HASLETT - “You can sail all year without owning a boat, we make it so easy,” says Lansing Sailing Club Instructor Susanna Tellschow.

The waters of Lake Lansing are home to the Lansing Sailing Club (LSC) and are a 10-15 minute drive but a world away, something they have been taking advantage of for years now with their introductory learn to sail programs. “We focus on sailing education, on racing, on family sailing, on sail camping, we basically try to take advantage of Lake Lansing as much as we can and make the most of this great resource that we have right next door,” said Tellschow.

The introductory sailing programs teach the basics of sailing and help to get you ready to use the club boats, which are donated by members for you to use year round. “We realize it’s a big move to go out and buy a sailboat, you want to know if you like sailing first and you want to know how to sail without being forced to go get one, so the club has bought boats and those are the boats you train in and get to use for the rest of the year,” said Tellschow.

A popular boat used in instruction is the Laser, one that you will see in the 2016 Rio Olympics. “The laser is an olympic class sailboat, it’s the women’s and men’s single-hand olympic racer. If you watch the olympics this year and you watch the sailing portion you’ll see those boats out there,” said Tellschow. “It’s kind of an interesting thing that the boat that gets sailed right here locally is a path to the olympics. If you start sailing and get good in that boat you can compete regionally and nationally.”

Coming up on August 20th, the LSC is host to the LSC Laser Regatta District Competition. “That’s one of those events that would be a good thing to train in and eventually you can work your way into the olympic trials with that boat,” said Tellschow.

The club offers Junior Sailing Camps for boys and girls in the fifth to 12th grade, and an adult learn to sail program where you can work towards earning a sailing certificate. The best part is you get to jump in a boat on the first day.

“We do a little bit of talk on the board but then we get out on the boats right away because this can’t all be theoretical. You have to be in the boat and feel it, get used to it and get used to seeing the wind on the water and seeing how the boat reacts when you do a maneuver,” said Tellschow.

The instructors at LSC teach out of pure enjoyment for the sport with about 120 members in the club. “It’s an all volunteer based club, we’re a not for profit organization. For our learn to sail class we have volunteer skippers, so people who have sailed at the club, who are very experienced, volunteer a tremendous number of hours to come and mentor our learn to sail class,” said Tellschow.


According to Tellschow the courses offered are hands on and get you ready for any condition you may experience when sailing on your own. “You’re with a volunteer skipper who’s teaching you but you’ll be steering the boat, again it’s not theoretical, it’s hands on right away. That person is there to guide you and talk you through the different maneuvers and how to make the boat move.”

Through the learn to sail programs the LSC hopes to make sailing members for life. “We’re not just teaching you how to sail to then shove you out into the world and say goodbye. We want you to be sailing all year, all summer,” said Tellschow. “We don’t want you to have to wait until you go out and find a boat of your own, we have programs that you can get into after the class that will keep you active and help you to learn and hone your skills down and become a great all around sailor.”

For a list of dates and more information on LSC’s learn to sail programs visit their website at www.lansingsailing.org.