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.
One of Our Own in The Top 100
02 Mar 2025
Former Commodore and current SYC Resident Agent Eric Kjorlie was featured in the 2nd quarter 2023 Top 100 Lawyers publication.
SYC Annual Business Meeting
28 Jan 2025
The SYC annual business meeting was held February 2nd at 2:00pm over Zoom. Following are some highlights:
- Due to sparse attendance at this meeting, we decided to delay nominating and electing the 2025 Board of Governors. Instead, that will take place at a breakfast meeting for all club members at the clubhouse on Saturday, May 3rd. The Spring Work Party will follow that meeting.
- Sailing lessons will be the same as last year, monthly sessions of 4 lessons each on Wednesday evenings scheduled through Parks & Rec. There will be sessions in June, July and August, but not in September.
- There will be 3 socials over the sailing season: The Spring Breakfast on May 3rd, 4th of July, and a fall social on September 7th.
- We will be working with Parks & Rec to improve the dock at the launch ramp to make it longer and move it to deeper water and closer to the launch ramp.
- With the boatyard nearing capacity, we will be doing some reorganization of parking spots and possibly moving some boats to better utilize the space.
For SYC members only:
Five-Year Master Plan
20 Oct 2024
SYC has presented Parks and Recreation with a Five-Year Master Plan for improving our sailing facilities. The plan aims to increase sailing activity on Lake Shawnee and get SYC back on a more sustainable footing. We are currently negotiating 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.
Topeka, Forbes Field
46°F - Fair
Coming Events
- 5/3, Spring Social, Breakfast, Elections, 9:00am, SYC
- 5/3, Spring Work Day, 11:00am, SYC
- 6/1, First Sun Racing & Group Sailing, 2:00pm-5:30pm, SYC
- 6/4, First Wed Lessons & Group Sailing, 5:30 pm-Sunset, SYC
SYC on Facebook
Mark's Racing Blog
Sailing Instruction for Zach B.
Go head to wind at the starting line with your boom down the center line and your sails flapping. First, as you coast to a stop, look left and right along your traveler. One end should be aimed below the committee boat or the buoy. That is the "favored" end of the line, and it is easy to see by how much. Now, look straight forward along the center line of your boat. You should notice two more important things. One is, which side of the windward mark your boat is pointing to. Say, for example, that it points to the left of the mark. This tells you that the left (port) tack is the "long" tack. Second, you should notice which side of the course has the stronger wind. This tells you where you need to go for max power. Now you know all the factors necessary to determine your race strategy. Which end is favored, which tack is the most favorable and which side is favored and. Now all you have to do is make a plan and execute it.
Simple!