Strictly Sail seminars

[michigancruisers]

Has anyone taken the "Lee Chesneau's Marine Weather Symposium"? It is being offered at the Chicago Strictly Sail show next month and I was wondering if it is worth the time (16 total hours for both parts 1 and 2) and money ($175 and $195). Also, are there any other seminars being offered there that anyone has found helpful?


Shawn

Oh great, first post and I posted to the wrong forum. Sorry, this should have been in the general discussion section.

[JohnRPollard]

michigan,

Welcome to Sailnet!

No worries on the wrong forum. I've moved it over to "General".

[Sailormon6]

I can't speak to the Chesnau seminar, but have sat in on a number of the other seminars, and found them to generally be interesting and/or informative. Some are, of course, not as worthwhile as others, but you generally have to attend to find that out. Most last about an hour, so, the worst case is that you'll lose an hour's time. Some of the seminar speakers are there primarily to sell you their sailing school courses or products, and others are there to share their knowledge. Some try to do both, of course. If you plan to spend a day at the Chicago boat show, it won't take that long to see the exhibits, so you'll have plenty of time to pick out some seminars that especially interest you. Personally, I enjoy them.

[tommays]

IMHP 16 hours over two days would be way more INFO then my brain could digest

[camaraderie]

Chesneau is great...I had a 6 hour cruising weather seminar with him back about 8 years ago and it was very worth while and spurred my further interest as well. 16 hours will leave you brain dead but will probably provide some of the info I wished I could have gotten into in 6 hours but didn't have time for.
I guess the real question is...are you going on extended blue water cruising where such knowledge will be needed? Or...do you just have a real interest in weather prediction? There is NOW so much easily accessible weather info available in most cruising destinations that the need for your own expertise is now much diminished unless you are gonna be well off the well traveled grid.
In any event...Lee is GREAT!

[SailChick20]

[QUOTE=michigancruisers;421739] Also, are there any other seminars being offered there that anyone has found helpful?

Shawn

QUOTE]

Great question, Shawn! I was just pondering this the other day.
I have the days blocked off on my work Outlook calendar. Priorities!

[Sailormon6]

Capt. Jack Klang is always there, sponsored by Quantum Sails, and he discusses different sailing topics continuously throughout the day. Although I have heard him many times, I always spend some time listening to him. His talks are especially helpful with regard to line handling and boat handling, and novices as well as experienced sailors can get good tips from him. His talks are very practical, and will help you get your boat in and out of your slip and get the boat tied up, trim your sails, etc. He speaks in plain English, avoiding sailing terminology that might confuse novices. He also has a book and CD. I bought the book.

[xort]

Here's Saturday's lineup of seminars. Most if not all are repeated on the other days as well.

Anyone who has attended any of these feel free to comment...

0:00	"Standing Rigging Basics: How to Tune Your Rig"		Dan Knight	319/320

8:00	Intermediate Marine Weather Interpretation Skills*Must Preregister*		Lee Chesneau	305

10:30	"Sea Realism": The author of "Sailing Grace" shares lessons learned -7 years of family cruising		John Otterbacher	307

10:30	85th Annual Port Huron to Mackinac Race - An Old Tradition		Frank Kern	319/320

10:30	Boat Stupid Tricks, Laugh or Weep		Tom Rau, Coast Guard Senior Chief (ret)	324

10:30	Performance Handicapping		Paul Ansfield	301

10:30	Collision Avoidance - Sound & Light Signals Made Easy!		David Horst	325

10:30	Blister Repair and Prevention		Tony Palabrica	323

10:30	Epoxy repair and working green with fiberglass		JB Currell	309

10:30	North To Alaska		Liza Copeland	326

10:30	Cruising the Suncoast		Randy Deering	327

11:45	A Passage Offshore...What's it really like?		Captain Ed Mapes	301

11:45	Cruising the BVI		Rob Swain	307

11:45	Propellers & Propulsion		Steve Armitage	309

11:45	Anchoring		TBD	319/320

11:45	101st Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac - Continuing Tradition		Greg Freeman & Greg Miarecki	323

