Heritage Boat Club -- Who are we? What are we all about?
In a nutshell, the Heritage Boat Club is a group of boaters who love heritage
boats and spend their time restoring, maintaining, and enjoying them -- as well
as taking part in a wide range of activities that relate to boats and boating.
Most of our members live in and around Chicago and the southern end of Lake
Michigan. Many members of the club own heritage boats; some do not
(although all of us share an interest in them). You might be asking yourself,
"What's a 'heritage boat', anyway?" Well, our Club's constitution and by-laws
spells out the following definition: "vessels constructed of wood regardless of
age, and/or representative of traditional design."
In other words, we're talking about wooden boats, primarily -- although older,
traditional boats of some other materials also qualify under this definition of
"heritage boats." Some of us have sailboats; others have power boats. The boats
owned by members of the club range in size from small runabouts to major-sized
schooners, and virtually everything in between. The oldest wooden boat in the
Club was launched in 1910, and the newest one is just being built this year.
Among the purposes that our Club was formed are:
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to educate the public as to the aesthetic and intrinsic value of heritage boats
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to promote and foster an awareness of our maritime heritage
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to arrange and conduct suitable activities ashore and afloat
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to promote racing
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to strive for improvements as an affiliation of boaters.
Heritage Boat Club was established 20 years ago by a small group of sailors who
had wooden boats in Chicago's Montrose Harbor and who saw the benefits of
banding together to share their common interests. Today, the Club's activities
include:
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Annual Heritage Wooden Boat Festival
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Publications, including the HERITAGE HAILER
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Parties, Raft-Offs, and Rendezvous
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Seminars and Field Trips
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Sailboat Races and Powerboat Cruises
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Wide-ranging Formal and Informal Efforts to Research, Restore, Preserve and
Encourage the Continuing Use of Classic Sail and Power Boats