Engaging Chicago-area Boaters - Sailors for the Sea

Engaging Chicago-area Boaters

 April 17, 2026  | By: Emily Conklin

Guest post from Skipper Volunteer Jeff Boyle, based in Chicago, IL

Here in the Midwest, our sailing season takes a six month pause every year. Ice capped harbors and frosty winds whipping down from the north generously offer boaters on the Great Lakes time for other pursuits while we dream of summer. Just when we’ve given up on ever putting away our heavy coats, winter turns to spring and the lake starts to thaw. Around this time one legendary Chicago area boatyard puts on an equally remarkable event – Yachtapalooza

At this festival, the musical lineup isn’t the headline attraction, though the locally famous Chicken Dolphin Band made a repeat appearance this year. Guests can rummage through a “yard sale” of gently used surplus marine supplies, attend seminars on everything from maintenance to maritime history, and talk with representatives from some of the area’s finest boating-focused organizations. One of those groups was Sailors for the Sea. 

Chicago region Skipper volunteers Ben Stern (Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club) and Jeff Boyle (Columbia Yacht Club) spoke with dozens of local boaters at the event. Tucked into one of the cavernous storage sheds at Crowley’s Yacht Yard, Ben and Jeff fielded questions about Sailors for the Sea while sharing the latest Green Boating Guide (electronic copies, of course!). 

Why are Sailors for the Sea reps working to get a conservation-focused message out in Chicago? The Great Lakes contain over one fifth of the world’s surface fresh water. And we all know that resource is a precious one! The importance of using the right cleaning products, preventing fuel & oil spills, and keeping your trash on board is all the more self evident when the drinking water for millions of people comes from the same body of water we’re sailing on. 

But the lakes are more than a giant reservoir for humanity. Wildlife depends on a healthy environment too, including the thousands of migratory waterfowl passing through the region every spring and fall. From the enormous (and threatened) lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) to the tiniest zooplankton, the lakes are under tremendous pressure from industrial, agricultural and other commercial users. Sailors for the Sea reminds boaters to care for the waters they enjoy! 

Photos courtesy of Benjamin Stern