Jamie, Jamie, you can't let it rest, you pedantic little man.

Jamie, you're full of it, to say the least! You're just defending your exclusionary little sailing club (actually the drinking club with a sailing problem), nothing more!

You're full of it - especially since you were NOT at the beach right after the storm, I was!

Catwoman's "hubby"? What are you talking about? What letter from my "hubby"? My husband hasn't been on the Wilmette beach in at least 8 years - so be careful about the false assertions you proclaim in public cyber space.

And, since you're out of town, where you actually there after the storm to see the damage? I was there, and so were at least 4 or 5 others from Wilmette who saw the offending boat on top of the aggrieved party's boat. Yes, with our own eyes! The offending boat WAS touching this boat, otherwise it would not have come to a halt after it tumbled quite a ways.

Sorry, your "friends" from the club were totally negligent in not tying down their boat. Funny, now that they have a new boat, it's tied down, front and back. First you and your friends from the club tell me that the storm damage was an "act of God", then you proclaim somewhere else on this website that you're an atheist. What is it now? Make up your mind! An "act of God" evidently seems to be a green light for your negligence, right? Evidently you don't trust your boat to God either, otherwise you wouldn't tie it down so securely, correct?

In the "old" days at the Wilmette sailing beach, people were going by a gentleman's agreement--if your boat damages another you pay for it. It had been done like this for decades, I've been told.

The judge' verdict does not prove that the offending party was not at fault, it only proves that the aggrieved party (unfortunately) was not able to provide sufficient proof that it was indeed the offenders' boat that landed on his boat. He should have gotten a letter from the Park District who sent their staff to the beach immediately after the storm to remove tumbled boats, take pictures and notes. Unfortunately with their rather sloppy evidence-taking, they only took one picture, and that was not too detailed. They should have left the evidence and not tampered with it. The offenders actually lied in court, claiming it was not their boat, and the aggrieved party was unable to prove otherwise. Again, had he done his homework better and gotten a written report from the Park District, and/or some eye witnesses to testify, the case might have ended in his favor.

Why are you so interested in healing the rift? Between whom? Your club is the one that promoted this cliqueish and judgmental attitude to begin with. You only welcomed members to your club that YOU thought were acceptable to you, the rest you ignored. That's why no one wants to join this club. That's why you don't have a proper racing fleet anymore.

Plus you consitently flaunt all the beach rules, with your dogs & alcohol parties. You seem to be good friends with the Park District managers, I hear - probably because you chummy up to them at Meyers Tavern. Strange, because the Park District managers should be accountable to the Wilmette tax payers more than you out-of-towners.