SYC aerial about 82
Welcome to Shawnee Yacht Club

Since 1941, SYC has promoted sailing on Lake Shawnee for the recreational benefit of the local community. In addition to the opportunity to sail on beautiful Lake Shawnee, the club provides: free sailing lessons for those new to the sport, sailboats for members to use, a fenced boatyard with a boat ramp, several docks (provided by Parks and Rec), a storage shed for equipment, sailing activities, racing, and social gatherings.

Questions?  -  Come Join Us

Current News
Five-Year Master Plan
26 Aug 2025

SYC has presented Parks and Recreation with a new Five-Year Master Plan for 2025 to improve our sailing facilities.  It is intended to be a good balance of what we are both looking for and a path forward to a successful future for all of us. We hope to be meeting with P+R staff for their support in moving forward with individual items in the plan. SYC's costs for some of these improvements will be substantial. Please consider making a contribution to help us with these facility improvements.

Comments?

H.B.
08 Aug 2025

H.B. Marshall, who cherished his decades of sailing at SYC, passed away on July 27, 2025. H.B. loved to tell stories, often reminiscing about his years with friends at SYC.

Topeka, Forbes Field
85°F - Fair
Wind
S 8 G 17 mph
Humidity
43%
At
02:53 PM
Coming Events

Group Sailing
Sundays, 2:00pm-5:30pm

  • 10/26, Last Sun Group Sailing, 2:30pm-5:30pm, SYC
  • 11/01, Fall Work Party , 11:00 am, SYC
  • 12/1, Boatyard Closed for Season, SYC
Mark's Racing Blog
Don Was Right
I've been thinking of a grabber headline for today's blog. I think this will be it. "Don Towle misses extreme wind forecast by 4 MPH." Remember when Don said that the wind seemed to be increasing exponentially and the next blow would be 75 MPH? Well, it happened! WIBW reported straight line winds of 60 MPH blowing down trees and snapping power lines. The newspaper reported semi trucks being blown over on highway 75. Forbes weather recorded gusts of 79 MPH!! DON MISSED HIS FORECAST BY 4 MPH. Of course the evening didn't start out that windy. The first and only race was in winds of about 5 MPH. Mark lead off the line but Tony drove over him to windward, winning the race. Don, with race committee of Adeline, granddaughter Marie, and my wife Linda, sounded the 3 minute horn for the second race. We didn't get to the 2 minute horn before the wind blew in. I saw that the wind was increasing but there were no white caps yet. Even so, I decided to put on my life jacket. Bam! The boat blew over throwing me into the water. Not even time to start climbing to the high side. I looked and Tony and Chuck had blown over too. This was not good. I was able to right the boat but it blew right back over. I got it up again, and again it blew over. The third time it just wasn't coming up. I looked up the lake and it was white. Tony turtled. Chuck turtled. I blew into the shore. The committee boat was rocking in 4 foot waves. Marie was crying and praying. Linda was having thoughts of being on the Whippoorwill at Lake Pomona. To cut this really short, everybody was rescued and boats were retrieved. Today's lesson? Listen to Don, and wear a life jacket.
In cooperation with

Copyright© - 2021 - Shawnee Yacht Club, Inc. - All rights Reserved.