The Lake Minnetonka Sailing School – A Salute to Volunteers

The Lake Minnetonka Sailing School – A Salute to Volunteers

The Lake Minnetonka Sailing School (LMSS) became the first organization in Minnesota to host the 2012 US Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship. It was evident that the volunteers on the ground who ran the event were not just satisfied with being a host to this US Sailing National Championship. Their efforts set an example for future hosts with their professionalism, energy, hospitality, and teamwork.

Seventy-six talented junior women sailors collected on Lighthouse Island, home of LMSS, for three days of racing on June 27-29. Lighthouse Island is located at the mouth of Carson’s Bay on the western shore of Lake Minnetonka and in the city of Deephaven.

The island is a magical setting for a regatta. However, the island venue has its share of logistical challenges. The Club 420s had to be unloaded in the parking lot and towed to Lighthouse Island, stored on the lawn, and rigged for racing. Thanks to committed and hard working volunteers, the truck was unloaded and the boats were towed to the island within two hours.

Another group of volunteers met with those competitors who were arriving with their own boats, and assisted with launching and towing. Those who were flying in to race were greeted at the airport by a team of volunteers. The girls were shuttled to Carson Bay where they took a pontoon boat ride to Lighthouse Island. Registration volunteers made checking in easy. The girls were free to locate their charters, rig their boats and put numbers on their sails. 

Families from around the community agreed to house the competitors for five days during the championship, and to transport them to and from the club each day. Many of these families reside around Lake Minnetonka and the Cottagewood neighborhood. Wayzata Yacht Club members and several non-sailing families also provided hospitality for the incoming sailors.

Each day began with a full breakfast and a packed lunch. The evenings were varied. On some nights, the girls stayed on the island to take a ride on an A-Boat to watch a beautiful sunset, enjoy a dinner with their host families or spend an evening at the historic Cottagewood Store. Having dinners on the island meant less time spent in transit. When they weren’t sailing, the girls could swim, play volleyball or frisbee on the lawn of the island. 

An amazing team of volunteers delivered over 1,800 meals to the island during the week. “It was important to adapt to the unique needs of the sailors, whose nutritional needs varied, based on the level of activity on a clinic day vs. a race day, and the sailing conditions each day,” said LMSS President Laura Ekholm. “Some will also have specific dietary needs, and the volunteers and caterer worked together to adapt menus as needed.”

Hundreds of volunteer hours went into making the event a success. Ekholm discussed the recruitment of volunteers for this event by saying, “Our Volunteer Coordinator Terry Jewett, pulled in all of her resources to cover the hours and jobs that had to be completed. We could not have held the event if not for Terry’s relationships and coordination of the teams of volunteers from the yacht club, sailing school, high school teams, employees and the greater community around the lake.” 

US Sailing’s Championships Chair Shannon Bush said, “What made Minnetonka a perfect place is that they are a small venue, have dedicated people working and planning the event and no preconceived notions on how to host a big championship. They didn't brag about how they had run numerous other events and that they knew how to run a big event. They worked very well with everyone to get organized and their volunteer pool was amazing.”

“Quite frankly, Minnetonka has always been batted around as a possible host venue, but always labeled as too small,” said Bush. “Having been there this June, my entire view of that club and their capabilities changed 180 degrees.”