Port Captain Introductions: Jim & Heidi Egensperger

Today we welcome Jim & Heidi Egensperger as newly appointed Deputy Port Captains for Mentor Harbor, Ohio (E-8). Please stop by when you're in the area! Here's their bio...

We both grew up in NE Ohio near Lake Erie and have been boating, in many forms, all our lives. We learned to sail by crewing on various race boats at Mentor Harbor YC back in the 1970s. In the following decades we had many wonderful boating adventures and experiences on the boats of other boating skippers and friends in the Great Lakes and New England. Many of our racing and cruising adventures were aboard with 50+ year GLCC member and dear friend, Skipper Henry Williams from Rochester, NY.

• Many races and regattas: ranging from Lake Erie events like MHYC Regattas, Cleveland Race Week, ILYA Bay Week, Roberts Race, Mills Race; dozen Mackinac races, LYRA Race Week Toronto, MORC Nationals, Newport to Bermuda 1990, Swiftsure, Columbus Cup, Block Island Race Week, Buzzards Bay Regatta and many more events
• Chartering: From Grenada to St. Lucia, Whitsunday Islands (Australia), San Juan Islands in Puget Sound, Lake Champlain
• Cruising: Many trips in all 5 Great Lakes, Hudson River, East Coast from Carolinas to Cape Breton, St Lawrence River, and 4 summers exploring much of Newfoundland
• Deliveries: returns from Mackinac Island (C&C41, J44, C&C44…), returns from Bermuda (J44, Cambria44), T4400 from Bristol, RI to NYC and Annapolis; Stevens 40 from Jersey City to Norfolk, VA, and many more

We bought our current boat on Lake Erie in 2014 and joined the GLCC in 2015. Our 1988 Catalina 30 was sound, with the correct engine and sail plan, was well equipped, small enough for Jim to single-hand and still be very comfortable for the 2 of us on long cruises.

We have thoroughly enjoyed the events and comradery at GLCC Rendezvous: Sturgeon Bay 2017, Killarney 2018 and St. Ignace 2019; Rallies at Rochester NY, West Harbor OH, Geneva OH; Wilderness at Keyhole 2018; and several Cleveland Boat Shows in the GLCC booths.

Jim proudly displays his 2017 GLCC Commodore’s Trophy on the main bulkhead on Touch of Grey for his 762 NM trip (mostly singlehanded) from NE Ohio to Sturgeon Bay.

Growing up in Mentor, where we began sailing, we are now thrilled to be members at Mentor Harbor Yachting Club and have our boat there. It would be an honor to offer our knowledge and helpful hospitality as Deputy Port Captains at Mentor Harbor (E-8) to GLCC members transiting the south shore of Lake Erie.

Fair Winds & Full Sails to Ya!

Jim & Heidi Egensperger

SV- Touch of Grey