Here is a picture of Echo in one of those Lake Michigan breezes.

Echo on her mooring

	Wilmette Harbor is a tiny little harbor 16 miles north of downtown Chicago. Here is a picture of the harbor looking south down toward Chicago on the horizon. This is a super photo, I think. For a larger view and more about Wilmette Harbor and its fleet of Dolphins, click here.

Bumper boats anyone?

This is a small tighly packed harbor and the wise boat owner protects his boat. John sent in some other photos, a few of which have been digitally altered. I think this looks really cool. Here is one.

For more Echo and Wilmette fleet photos employing this technique, click here.

No question, Dolphins are even faster with good looking crew

End of season? or beginning?

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January 28, 2019. John is checking in again as Wilmette Fleet Co-Captain. A copy of his email is posted on the Wilmette Fleet page. Here is his email and some photos.

Hi Ron –

You may remember me (Echo-251), we wrote to each other a few times several years ago when I was captain of the Wilmette Dolphin Fleet. Well, things have circled back and I am co-captaining with my good friend Ted Prohov (WADA-190).

It is exciting that you have been racing your Dolphin in Camden. My family has a cottage on Christmas Cove/Rutherford Is. (end of the Damariscotta River and across from E. Boothbay) not too far from Camden. We will be up the 2nd half of August this year.

I often think I have spotted another Dolphin up there but it usually turns out to be a similar O’Day 25 or 26 design. Let me know if there will be Dolphins participating this summer. Who knows, I may be able to get a couple of us up there –Too far to tow our Dolphins from Chicago but could crew....Webmaster Note: Dolphins will be there, 2 already entered - check out our webpage for the 2019 regatta http://dolphin24.org/ccc2019.html.

As far as news from the Wilmette fleet – we are 14 strong however the number of Dolphins on the race line has been lower than usual. Many races with just 3 on the line, but sometimes as many as 6. We hope to encourage more this year.

Hope you are weathering the storms well. I attached a few pics.

Cheers,

John W. Hellmuth

We are going to check with John re the short foot on his main and the 'speed wrinkles in his jib luff.....

Click on all the above photos for a larger image

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September 24, 2019. A Dolphin24 webmaster call for an update often results in side stories. Some are even interesting.....Here's an update from John Helmuth, Wilmette Fleet co-captain, with a Maine side story. (minor edits)

Hey Ron We will pull something together fo you in the next couple of weeks. Last race was Sept 22. Just got back from Christmas Cove up in South Bristol, Maine and thought about your venture through the South Bristol gut and up the Damariscotta River. In Maine we are power boaters! Here we are going down the river. (photo right click here for a larger image) I may have sent the painting below of the South Bristol Bridge that my dad painted. The swing bridge was replaced with a drawbridge. It was a big issue... Cheers, John W. Hellmuth

Yes, back in January John sent me a copy of this painting but your webmaster resisted the impulse then to expand our email exchange into a side story. Now, here it is. Back in 2007, the first year of the Dolphin24.org website, I rented a house on the southwest shore of Pemaquid, Maine for a 2 week family vacation. We had Marionette with us on a rather 'exposed' mooring on a rocky shore. After a few sleepless nights I sailed her around the otherside of Pemaquid to Round Pond. Below left the 'chart'.

At the very top center of the 'chart' is the town of Damariscotta. At the bottom is Pemaquid Point. Our house was on the southwest shore just above the Point (the arrow points to the southeast shore....). The distance from the Point to Damariscotta - up the bay, thru the 'gut' and under the bridge at South Bristol, and up the river is 20+? miles. Son Mike and I did it in a 2 person kayak (I had never been in a kayak before! There was an audience at the bridge - a memorable trip.

John made me do it

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April 17, 2021 - John posted on the Dolphin Facebook page - check it out here -

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10216548019767171&set=pcb.3852651868175250

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