The Iowa State Sailing Club, which has been operating on and off since 1986, is currently cruising Big Creek Lake.

Alan Hertz, commodore of the ISU Sailing Club, said he first learned about the club from reading fliers around campus.

“Undergrad students, grad students, faculty members, alumni and staff members are all welcome to the club to learn how to sail and have fun,” Hertz said.

Ben Nimmergut, vice commodore of the club, said anyone wanting to learn how to sail or wanting to sail with other sailing enthusiasts is welcome.

“The crew has both experienced and inexperienced members who have great potential,” Nimmergut said. “Our team wants to grow in member size and compete at a higher level.

Nimmergut said the club is trying to promote the sport of sailing in both leisure and competition.

“We sometimes have cookouts, movies and get-togethers after day sailings,” he said. “We are always looking for new members.”

Michael Tribuno, sophomore in aerospace engineering, said he joined the club because it provides a good opportunity to practice his sailing.

“We have a meeting every Tuesday night, and we talk about the upcoming races, upcoming day sailings, future events, the things needed to buy and the goals to succeed in the upcoming races,” Tribuno said.

Hertz said that the ISU Sailing Club is a member of the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association (MCSA), which organizes the events and competitions between Midwestern universities.

“MCSA is an organization dedicated to get people together to race and to have fun,” Hertz said.

Hertz said members of the club pay a $35 dues charge, which is collected every semester to buy better boats and to repair existing boats. He said this amount is low considering that club members go sailing every weekend.

“On the weekend of the 12th and 13th of September, we went to compete at the University of Notre Dame with a team of nine people in two boats,” Nimmergut said. “We finished 10th out of 15 groups, and this is very good considering there were really experienced teams competing against us.”

Nimmergut said the club is going to the University of Iowa this weekend to sail in the Davis Cup. Sailing events will continue through the beginning of November, which marks the end of fall sailing season, Hertz said.

The club meets every Tuesday night in the Food Court of the Memorial Union at 8.

“Even if you don’t know how to sail, as long as you are interested in learning how to sail, you could come and join the Iowa State Sailing Club,” Hertz said.