Archives for the 'Chicago Yacht Club' Category
Chicago 2016 Olympics Bid links
Chicago2016.com – “a comprehensive, balanced discussion about the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid.”
Chicago2016.org – Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Committee website.
Citizen Media Law Project – Chicago 2016 v. Frayne – vexatious litigation by US Olympic Committee and Chicago 2016 Olympic bid organization against Chicago2016.com website domain.
Don’t Give Up The Ship – Chicago Yachting Association and Columbia Yacht Club boating advocacy support for Chicago 2016 Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee will choose the 2016 Olympics host city on October 2, 2009.
Chicago Tribune: Boat owners warned: Don’t make waves over Olympics rowing plan
Chicago Tribune:
Boat owners warned: Don’t make waves over Olympics rowing plan
Yacht club group tells members it fears retaliation from city if they protest proposal for Monroe Harbor
By Laurie Cohen, Kathy Bergen and David Heinzmann
Tribune reporters
February 12, 2009
Lots of boaters are unhappy with plans to use Monroe Harbor as the rowing venue for the 2016 Olympics should Chicago win the Games, but you won’t hear many complaints.
The Chicago Yachting Association, an umbrella group for 15 yacht clubs in the Chicago area, has asked members to keep a lid on it, noting in a memo obtained by the Tribune that yacht clubs “are vulnerable to retribution.”
Mayor Richard Daley’s office and the Chicago Park District have made it clear “that they do not wish to talk about issues that may be confrontational until after October 2009,” according to the memo by an association committee charged with formulating an approach to the city’s Olympic plans.
City officials say they aren’t trying to stifle dissent before Oct. 2, when the International Olympic Committee, which values popular support, selects a host city. But critics of the bid, from parks activists to concerned taxpayers, believe boosters have worked to suppress public criticism and withhold potentially controversial information.
The three-year Chicago campaign to win the Summer Games has been a study in how to carefully control the flow of information, with details parceled out only to the extent required to satisfy Olympic officials. The team has cited the intense competition among the finalists, which include Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, as a reason for keeping portions of its playbook private.
But critics want more information. The bid campaign “is not a very transparent process, and that makes it frustrating for us,” said Peggy Brennan, vice commodore of the historic Columbia Yacht Club, who wants more details on how use of Monroe Harbor as the rowing venue would affect boaters.
“When taxpayer dollars are involved, you’d like to be a little more transparent on these things,” said Allen Sanderson, who teaches economics at the University of Chicago.
Now, in formal bid documents due Thursday, Chicago and its rivals had to answer an extensive battery of tough questions from the IOC. The bid team has been saying for months that its book, to be released publicly in Chicago on Friday, will answer many remaining questions.
But other significant questions that aren’t required to be addressed will continue to go unanswered, including an accounting of donations to fund Chicago’s nearly $60 million effort to win the Games, information that would show who pitched in the most for one of the mayor’s favorite causes.
Chicago-area residents, while largely supporting the bid, doubt some of the city’s claims. A Tribune poll this month found that many Olympics supporters, as well as a vast majority of those opposed to bringing the Games here, don’t buy Daley’s pledge that private funds would cover nearly all the costs.
So far, the city hasn’t been quick to own up to the financial risks taxpayers would have to bear. Over time, it became known the city would make a variety of commitments, from a $500 million guarantee against the potential of operating losses to picking up the cost of city services and purchasing the site for an Olympic Village, for ultimate resale to a private developer.
Visit www.chicagotribune.com to continue reading this article.
Article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-thu-olympics-transparency-20feb12,0,7405895.story
Chicago Mackinac Race: More Details about Double-Handed Division
Chicago Yacht Club announces:
Only monohulls will be eligible to race in the new Double Handed Division.
While multihulls are not eligible to compete in the Double Handed Division, they will have the option to sail in a double handed configuration within the Multihull Division.
Skippers and crews wishing to compete double handed (in either the Double Handed Division or the Multihull Division) must seek approval from the Race’s Selections Committee. In addition to the normal Race prerequisites, double handed applicants must document the following:
- Skipper has completed 1,000 nautical miles of sailing as a skipper of the boat to be entered, or a similar boat design;
- Skipper has completed a non-stop passage or race under sail of not less than 100 nm and not less than 24 hours;
- Crew has completed 1,000 nautical miles of sailing, either as a skipper or crew member sailing on the boat to be entered, or a similar boat design; and
- Both skipper and crew have significant racing experience.
These are minimum requirements. Most, if not all, successful applicants will far exceed these requirements, and will be able to demonstrate significant short handed racing experience.
Mackinac Race Q&A seminar – 11:45AM, January 31, 2009 – Strictly Sail Chicago, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Race To Mackinac Committee announces:
I am pleased to announce that Chicago Yacht Club will have a booth at the Chicago Strictly Sail boat show this year. Additionally, we will be hosting a presentation at the show outlining our plans for, and answering your questions about, the 101st Race to Mackinac.
Pink Pony Party – Chicago Yacht Club Belmont Station, 6PM, January 31, 2009
(For those who might not already know, the Pink Pony is a Mackinac Island bar, a welcome destination for thirsty sailors at the end of the Mackinac sailboat race.)
Race To Mackinac Committee announces:
And, on the evening of the 31st, Chicago Yacht Club will host the annual Pink Pony Party at its Belmont Station. The party will begin at 6 PM. Everyone is welcome.
Wednesday Night Beer Can Race – August 6, 2008
another great night
more later
CONGRATULATIONS! Columbia Yacht Club 2008 Chicago to Mackinac Race Winners
Big Kahuna Party: CYC Belmont Station, Sat. Sept. 15, 2007
Just a few years ago, the Big Kahuna party was a fun event marking the middle of September, to be followed with a few more weeks of racing, including Area III followed by two weekends of MORF Open. A good number of boats would stay in the water until October or November, soaking up what was left of the full season before cold weather.
These days, Area III racing ends quickly- Saturday is the last Area III race- and MORF Open has been reduced to only one-and-a-half race days. The weather has been milder and warmer, but boats seem more eager to get put away before crew assistance vanishes.
Crowley’s move to the south makes the end-of-the-season boat delivery more exposed to the weather, and less interesting than the former traditional river trip to the old location.
Oh well, boats still have the option to stay in until October or later, the MORF Open is still a great way to extend your racing season, and the Big Kahuna is still a fun way to celebrate and socialize after the final Area III race this season!
2007 Chicago Mackinac Race photos
Stay tuned for Chicago Mackinac race photos, coming soon…
More 2007 Boat Carnage
Seagoon suffered damage after hitting a submerged rock in the shallows of Beaver Island on Port Huron Mackinac return delivery. Stringer damage was serious and the boat is not expected to race again this season.
Raven suffered a tiller failure on Mackinac return delivery, which was fixed. The boat was in Chicago to race Sunday.
Jahazi was seen in Muskegon at Torreson’s last weekend, appearing to have keel damage which was repaired.
Karma ran aground during Chicago Mackinac race and withdrew.
Regardless is rumored to have run aground.
Barracuda and her keel were recovered and transported to Manistee, where her fate remains to be decided. Hopefully she will be repaired and racing again soon.
The Island House awards party for Chicago Mackinac race may be dead, also. By all accounts, the Grand Hotel party was superior in all respects.
