Clinton Lake Sailing Association

CLSA owns a fleet of small boats that includes Prams, Lasers, Banshees, Sunfish and a Ray Green. We offer supervised sailing activities such as Small Boat Tuesdays and Family Fridays when all members can come out and try the small boats under the supervision of our small boat coaches. We also allow members to check out and sail these small boats unsupervised on a first-come-first-served basis if they have met the following requirements: 

1) A Boater Safety Card on file with CLSA

2) Agree to club rules in our handbook   

3) Agree to terms of waiver and release

4) Pass small boat skills assessment 

Check your status in your member profile

Please check your member profile in Wild Apricot to confirm your status and to agree to handbook and waiver terms. You can email clintonlakesailing@gmail.com with a copy of your boater safety card or certificate and we'll update your profile. You can agree to the rules in our handbook and the terms of the waiver/release by clicking 'edit' within your profile. You can request a small boat skills assessment by talking to a small boat coach at a supervised sailing event (Small Boat Tuesdays or Family Fridays) or by completing this request form. We'll update your profile once you have passed your small boat skills assessment.  

Authorized sailor list on shed door

Starting May 1, a list of members who are authorized to sail our small boats without supervision will be posted on the north-facing shed door. If you would like to see your name on the list, please complete steps 1-4 above. If you have questions or concerns, please email clintonlakesailing@gmail.com.

All sailors welcome to attend supervised sailing activities

Members who are not on this list are still welcome and encouraged to participate in supervised sailing activities such as small boat classes, Small Boat Tuesdays and Family Fridays.   

CLSA is looking for volunteers to help out with mowing! Our mowing team saves us thousands of dollars every year and keeps our club looking nice. Each mowing volunteer is responsible for a two-week window. If you are interested, please contact Harbormaster Tim.    

Available mowing windows:  

• 6/13-6/26

• 8/8-8/21

• 8/22-9/4

• 9/5-9/18

• 10/3-10/16

CLSA offers dry land storage on our grounds to members for $400 per year. CLSA pays Dewitt County $120 for every boat parked on our property, with the remaining $280 going into the CLSA general fund. Boat owners wishing to store their boat at CLSA must purchase a parking sticker every year, sign a dryland storage agreement and provide proof of $500,000 per incident insurance coverage.

Starting in 2022, members can complete the sticker purchasing process online. To purchase your sticker, we recommend having your proof of insurance ready to upload before you begin the process. Log into Wild Apricot and navigate to the Member Area > Storage page. After paying by credit card or debit card, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to upload your insurance document and sign the parking agreement. Once you complete this process, you can park your boat at CLSA in your designated parking spot.  Our parking lot manager (Dan Leach) will place a 2022 parking permit sticker on the tongue of your trailer.  

Did you know that CLSA members who pay the marina are also allowed to park their boats and trailers on CLSA grounds as long as the trailer has a valid 2022 parking permit sticker issued by the marina?  

Recommendations 

1.  Please put your name on your trailer tongue so we can more easily identify the owner.  

2.  Please use anchor tie-downs to protect your boat and others from high-wind events. 

Ask the Harbormaster before improving your parking space

A boat owner shall keep the area around and under their parking space free of rubbish and long grass, noxious weeds, debris, loose equipment and materials that would interfere with CLSA's ability to mow and maintain the CLSA parking area. Improvements to assigned parking spaces are only permitted with the approval of the Harbormaster. Please do not add gravel, light poles, etc. to your spot unless you first get permission from Harbormaster Tim.

Parking Area

Please find an open spot in the appropriate area per the graphic below. Do not park in a parking spot if there is a name tube on the anchor tie-down. If you would like to keep your same spot for the following season, please put your name or boat name on PVC tubes and place those tubes over the anchor tie-downs.   

From time to time, CLSA may need to adjust trailers or move trailers to another parking spot. We will always attempt to contact you first so long as your name is on your trailer tongue.   

Abandoned Property

Boats stored on our property without a permit sticker are considered abandoned property. We will attempt to identify and make contact with the owner of any abandoned boat or trailer before we sell or dispose of an abandoned boat.   

