ABOUT THE AUGUSTA SAILING CLUB

“It is hard to describe what a beautiful spot this is. The Clubhouse is surrounded by tall Georgia pines and from one of the comfy rocking chairs on the wide verandah; you get fabulous views of what appears to be an incredibly underutilized lake. Maybe this is because it is the largest manmade lake east of the Mississippi at over 70,000 acres that it just seems like you’ve got it all to yourself most of the time.”

The Augusta Sailing Club (ASC) is located in Columbia County Georgia Just North of the home of the Masters Golf Tournament, Augusta. The address is appropriately enough 5462 Sailing Road, Appling GA 30802. The Club grounds are completely surrounded by property owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and it is short half a mile wind through the timber off of Clarks Hill Road (HYW 221) to the 15.25 acre property owned by ASC. The Corps manages more than 9,000 acres around the lake maintained in their glorious natural wooded state. That means little or no development is visible to spoil the views from the lake.

Lake J. Strom Thurmond was built between 1946 and 1954 as part of a comprehensive plan of development for the Savannah River Basin. Known for it’s clear, clean water, Thurmond Lake is one of the 10 most visited Corps lakes in the nation. Even if it doesn’t seem busy, it serves about twelve million visitors annually. ASC is fortunate to have about 3,700 feet of shoreline on Thurmond Lake just above the dam. This allows direct access to the main body of water that is 2-3 miles wide, 3-4 miles long and as deep as 180 feet which makes it more than suitable for all types of sailing, sailboat racing and other water activities.

 The Augusta Sailing Club, Inc. was incorporated on July 24, 1953 as a non-profit organization by a local group of Augustans for the purpose of promoting sailing; to provide a clubhouse, docks and other facilities for sailing, boating, swimming, mooring, keeping, maintaining and repairing boats for the convenience of it’s members and guests; to hold regattas and races of boats and to provide a place for the social entertainment and sport of its members and their guests. For over 60 years, ASC has provided a convenient family oriented setting for the enjoyment of sailing as recreation, as well as promoting the sport of sailing and the development of sailors of all ages.

 ASC’s membership totals 257 in several categories; 26 Associate, 187 Active, 2 Temporary, 29 Sustaining, 10 Non-Resident and 3 Honorary. The membership hails from 7 different states; 183 from Georgia, 60 from South Carolina, 3 from Florida, 1 from North Carolina, 1 from Tennessee, 1 from Kentucky and 1 from New Mexico.  The breakdown of cities is 67 from Augusta, 55 from Evans, 31 from Martinez, 24 from North Augusta, 16 from Aiken, 5 from Appling, 5 from Modoc, 4 from Grovetown and 34 from various other locals.

 ASC’s facilities include:

•           15.25 Acres in the tall pines on a 70,000 acre lake
•            Clubhouse: 58’x 50’ 2900sf with seating for as many as 110 inside and 220 when you include the veranda. Has commercial kitchen, full bar, toilet and shower facilities and a the veranda has some of the best views this side of heaven
•            Swimming beach
•             Beach boats for use by the membership at no cost includes multiple sunfish sailboats
•          123 slips on 6 docks with water and electrical for boats up to around 35’
•           21 moorings
•           194 dry storage spaces
•           Jr. and adult sailing school facilities: including, classroom space, 16 Sunfish, 4 Opties, 4 JY15, 2 Corinado 15s and maintenance/storage facilities
•           East Point Pavilion with covered space for 9 picnic tables with toilet and shower facilities West Point Pavilion with toilet space and first aid equipment
•          Plentiful parking for vehicles and boats
•          Two boat launching ramps with 100’+ long courtesy docks, one of the ramps is double wide and plenty of adjacent beech area for staging and launching
•           25 leased camper sites
•           7 leased cottage sites
•           5 transient camper sties for rent with hook ups for electrical and water
•           Abundant tent camping sites on the beach and grounds
•           Boat haul out and maintenance area with concrete slab, 5000lbs A frame, gantry for masts, electrical power, water, boat dolly and compressor
•           On-site sewage pump out facilities for boats and trailers
•           Security controlled access gate
•           Full time on-site Resident Manager

 ASC puts on six week long sailing education camps for juniors from ASC and the public in the summer months. 120 -140 campers participate in the joy of learning how to manage the wind and themselves to let them go where they want to go on the water without care for fuel or the vagaries of combustion technologies. Racing is part of the curriculum but competition is not required. Five experienced counselors and coaches guide this program.

 ASC puts on multiple purely social events thought the year usually including but not limited to the following:

·         In January the Low Country Boil and Oyster Roast attracts 175 plus members and guests. Always some mighty fine shrimp and all that goes with some serious oyster shucking going on well into the late afternoon.

·         In February you can indulged in more than enough decadence at the Death by Chocolate Social.

·         For those wine connoisseurs and the rest of us that just enjoy a bit of the grape, March offers the annual wine tasting event.

·         The New Member and Commodore’s reception was brings out more than a dozen of our Past Commodores and the new members that joined in the last year usually 30 plus along with many other members for great evening of introductions, food, drink and fun. As you might imagine when you get that many Past Commodore’s in a room and give them the floor for a few minutes, you get a lively and more than amusing result.

·         In June Family Day is held at the Beach for sun, sand and a free lunch for about 75-100 member families and guests.

·         Nearly every month a group of “Full Moon Cruisers” enjoy sailing to different parts of the lake for a raft up and overnight anchorage one secluded cove or another.

The real action comes from the competitive racing events: ASC organizes hundreds of races each year. Some of the events like the Fall and Winter Cruiser handicapped regattas, the Spring and Summer Dinghy Series along with the Summer Wednesday Night Fun Races are primarily for members and guests. The Clubs biggest events however are open events and attract competitors from all over the country. These include the Castleberry-Robertson Regatta over Memorial Day weekend, the Labor Day Regatta and the Halloween Regatta. ASC has also hosted more than a dozen national events, including the 2001 MC Nationals and the 2005 C Nationals.

The Halloween Regatta Is the Club’s premiere event:

·         110-150 competing boats in 7-9 classes on 4 different courses

·         200-250 competitors from 11 states as far away as Illinois, Texas and Virginia

·         A three day event with two days of racing

·         120 volunteers put in nearly 1,500 hours to make the event a success

·         More than 900 meals are served over the weekend

·         Halloween festivities include costume parade and awards for kids and adults alike, hay rack rides and live music

 This is just a little information about as and what we do at the Augusta Sailing Club. For more information please contact us.