GLCC members Bill and Judy Rohde are featured in the January 2009 issue of Cruising World magazine. They were selected as one of 4 couples to serve as "Secret Shoppers" and judges for the magazine's Boat-of-the-Year contest. Unlike the professional judges, who were feted and fawned over by the boat builders, Bill and Judy anonymously surveyed the boats at the Annapolis Boat Show and then were de-briefed by the Cruising World editors.

Among the many excellent contributions to the GLCC harbor reports in 2008, Port-Captain Jim Caraway of Milwaukee certainly stands at the head of the line for his superb new aerial photos, like the one shown of Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Check out his 2008 work, particularly from Milwaukee north along the Wisconsin shore and in the Green Bay harbor reports on the web page...

Winter colors the landscape white in this image of Lake Nipigon captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite captured on December 22, 2008. In this image, the lake, which resembles a large white splotch, is covered with ice and snow. Lake Nipigon, located in Ontario, Canada lies just north of Lake Superior in the US. The much larger Lake Superior is located in the bottom right corner of the image.

Commodore Richlak announces that member Mel Wallbank has been named the 2008 recipient of the GLCC's Award of Merit.

As a resident of Port Huron, Mel shouldered a major responsibility for the February move of the Club headquarters from Chicago to Port Huron. Thanks to his hands-on approach, hard work, and attention to detail, the office move was seamless and accomplished almost overnight.

Mel is a well-known North-Channel cruiser aboard his 51-foot sailboat Bliss, along with his wife, Mariette Labrosse.

George Bartlett

Midland, Ontario GB-22

I have spent most of my life around boats, canoes, runabouts, and have been sailing for 40-plus years. The early years were in racing boats, both dinghies and small-to-midsized keelboats.

For the last 8-10 years I have become a crusing sailor. I started sailing in a dinghy in the Midland area on Georgian Bay. Then I joined the Toronto Sailing & Canoe Club, then Queen City Yacht Club and raced on Lake Ontario.

John Groustra
Lexington, Michigan H-54

My wife Kathy and I have been boating since 1979 (we're 25 year GLCC members), and loved North Channel cruising so much that we moved to Lexington, on Lake Huron, as our year around residence in 1995. We presently keep our 29-foot Tiara, called Michigander at Oldford's Marina in Lexington.

Max Guzman
Upper West Harbor, Ohio E-16.8

Max has always had an affinity for the water. Maybe that is because he was born in a Gulf-of-Mexico coastal town in Texas. Trips and vacations almost always have drawn him to the water, boats, and beaches. As a kid, his dad had a little runabout that he would take out to give his friends thrill rides. Little did he know that one day he would become a "sailboater."

Gerry Hawke
Longuisa Bay, Ontario
GB-26.1 GB-26.2 GB-26.4

Alan Chesworth
Thornbury, Ontario GB-16

I was born and educated in England, spent my working career in the petro-chemical business in the UK, US, and Canada, the last 30 years with Imperial Oil and Exxon. Married with two adult daughters. My wife, Wendy, and I are both retired and now live in Thornbury about 300m from the harbour.

Beach Hall
Rogers City, Michigan H-73

Beach Hall has replaced the legendary Harry Whiteley as Port Captain for Rogers City—the closest Lake Huron city to the North Channel entry at Mississagi Strait.