Sail1Design Editor

The Columbia Sailing Club, located on Lake Murray, is organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of South Carolina, and is committed to providing educational and training programs to the community on all aspects of sail boating. The Club is also hiring a Head Instructor, Summer Instructors, and an Optimist/Open Bic Coach! To learn more CLICK HERE

Club activities include sailboat races, regattas, race management training, youth sail camps, boating safety, first aid and a host of other activities that promote the sport of sail boating.

Lake Murray is a man-made lake of 78 square miles with 520 miles of shoreline, a length of 41 miles and an advertised width of 14 miles The lake is contained by a large earthen dam which was the largest in North America at the time it was built in the1920s.

The Club’s facilities include a well-protected marina, 4 launching ramps, a gin pole, and other sailing-related amenities. The marina, shown below, has 100 berths for sailboats from 22 to 33 feet in length. Land parking slips accommodate an additional 100 boats.
People have great things to say about this program, and there are wonderful instructors returning for 2019!!!

Parents Testimonial:
Finding fun, safe, outdoor activities for our child has been one of the top priorities for us as a family and sailing is a sport you and your family can easily participate in 365 days a year.   When she is on the water, our child is out of the house, off all electronic devices and can now move a sailboat across the lake with her friends with confidence.  We can’t wait to see what this summer brings!!
Thank you Columbia Sailing Club for giving our child the opportunity to try a new sport and make new friends on the way!

Returning Instructor Bio: Brooke Hagler 
I grew up on the ocean and upon coming to college, I realized just how far inland University of South Carolina was located. I came across Gamecock Sailing Club during a student organization fair and joined even though I had never been on a sail boat. Through teammates and coaching at Columbia Sailing Club I learned the ropes of sailing and then racing. During my third year of school I became certified as a Level 1 US Sailing Instructor. Over the past two years I have used this to further my knowledge and love of the sport, while also instilling the passion of sailing in other people. I love getting to teach kids because they absorb the information. The smiles that come across their faces while being able to sail by themselves or with their friends pushes me to be the best instructor I can be. It’s never to late to learn something new and discover a new passion.

Club History:  The first sailing club on Lake Murray was established in the 1930’s, but dissolved when the winds of war blew across the world; however, two of its commodores would later become founding members of the Columbia Sailing Club, George Sumner and Jim Haltiwanger. Sumner also led a Sea Scout troop and among his students was Crawford Clarkson, father of 2016 commodore Andrew Clarkson. Jim Haltiwanger, father of 2011 commodore Will Haltiwanger, wooed his bride Sallie with moonlight sails on his B Scow “Spray”.

Sumner’s lake home was aptly named “Hickory Dock” and two doors away lived another sailing enthusiast, Robert H. “Bob” Webster. Other sailors, including Ben Knowlton, moored their sailboats in the Sumner/Webster cove, which became a focal point for Lake Murray sailing activities.

The founding of the Columbia Sailing Club on July 17, 1957, occurred on the back porch of Martin Jones’ home at 630 Pickens Street and Bob Webster was elected chairman. Charlie Craig offered his lake home as headquarters for the club’s first major regatta on Labor Day weekend and twenty-five boats participated in what became a laborious drifter. For that reason, CSC’s annual regatta was shifted to May in hopes of more favorable breezes. Some 19 members paid dues of $5 per quarter and there were no initiation fees. Zan Heyward, Jr., chairman of the 1958 regatta, arranged with Alex Crosswell to use his cottage and ramp for the event. While only four out of town sailors participated in the 1957 races, word of CSC’s hospitality began to spread.

The Crosswell home, two points up the lake from the present CSC site, stood duty again as regatta headquarters in May 1959; however, the single ramp proved insufficient to meet the demands of the crowd, as skippers showed up from Savannah, Charleston and Augusta. One day of rainy weather, with red clay mud tracked on the Crosswell carpet, somewhat marred the weekend, but media coverage was superb and the Columbia Record printed a two-page spread. Sailboat racing had arrived at Lake Murray.

Meanwhile, Bob Webster and his daughter, Sally, happened one day to sail by a piece of land near the dam that appeared to be an island. Bob inquired into the property at SCE&G and found it did not exist on their maps. It had been intended as fill for the construction of the dam, but was left when workers ran into hefty boulders. Webster paid the power company one dollar for a lease to CSC for the “erection of a temporary judging shelter for sailboat races.” It was on this tenuous lease that the club functioned until the spring of 1977.

With great optimism—especially since the lease contained a provision through which SCE&G could call for its land back, in original condition, upon 30 day notice—CSC put in a crude road, cleared land and built a small clubhouse, designed by Reid Hearn, fabricated by a Savannah firm and arriving on a flatbed truck. A construction loan was personally secured by the flag officers because the bank was uncertain about lending money to an entity called a “sailing club.” It was generally understood that the lease would one day have to be replaced with a more business-like arrangement and, in April 1977, each member was assessed $100, 20 life memberships were sold for $1,200 each and CSC purchased the “non-existent” land from SCE&G.

The Columbia Sailing Club Ladies Auxiliary was organized in October 1967 and raised money for the construction of the covered patio and grill on the west end of the building and for construction of the bathhouse. The Auxiliary was organized to “aid Columbia Sailing Club in their projects,” and has proven to be an invaluable partner in the growth of CSC. Other gifts have included VHF communications; an ice maker, refrigerator; chairs and other furniture; the CSC burgee which flies from the yardarm; and other equipment. The Auxiliary also plays a major role in the social activities of the club and is regularly responsible for planning parties, regatta registrations and lunches and a Co-Ed Sailing Clinic. In 2001, the Auxiliary established its own Outstanding Service Award, named after Jessie Helms in honor of her years of service and Rebecca Dotterer was its first recipient. In November 2007, in an effort to be more inclusive of current and potential membership, the Auxiliary officially changed its name to the Columbia Sailing Club Auxiliary.

CSC has always been recognized as a club capable of hosting top-flight competition and has displayed outstanding teamwork in hosting some of yachting’s most distinguished events. The first Midlands Regatta was held in May 1960 and has occurred every year since. We were the hosts of the South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association (SAYRA) Championships in 1962 and 1972. For many years E-Scows from all over the country were hauled to Lake Murray for the Easter Regatta. In 1987 this event officially became the J-24 Easter Regatta, with more than 30 boats participating from as far away as Canada. In addition, we regularly host regattas for Lasers, Y-Flyers, Lightnings and provide equipment and facilities to support LMYRA events and regattas. Modern day sailing at CSC is a far cry from the first regatta with its handful of Sailfish, Lightnings, Y-Flyers, Hamptons and many other boats of forgotten classification.