If you have questions about parking, please contact Parking Lot Manager Dan Leach or Membership Chair Eric Bussell.  

Did you know that CLSA pays Barefoot Cove Marina to access their bathrooms and dumpsters? The access code can be found in your member handbook and also on a sign posted on our Porta Potty. We have access to modern bathrooms with plumbing 24/7.   

https://www.clsasailing.org/handbook (Must log in to Wild Apricot) 

Please note that we have new requirements in place to operate the Boston Whaler (and Race Committee Boat). Anyone wishing to operate the Boston Whaler must (1) have a boater safety card on file, and (2) successfully demonstrate safe operator skills with Eric B. We hope to certify as many members as possible this spring/summer and build our team of qualified safe powerboat operators.  

1. Boater Safety Card - take any of the NASBLA-approved boater safety courses listed here. Several members have recently taken the $35 boaterexam.com online course, requiring 2-3 hours to complete.   

2. Complete a short hands-on training session with Eric B or Kevin R.  

CLSA plans to order and install a floating parking dock this season for the Whaler so the boat will be easily accessible and deployable. The recent tragedy at Sarasota Youth Sailing reminds us that accidents can happen even with well-trained and experienced boat operators. The CLSA board voted last month to establish minimum safety requirements, and these requirements will be strictly enforced. We will also be installing a prop guard on our Whaler. 

To get started, simply email your boater safety card to clintonlakesailing@gmail.com and Eric will follow up to schedule training.    

Stay safe!  

We have introduced "Shakedown Days" to encourage members to get their boats out to the club and ready to sail before the sailing season starts. Club members will be around to help others get their boats rigged, and some may be willing to tag along on that first "shakedown" sail of the season. Our parking lot managers also will be on site to help with any parking questions.    

Saturday, April 30 - Shakedown Day 1 -  1 p.m.

Saturday, May 14 - Shakedown Day 2 - 1 p.m.

See you at the lake!  

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we've rescheduled the Racing Rules for Beginners Clinic from March 27 to April 6 at 7 p.m.  

Join us for this Rule of Racing for Beginners Clinic. During this 90-minute Zoom clinic, we'll review the most common rules applications when racing. We'll also take questions and allow attendees to submit rules scenarios. 

Register to attend: 

https://www.clsasailing.org/event-4679666 

The CLSA Small Boat Introduction to Sailing class fills up early. If you are interested in taking this class, sign up today before it's too late. This class is offered on Monday and Tuesday evenings. 

Signup link for class starting June 6:

https://www.clsasailing.org/event-4640993

Signup link for class starting July 18: 

https://www.clsasailing.org/event-4641510

This learn to sail course includes 2 days of classroom and 4 days of on-the-water practice.  The on-the-water training will be on Lasers and Sunfish, which are single-person boats.  Tuition for the class is FREE for those who only sign up for the classroom portion. Tuition is $195 for those who sign up for all 6 classroom and on-the-water sessions.Successful completion of this course will result in CLSA Certification, which allows members to sail the club’s small boats.Our course sessions will be held in the CLSA pavilion from 6-8 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday evenings over 3 weeks.

Class Schedule (June 6 Start)

June 6-7 – Classroom

June 13-14 and June 20-June 21 – on the water

Class Schedule (July 18 Start)

July 18-19 – Classroom

July 25-26 and Aug. 1-2 – on the water

Jim Curtis will be offering US Sailing Signal Flag stickers for $1 at the Spring Banquet. This 5.75" x 8.75" sticker describes the signal flags and sounds found in the Race Signal section of the Racing Rule of Sailing (RRS). Very handy for racers! If you miss Jim at the banquet and want a sticker, look for him at CLSA during the season.  

Jim Westervelt will be offering full-color charts of Clinton Lake for $20 each at the Spring Banquet, first come, first served. If he sells out, he will take orders at the banquet. These charts are printed on 20x30 high quality photo paper and look absolutely beautiful. This chart also can be accessed on the 'GPS on Ski map by Maprika' smartphone app for free. Thanks to the cabin boat fleet and Jim for sharing this opportunity. Click here to read more about this on the cabin boat fleet forum (must log in to Wild Apricot).