The Iowa State Sailing Club Recently participated in the Desoto Derby. The Desoto Derby is one of the many sailing events sanctioned by the Eastern Nebraska Sailing Association.

The event took place Saturday, September 5th at the beautiful Desoto National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri Valley, IA. The course is composed of a narrow strip of water which used to be part of the Missouri River.

The course is U-shaped and takes an entire afternoon to complete. “It was much longer than a normal race,” said John Snyder, a member of the Iowa State Sailing Team.

Because of the unusual shape of the course, all of the extreme wind and water conditions are achieved at some point in the competition.

Snyder teamed with Lu Han, a junior in electrical engineering, to claim first place in the Desoto Derby. Their sailboat is 13 1/2 feet long and is equipped for two passengers. These types of boats are commonly referred to as “Flying Juniors.”

In this particular competition, Snyder’s role was that of the crew, and Han was the skipper. The skipper’s job is to do the steering and operate the main sail, while the crew is in charge of balancing the boat and operating the jib sail.

There were seven different boats competing that day, ranging from the 13-foot “Ghost” to the 20-foot “C-Scow.” To begin the race the smaller and traditionally slower boats start early, and the other boats begin later in hopes of normalizing the competition.

Snyder and Han completed the course in an impressive three and a half hours. The nearest competitors finished over 45 minutes later.

The Iowa State Sailing Club has many new members this year and is eager to begin collegiate competition later this month in Notre Dame. It starts September 12th and 13th with the Irish Intersectionals.

With a growing program, the sailing club welcomes interested students regardless of experience. “We encourage anyone to join,” said Snyder. “We offer sailing classes so anyone can learn.”

Any interested students can send e-mail to [email protected].