Chicago Strictly Sail 2015

[rbh1515]

Sure! I'll let you know.   I have not been there either...it is supposed to be huge.

[relamb]

So far, it looks like 3-4 of us should be there Saturday, chime in if you'll be there too.
Rick

[Patrick]

So far, it looks like 3-4 of us should be there Saturday, chime in if you'll be there too.
Rick

Greetings,

My wife and I will be there on Saturday as well.  We have a contract on a Com-Pac 27 and are keen to meet other members.

[thomeng55]

I will be there on Saturday morning into the early afternoon.  I'd love to meet some other ComPac owners and say "hi" 

Tom
S/V TomCat
Chicago

[relamb]

Preferences?  We could meet up a) at McCormick place prior to the show opening, like perhaps 9am at the coffee shop; b) Inside the show, perhaps at lunchtime, c)later in the afternoon, perhaps beer thirty or so.   Any of those work for me on Saturday.
State your preference!
Rick

[rbh1515]

Went to the show yesterday.  The signage for parking is not great.  Look for Lot A.  That's the place to park.. Go into the Hall that coonects to Lot A, and follow signs to the South hall.
The venue is huge.  When you first enter all you see is motorboats.  The sailing section is over to the right and it looks like the size of the sailing area is close to what they had at Navy Pier.  Com-pac is way over to the right, and has a large open area next to it--a good meeting area.  They had 3 boats...the Launch (the motorized version of the HDC which is what I ordered).  It was good to sit on the Launch to get a feeling for what the HDC will feel like.
I met Rich--actually saw him at the entrance to the show, introduced myself and we walked back to the Com-Pac area.  Very nice guy.
Rob

[relamb]

Compac Owners - (and interested non-owners too)  Meeting info for Chicago Strictly Sail on Saturday 1/17/2015
If you are interested in meeting other compac owners, lets plan for two times on Saturday.
You're invited to either or both.

9:30 AM Starbucks  Prior to the show opening, outside the show floor at the East end of the grand concourse appears to be a Starbucks.
My wife and I will be inside or standing out front, depending on the crowd, with a sign that says Compac Owners

Noon: Compac Booth S3220  If you miss the first one, stop by the compac booth at NOON.

There is no agenda, just an opportunity to meet other owners face to face, ask questions about their boats, etc.
If you don't have a compac but might like to get one, show up as well and ask your questions of us.

This is an interactive map of the show floor, you can see the Starbucks in the Hall as well as the Compac booth locations
http://www.strictlysailchicago.com/attendees/venue/floorplan.aspx

Hope to see you there,
Rick 317-694-9488 cell

[Lafayette Bruce]

I am going to the show today (Friday) and plan to get there when it opens at 11 and stay till 3 or so.  Would like to beat the traffic getting out of town.  If any others are going today and would like to meet up at the CP booth, let me know.
Lafayette Bruce

[Subsailor637]

This is Bob Tudor, my wife Linda and I will be at the show today (Friday). My cell number is: 309-303-1636.  We will be there at opening.   Trying to beat the crowds as well.
Addendum:  Since we are staying at the Hyatt tonight we will also make the gathering tomorrow morning outside Starbucks

[relamb]

Great Bob, it looks like about 5 couples have expressed interest in getting together.
Rick

[Subsailor637]

Don't know what happened this morning but we were at Starbucks this morning but didn't see any sign?  Actually kept checking both the Starbucks outside the show entrance and the one just below.  Too bad, was looking forward to meeting some of you.  Did get together with Bruce Borror yesterday.

Enjoy the show.

[relamb]

Sorry we missed you.  The "Starbucks" on the show website interactive map had changed to something else, and starbucks appears to have split into two different locations upstairs and down.  So we asked for the starbucks, and was told it was  downstairs, so that's where we were, and later discovered the one upstairs.
We did meet up with Tom at noon at the Compac Booth.

I was a little disappointed in the show, It was maybe 4 times larger than before, but mostly power boats, pontoons, RVs, ginsu knives and shamwow towels.
Seemed like the actual sailing vendors were fewer and had smaller booths.
But the sailing seminars were pretty good.  One interesting one was about Safely Navigating the Chicago Waterways.  Man, what a crazy scene  on the Chicago River it must be in the summer.  Three or four river cruise companies navigating with the barges and commercial traffic, interspersed with powerboaters, and now pontoon and electric boat rentals, and three or four new kayak rental companies have started up.  Many of the obstructions that were above the surface recently are now submerged due to higher water levels, and boaters are hitting them because they don't have charts.  A tour boat operator discussing safety said they picked up 40 people out of the water in the river downtown this summer, because they were on the scene before the Police or Coast Guard could get there.  Mostly kayakers dumped over by other boaters.  Mayhem!

[thomeng55]

It was nice catching up with Rick and his wife at the ComPac booth.  I enjoyed talking to them.  I hope to catch up with you guys this summer out on the Lake (or at a marina with a cold one)

Thom

[relamb]

Likewise Thom, we'll sail over to see you!
Rick