Patoka Lake Sailing Season Kick Off – March Madness Regatta

Patoka Lake Sailing Club, kicked off their 36th season of racing on Saturday, March 31.

Autumn Allen, a member of both Patoka Lake Sailing Club and IU Sailing club, organized a group from IU to come down and join forces with PLSC for a day of racing and food. The IU students were teamed up with captains from the PLSC, and they took to the lake for the first-ever March Madness Regatta.

The sailors were put to the task as wind speeds gusted above 20 mph. Captains and crew had to be on their toes to battle the day’s wind. The race went off, though, without a hitch.

Pat Flannagan and his IU crew came in first place. Gary Allen and his student crew took second place and Larry McCart and his crew of IU students came in third. After the race, everyone met back at the docks for a barbecue. This is where stories were swapped and experiences of the day shared.

Although there was a nip in the air, no one seemed to mind.

Around 40 people in all showed up to race and watch. It was a great day of sailing, with food and fun after the race. The PLSC and the IU Sailing Club proved to make a great team. PLSC Commodore Chris Boyer would like to thank all the members of PLSC  and a special thanks to Autumn Allen for all of their hard work on this event. Hopefully, this first March Madness Regatta will lead to many more in the years to come. You can find the Patoka Lake Sailing Club on Facebook.