Sailing at Lake Anna

OVERVIEW

The sailing team at UVA has generously offered to lend us four people who will skipper boats out on Lake Anna. Either one or two Outdoors Club members will be placed in each small sailboat, and taken out on the water for two or three hours. This is an incredible opportunity to learn from students who have raced against schools like Georgetown and CNU. No experience is necessary, but you will be asked to learn the basics of crewing in order to assistance with the sails. The sailing will be low intensity, unless the predicted wind speed picks up dramatically between now and Sunday, so there is little risk of your boat capsizing.

The weather is currently forecasted as the lower 70’s with light rain. Dress warmly with a rain slicker, a non-cotton undershirt, and perhaps a t-shirt in case you get overheated (keep in mind that all of your layers have the potential of getting wet). Wear Sperry’s or Keen’s or similiar shoes that you might wear to go kayaking, with socks underneath. Pack an additional pair of shoes and socks in your bag. Wear a waterproof watch if possible. I cannot stress how important it is that you bring a change of clothes- socks, underwear, a sweater, etc- because if you fall into the water or we capsize and do not have anything to change into, you will be miserable for the remainder of the day.

Lake Anna Yacht Club is located approximately an hour and fifteen minutes away from grounds. The sailing team fleet currently consists of 6 FJs, 2 420s, and a motorboat for coaching/safety. They are based out of Lake Anna Marina and launch their boats from floating docks, with a beautiful view of several of the points along the lake along with many beautiful mansions and cow pastures. They have drysuits, wetsuits, and spraygear for cold weather sailing.

You will need to pay a ten dollar fee to compensate for the use of the facilities and the equipment. Also bring cash for lunch.