Alaska Sailing Club sponsors 2-day Fireweed Regatta

BIG LAKE — Even for those who don’t sail, some of the jargon is familiar.

Rain overnight means it’s time to bail out the boats Sunday morning before races can begin during the Alaska Sailing Club’s Fireweed Regatta on Big Lake Aug. 6-7.

Whether people already know what a spinnaker is or just want to learn more about sailing, the Alaska Sailing Club — a nonprofit 501c3 — is open to new members of all skill levels, said longtime member and club Commodore Bruce Lee.

Founded in 1967, the club’s 300 feet of docks and 10,000 square feet of harbor on Big Lake are open from mid-May until mid-September. The club began a few years earlier on Anchorage’s Jewel Lake before acquiring a 55-year lake front lease in Big Lake.

One weekend each month the club sponsors dinghy sailboat races, such as the Fireweed Regatta last weekend.

And club member Dave Johnson said if members don’t have their own boats to sail, they may borrow one of several sailboats the club owns.

This Labor Day marks the 45th anniversary of the Governor’s Cup Regatta, the club’s biggest race — and feast — of the sailing season. Lee said the fun includes live music and a big banquet.

Members Sunday said the club is nearly equal parts a sailing and an eating club.

“Some people take the potluck more serious than the sailing,” Lee said.

And that’s OK, he said. Part of the club’s mission is to teach sailing and boating safety. The club is not all about adrenaline.

Every spring the club teaches a sailing class at the beginning of the season. Members said they can teach the basics of sailing in two days, but the rest takes a lifetime to learn.

And its members also have taught sailing classes to groups including the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to Wounded Warriors and homeless teens from Covenant House in Anchorage.

Johnson said the Wounded Warriors especially liked the visit to the club.

He said the soldiers who came with their families commented on how nice it was to be invited to bring their families and share the adventure with them.

Membership has been as high as 300 in the 1970s and had ebbed to about 20 members by the year 2000. Numbers are back up to around 150 now.

“People kind of grew up and moved away,” Lee said.

That’s when the club began reaching out to Alaskans with a sailing jones who were looking to feed their adrenaline habit.

“Sailing is an addiction,” Lee said. “Most of the regulars have that passion.”

But Johnson said it’s not just a club of old adrenaline junkies either. He has been a member since 1990. He learned to sail at the club and met his wife here.

Whole families spend the weekend at the club, camping, sailing, jumping on the trampoline, shooting baskets, playing on the swing set, playing music around the campfire or reading a book in the clubhouse.

“There is something for everyone,” member Dave Fisher said. “Anyone can join.”

For more information, visit Aksailingclub.com.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.