat and loved it. It wasn’t until I met Doug that I found someone who enjoyed sailing even more than I did! Click HERE to read further.

If you happen to cruise by Harbor Island, Mich. (NC-2), please stop by and say “hello,” to newly appointed Port Captains Bill and Sandi Matley. They’ll be happy to see you! Here’s a little bit from Bill about their boating experience: Sandi and I started cruising aboard our 25-foot Catalina sailboat in 1985. A work friend got us started when he invited us to spend a week cruising the North Channel. We drove to Little Current and visited the Baie Finn, Mary Ann Cove and the pool. That was all it took — we were hooked, and except for a summer I lost my mother, we have visited the waters of our Great Lakes every year. Please click here to read further.

Please welcome Walt Grabowski & Sharon Marshall as newly appointed Port Captains for Toledo, Ohio (E-21). Here's a brief biography:
     Sharon and I have sailed independently for 20 years, and together for the last 12 years. After sailing our Pearson 31 for 11 years we purchased Velissa, a Mariner 38 Pilot House in Whitby, Ontario last summer and sailed her to our home port of North Cape Yacht Club at Toledo Beach Marina. To read further, please click here.

At the 2015 GLCC Annual General Meeting in London, ON, Executive Director of Georgian Bay Forever, David Sweetnam spoke on invasive species in the Great Lakes. The key message is to be vigilant and to help prevent invasive species from establishing themselves in these waters. Once established, the costs to eradicate them are extremely high. Here are some examples of the costs of invasive zebra mussels: 
• Cost the power industry alone $3.1 billion in the 1993-1999 period
• Impact on industries, businesses, and communities over $5 billion
• Ontario Hydro reported zebra mussel impacts of $376,000 annually per generating station

Georgian Bay Forever is a charity dedicated to scientific research and public education on Georgian Bay's aquatic ecosystem.  To learn more about their efforts, please visit GeorgianBayForever.