Torresen Marine, Muskegon, Michigan’s Hunter Dealer would like to invite all Hunter Owners in Western Michigan and Indiana to travel with us by charter bus to the Strictly Sail Chicago boat show.

We a currently in the planning phase and would like your feedback.

We plan to depart on Saturday, January 30, 2010. The trip will originate somewhere near Traverse City, MI and travel south making pick ups in places such as Ludington, Pentwater, Whitehall, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Holland, Saugatuck, South Haven, Benton Harbor, Michigan City Indiana, then on to Chicago. Refreshments and show tickets would also be included in this package.

Please take the time to ponder the following questions and email me with your thoughts or suggestions. brock@torresen.com If you cannot attend, your posted ideas would also be of great help. And, it would be a great chance to meet other Hunter Owners in Western Michigan And Indiana!

QUESTION #1: Should this be a day visit or an overnight event? Many people have expressed interest in staying over and enjoying a little more time than a day trip would allow.

QUESTION #2: Are there any interested Hunter owners that would help coordinate this event? We would love to hear from you.

TIME IS GETTING SHORT. PLEASE CONTACT ME DIRECTLY:
brock@torresen.com If you can not attend, your posted ideas would also be of great help. And, it would be a great chance to meet other Hunter Owners in Western Michigan and Indiana!

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The Michigan Clean Marina Program had the pleasure of announcing six Michigan facilities that have been certified as “Michigan Clean Marinas” effective June 18, 2009. They are Algonac Harbour Club in Algonac; Lac La Belle State Harbor in Lac La Belle; Copper Harbor State Dock in Copper Harbor; Eagle Harbor State Dock in Eagle Harbor; Cedar River State Harbor in Cedar River; and Torresen Marine in Muskegon. With the additions of these six marinas, a total of 30 Michigan marinas have obtained this prestigious certification.

The clean marina certification begins with a pledge to participate in the program, followed by workshops where the marina management and staff receive a handbook, overview of the designation process and a review of best management practices. The facilities then conduct self-evaluations of their environmental practices to determine their strengths and weaknesses. After implementing improvements and reaching a level of competencies, the marina requests a visitation by a CMP consultant to evaluate the facility’s environmental stewardship. When the facility reaches established goals, they receive their designation.

“We are pleased that more Michigan marinas and harbors are working toward clean marina certification and thirty have already achieved this recognition,” said Van W. Snider, Jr., CAE, President of Michigan Boating Industries Association. “We are also encouraged that more boaters are becoming aware of the program and are searching out these facilities as places they want to utilize.” The Clean Marina designation is applicable for a three-year period at which time the facility must be re-designated.

The Michigan Clean Marina Program is a joint program between the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Sea Grant and Michigan Boating Industries Association. For more details on the program and to see which facilities are designated Michigan Clean Marinas, go to http://miseagrant.umich.edu/cmp/. For a full list of Michigan Clean Marinas visit www.mbia.org.

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Torresen Marine’s vision of connecting people to the sport of sailing is something we take pride in. We are so pleased that West Michigan’s film production industry has taken a major step forward toward this when the visually stunning program American Sailors debuted to a national television audience.

Produced by Holland-based Grooters Productions, American Sailors takes a behind the scenes look at the stories of four West Michigan skippers racing in the 100th running of the Chicago to Mackinac sailing event. WGN America aired the primetime special on Saturday, July 4^th and again on Sunday, July 26.

The show’s tag line is “The Wind Shows No Favorites – Anyone Can Win” and the debut episode of the program proved that to be true.The Chicago to Mackinac is the world’s longest and oldest freshwater race, and 2008 marked its historic 100th running. The tradition and drama of this celebrated event were beautifully captured in high definition by the producers of American Sailors as they followed four West Michigan skippers for the entire race. Three of the four skippers sail from the Muskegon Yacht Club and the other hails from Holland’s Macatawa Bay Yacht Club. “This was an amazing opportunity for us to tell the story of one of the most celebrated events in North American sailing,” said John Grooters who produced and directed the program. “The pictures and the stories behind them are an incredible part of our maritime legacy.

“The Holland boat is the well-known 86’ Windquest, owned by Dick and Doug DeVos. Windquest, captained by Holland’s Tom Giesler, is one of the most decorated boats in freshwater racing history, and is fresh off a three flag victory in the prior week’s Queen’s Cup. Windquest also won the 2007 Chicago to Mackinac race by being first to finish, first in class, and first overall.

American Sailors also sails with Muskegon’s John Nedeau and his boat Windancer. Nedeau is the most experienced racer in Mac history, and is running the race for a record 61st time.

Also from Muskegon are skipper Brian Torresen of Torresen Marine who is at the helm of his own boat, Peerless, for the very first time and Muskegon middle school teacher Steve Schiller who races on the longtime family boat Souvenir.

American Sailors was shot in high definition from air, land and sea with nine cameras both on and off the featured boats. Shooting began in March 2008 and concluded in August. The finished show is sprinkled with graphics, slow-motion race footage, and original music and is narrated by John Grooters. American Sailors has already won a national award for production excellence and has been picked up for international distribution by Solid Entertainment, who is shopping the show overseas under the moniker Champion Sailors. Here’s what the website Sailing Anarchy had to say about the program:What a pleasant surprise it was then for us to hear today that Chicago-based national cable network WGN has picked up the Grooters Productions’ “American Sailors” documentary. The program has great production quality and awesome racing scenes, but more importantly, it focuses on four interesting characters and follows them for the entire race. SA’s own longtime member Brian Torresen and his heavily turboed Melges 30 ‘Peerless’ is one of those sailors, and anyone who knows BT knows that his appearance on the screen is guaranteed to be entertaining, at the very least. http://www.sailinganarchy.com/article.php?get=3904, 06/26/09 American Sailors is Grooters Productions’ first nationally broadcast prime-time special. John Grooters says his hope is to produce a full season of American Sailors, and to expand the program to cover other iconic races around the world.

