The MCSC was foundedin 1977 when a group of local sailing enthusiasts partnered with Milwaukee Countyofficials to create a community organization that makes sailing accessible toeveryone in the Milwaukeearea, regardless of financial concerns, age or ability. In 1979, the MCSCconstructed a small facility in the heart of Veterans Park,at the south end of the McKinley Marina. It opened a year later for lessons andrentals with a staff of 10 and a tiny fleet of Tech Dinghies, Volants and asafety boat.
As the sailingcenter’s membership grew, so did the size of the fleet, the roster of staff andthe number and type of sailing courses offered. Since opening its doors, the Milwaukee CommunitySailing Centerhas taught nearly 15,000 adults how to sail on Lake Michigan, and given morethan 18,000 Milwaukeechildren, as well as disabled adults, the experience of sailing. The MCSC nowowns and maintains more than 80 boats, and its 700-plus members have access tothe fleet after they successfully demonstrate basic sailing skills and earn arating. The center offers adult and youth members a wide range of basic,intermediate and advanced sailing courses as well as regattas, and open sailingsix days a week on a variety of boats.
The MCSC has beenoperating from a facility with no indoor plumbing and less than 900 square feetof administrative and classroom space for more than three decades. Through thedonations of more than 500 individuals, organizations and corporations, thenonprofit raised enough funding to break ground on June 6, 2009, for atwo-story, 6,000-square-foot structure with two classrooms, administrativeoffices, restrooms and showers, a reception area, an observation deck and acommunity room.
According to theMCSC, the geothermal system it is installing is a helical pier system that usesthe constant temperature below the planet’s surface to heat and cool air and waterby way of 12 wells bored at least 300 feet into the earth. Some of the MCSC’sother green initiatives include a rain garden that will catch and filterrainwater to prevent erosion and water pollution, as well as a wind turbine tocreate renewable wind energy. The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center staff plans tomove into the new facility in April 2010, and expects to welcome the membershipto their new digs during the 2010 sailing season.
www.sailingcenter.org / %uFFFD 414-277-9094/ 1450 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive.