11:45	Cruising the Virgin Islands with Confidence		Captain David Appleton	324

11:45	How to maintain your Diesel Engine		Steve McGovern	327

11:45	Lee Chesneau classes		Lee Chesneau	305

11:45	Around the World in 5 Weeks		John Kretschmer	325

11:45	Downwind Sailing - Use of a Whisker Pole		Randall Risvold	326

1:00	Lee Chesneau classes		Lee Chesneau	305

1:00	Charts, Compass and GPS		Gary Kulibert	301

1:00	Live Healthy, Cruise Longer		Kim Hess	307

1:00	Chart Your Course - A womans leadership development program		Dawn Santamaria	309

1:00	Lake Superior's Apostle Islands		Niels Jensen	319/320

1:00	Boat Stupid Tricks, Laugh or Weep		Tom Rau, Coast Guard Senior Chief (ret)	323

1:00	Hurricane Preparation		Pam Wall	324

1:00	Cruising the Eastern Caribbean		Liza Copeland	325

1:00	Performance Bottom Coatings		Bob Harris	326

1:00	Lessons of Life from a Solo Circumnavigation		Captain William "Bill" Pinkney	327

2:15	Circumnavigation/ Solo Sailing		Mike Harker	301

2:15	Lee Chesneau classes		Lee Chesneau	305

2:15	For the Racing Sailor!		Jim Johnstone	319/320

2:15	Live Healthy, Cruise Longer		Kim Hess	307

2:15	Fractional Sailing Adventures on Lake Michigan		Karl & Marilyn Olson	309

2:15	Joshua Slocum: The First Cruiser		Bill Strauss	323

2:15	Outfitting for Blue Water Cruising		Pam Wall	324

2:15	Two on a Boat - How to Keep it Afloat		Captain Josie Longo	326

2:15	Cruising Georgian Bay and the North Channel		Ralph Folsom & Pixie Haughwout	327

3:30	Chartering and Cruising the Lake Erie Islands		Captain Dave Bello	319/320

3:30	Basic Celestial Navigation		Ken Gebhart	324

3:30	Ten Great and Affordable Boats To Sail Around the World		John Kretschmer	325

3:30	A Sailor looks at Leadership		Randy Deering	326

3:30	Spinnaker Handling & Trim for Beginners		Gary Shaw	327

3:30	Heavy Weather Tactics, Procedures, and Protocols		Captain Ed Mapes	301

3:30	Sisters Under Sail - A leadership program for teenage girls		Dawn Santamaria	309

3:30	Lee Chesneau classes		Lee Chesneau	305

3:30	Single Handed Spinnaker Sailing		Etienne Giroire	323

3:30	Youth Sailing Opportunities in Chicago		Grant Crowley	307

4:15	One Design Offshore Racing in Chicago		Tim Snyder	309

4:15	Lee Chesneau classes		Lee Chesneau	305

4:15	Cross the Gulf Stream on a Passage to Bermuda		Captain Ed Mapes	301

4:15	"Sea Realism": The author of "Sailing Grace" shares lessons learned -7 years of family cruising		John Otterbacher	307

4:15	Basic Boat Maintenance Projects		Scott Sky Smith	319/320

4:15	Stainless Steel in the Marine Industry		Ed Mayo	323

4:15	A Family Sails Around the World		Pam Wall	324

4:15	Hands on Installation of Hi-Mod Compression fittings and "Handy Crimp" lifeline hardware.		David Devens	325

4:15	Sailing the North Channel in One Week		Anna Pasteris & Anne Matz	326

5:30	Sail Trim & Rig Tuning		TBD	301

5:30	Lee Chesneau classes		Lee Chesneau	305

5:30	Learn - to - sail on a Learning Vacation		Captains Dave Skoro and Richard Coleman	307

5:30	Electric Propulsion - Care and feeding of your E-POD		Kevin Plank	309

5:30	Stainless Steel in the Marine Industry (cont)		Ed Mayo	323

5:30	Economics of Sailing - Ownership vs. Fractional vs. Charter Club		Captain Dave Bello	324

5:30	When, what and Why to do a survey		Scott Sky Smith	326

5:30	Lessons of Life from a Solo Circumnavigation		Captain William "Bill" Pinkney	327