Club offers chance to ride the waves
By Dave Campbell
By Dave Campbel Special to the Kansan
Sailing is a more popular sport in Kansas than many people realize. Clinton Lake is a popular place for many part-time sailors from Lawrence and the Kansas City area to race their boats and relax with family and friends.
"Our family has a boat at Clinton, and my brother and I race it a lot during the summer," said freshman Tom Conard, co-commodore of the KU Sailing Club.
Connard and his brother, Chris, won the 1989 Clinton Crew Cup for best crew on a sailboat. They have been sailing since they were in second grade in St. Louis. They rented boats at Shawnee Mission Lake when they moved to Overland Park two years later.
The Connards purchased a boat and have kept it in a slip at the Clinton Lake Marina for five years. As sailing has become more popular, more people have come to the lake's marina to moor their boats.
However, marina space is limited, even after a dock expansion. All the available slips are taken, making owning one like belonging to an exclusive club.
"Sometimes I just take a few friends down to the boat and we all relax for the afternoon on the dock," Connard said.
It is not uncommon to see many people just lounging on their boats in the slips at
the marina. The soft lapping of the water against the dock and the relaxed atmosphere make it an ideal place to lounge or study.
KU students now can get in on the fun without buying a sailboat. For $40 a semester, any KU student or faculty member can join the KU Sailing Club, regardless of sailing experience.
"Any faculty member or student can come to our meetings on Wednesdays and check it out," said co-commodore Jenny Thiessen.
The sailing club meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Meetings are open to anyone interested in sailing. Participants learn to sail during the meetings and apply their new knowledge on the water during weekends.
The club meets at the Burge Union parking lot at 9 a.m. Saturdays. Members carpool the 25-minute drive to Shawnee Mission Lake. That drive will get shorter, Thiessen said.
"We are in the process of moving our dock and boats to Clinton Lake, about five minutes away," Thiessen said. "We hope that will be done within the next few weeks."
The sailing club is a member of the South East Intercollegiate Sailing Association and will race against other schools this fall. The club plans to sponsor a regatta at Clinton Lake once its dock is established there.
The Clinton Lake Marina harbors 160 sailboats and party boats and six rental motor boats for fishing. The marina is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
William Alix / KANSAN
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ENTERTAINMENT $3 • K-you • September 24; 1993