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
65°F - Overcast
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
When to "hold" and when to "fold"
The wind blowing to your boat is seldom from the same direction as it is blowing to another boat. Because the angle is different, the course made good is different. Boats on the same tack are frequently on converging or diverging courses. (Opposite tacks, too. You just have to factor in the 90 degree tacking angle.) When you see the different courses, one of you is making "ground" on the other. A five degree course difference is about equal to a five percent speed difference. The actual speed differences between fast boat and slow boat are less that that. The wind direction in Kansas moves thru about twenty degrees. Imagine the "speed" difference that can make if you are diverging by 20 degrees!
Get your head out of the boat – look around to watch the course the boats make because they are constantly changing. What is their angle in relation to yours? You can see what the wind is doing to your boat in relation to those you're sailing against. Observing the angles tell you if you should "hold" or "fold" (tack).