Exciting for the entire sport

Situated on the banks of the Clinton River in Michigan, North Star Sail Club is a member run club dedicated to the sport of sailing. Founded in the 1946, the club, with easy access to northern Lake St Clair, was born with the objective to keep sailing affordable.

Through its Adult Learn to Sail Program on a 22-25 foot sailboat, North Star Sail Club is sharing the joy of sailing while building confidence and teaching new skills. But they don’t stop there as they also are creating opportunity for new sailors as revealed in the J/Newsletter:

The renaissance of J/35 racing continues to expand! All sailors like to race stick against stick and that is exactly what we are doing this coming September 27, October 4, 11, and the final race day on October 24. This is North Star Sail Club’s premier regatta of the year.

“There is, as you know, a lot of pent-up racing enthusiasm this year,” notes J/35 Class leader Dean Fitzpatrick. “The finger is about to be pulled out of the dike and the J/35s are going to be cut loose.

“This is going to be the most exciting J/35 regatta because we will have ten J/35s registered to race. The J/35s are leading the way for one design racing in this region of the country, along with the J/120s I might add. There are other makes of boats that are now following the J/35 lead and putting in the effort to have their own one-design start.

“You know how tough it is to corral crew to be there every week to race. The J/35s at North Star have the pleasure of extra people wanting to be part of the action. That’s right, extra! The people at North Star have the leadership to put over 40 new people on sailboats in the past two years.

“The J/35s are able to take advantage of so many new sailors wanting to race and sailors who want to return to their roots after being away for a while. It is all very exciting for the entire sport. With strong leadership you can attract people who want to participate.”

With used J/35s for sale from $30,000 to $40,000, this Rod Johnstone design from 1983 lives on in Harrison Township, MI.