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The Muskegon Sail and Power Squadron members will be offering their five week, semi-annual America’s Boating Course #3 beginning on Thursday, October 15, 7:00 pm. It will be held in the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum building by the submarine Silversides. This is great course for families. Please call 231 755 3476 for additional information.

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Torresen Marine is pleased to announce that Frank Reeg won the Championship title at the Butterfly Nationals held recently at the Spring Lake Yacht Club in Spring Lake, Michigan.

Twelve year old Reeg was skippering a Butterfly recently purchased from Torresen Marine, Inc - The Sailboat Specialists

Congratulations Frank!!

For more information about the Butterfly check out these links:

www.torresen.com/butterfly/ >>

www.butterflyer.org >>

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Torresen Marine Sailing School, for a limited time, is offering the 101/103 Basic Sailing and Basic Coastal Cruising combination class for $495 per person - regular price $575 per person.  This class is taught by American Sailing Association certified instructors.  A deposit of $100 per person is required at time of registration.  Sign up today before classes and dates start filling up.  Visit our Sailing School calendar to check on available dates or call  or email Judi Shedd at 231-759-8596.

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Did you know that our sailing school offers Private Lessons in addition to our American Sailing Association Certified classes? Private lessons are typically held on your boat and designed to meet your needs or concerns. 

Following are examples of challenges faced during private lessons over the last couple of years:

One couple had owned a boat for three years and learned to sail on their own.  They never had anyone on the boat with sailing experience and were wondering if they were doing things the right way or if they could do things better.  We found ways to make things easier and made some suggestions of rigging changes also.

Another couple had sailed for quite some time but were having difficulty docking.  They were always in a panic situation and were embarrassed to bring the boat it in when others were around to watch.  We practiced a few ways to provide them with better control.  Now their neighbors are asking them how they make docking look so easy.

A family had a boat that the father and son sailed together. Mom was nervous about the boat tipping and was afraid to go out with them.  Dad didn’t know how to help her to be comfortable.  Private lessons with a certified instructor improved her comfort level.

A few couples had sold their powerboats and bought sailboats thinking sailing would be easy to learn.  They loved the quiet part and also the economic advantages, but had difficulty making the boat go where they wanted.  After a few hours of private lessons they were much more comfortable handling the boat under sail.

A young couple bought a used sailboat on a trailer and needed help raising the mast, launching the boat and learning how to sail.  This was a lot to learn for a one-day private lesson. It took more than one session, but they felt better about the experience and are already talking about getting a bigger boat.

An older couple had sailed for many years on Muskegon Lake. They were planning on going cruising to other Lake Michigan ports.  She was always a part of  “the crew” and was concerned about what to do if her husband fell overboard or was injured.  We practiced man overboard drills with her at the helm and had her practice docking.  She had never done either before and didn’t want to cruise until she could do both with confidence.  After successfully taking their private lesson, they went comfortably on their cruise a couple of weeks later. 

Two friends, each of whom owned their own boat, docked side by side.  Neither had sailed at night and wanted to see what it was like and also learn how to read lights.  We all went out together on one of their boats, sailed out to Lake Michigan and came back after sunset.   They got to appreciate the beauty of night sailing and learned how to find their way in the dark.

These are just a few good reasons for private lessons.  Everyone has there own situations, questions and comfort level to deal with.  We enjoy helping you ease your own personal concerns.  For additional information and to schedule please call Judi Shedd at 231-759-8596 or email judis@torresen.com.

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Starting today, four of our restoration-ready boats are listed on email with starting bids from $250 - $1,000

• 1981 Yorktown 39 - Starting at $500 See listing on eBay
• 1973 Gulfstar 44 - Starting at $1,000 - See listing on eBay
• 1979 Formosa 34C Sailboat - Starting at $500 - See listing on eBay
• 1974 Silverton Twin Engine Power Boat - Starting at $250 - See listing on eBay

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The Muskegon Yacht Club Race Committee is hosting a Red Cross CPR and AED [Automatic External Defibulator] training and certification class on Saturday April 11, 2009 from 10.00 am til 2.30 pm at MYC.

This class is open to all members of Muskegon Yacht Club and others who would like to participate. The cost will be $40.00 per person and include lunch. We can not stress how important this training is as we have all seen the positive results from it.

Space is limited so please RSVP to Peter Blacklock PJB4794@yahoo.com or to Sue Peters at (231) 755-1414

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Boat engines that are cooled with self-contained coolant that is cooled, through heat exchangers, by sea water are commonly referred to as fresh water cooled. The internal coolant is generally fresh water that should be treated with additives, usually ethylene glycol, more commonly referred to as permanent anti-freeze. The usual anti-freeze must be cut 50% with water. In warmer climes the antifreeze is needed for its anti-corrosive additives and heat exchanging properties. Oddly enough, if antifreeze is used straight, the engine temperatures may constantly climb on a long run. (more…)

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