The WSU Sailing Club is all about getting out on the water. During the season, the club travels up and down the coast, racing competitively nearly every weekend. The club logged nearly 3,000 travel miles this semester alone, said President Cameron Wheeler, a senior mechanical engineering major. WSU Sailing competes against 10 other Northwest schools. The club has about nine active members and seven who participate on and off.

The club competes from September to November and February to May each year, Wheeler said. Practices are at Wawawaii Park on the Snake River.

“It’s a real intense sport and we all thrive on it,” Wheeler said. ‘’You have to understand how the wind works and tactics. Sailing is much more of a mental sport; it’s a mind game.” Club members say they love the experience, but it can be tough keeping the sailing culture alive in Eastern Washington.

As a program, it can be hard to compete against more watersport-friendly schools, such as the University of Washington and Western Washington University, Wheeler said.

“A lot of people don’t get into sailing. They don’t even think about it at WSU,” he said. “We have a lot of difficulty recruiting.” This season had its ups and downs, the acme of which was when WSU won third place in the Northwest Sloop Championships in October, Wheeler said. The victory was made sweeter by the semester’s initial struggles – graduated seniors left a deficit in experience and two boat masts were bent at the Cougar Cup in September in Vantage. But the team overcame.

“That was a huge step for us,” Wheeler said. “We beat about seven other schools in the Northwest. We’ve really grown strong as a team this semester.” Club member Patrick Taylor, a junior electrical engineering major, said the win showed that WSU Sailing is stronger than ever.

“I thought it was pretty neat to put us on the map,” he said. “In the next couple of years, we will be getting even stronger.” Now, club members are revving up for the spring season. One reward will be a new clubhouse at Wawawaii, built by the WSU School of Architecture. University Recreation is footing the bill – a welcome gift, as WSU Sailing does much of its own fundraising, Wheeler said.

WSU Sailing is more than halfway toward its goal of purchasing a new $6,000 boat – its current boats are the oldest in the Northwest division, Wheeler said. The club gets donations from yacht clubs, parents and alumni, and sometimes corporate sponsorships.

Those interested in trying sailing can visit sailing.wsu.edu or e-mail sailing@wsu.edu. No experience is required, but students should be aware of the time commitment, Wheeler said. Many weekends are spent out of town and local practices can run up to four hours.

“It gives you something else to do in Pullman,” said Bjorn Ernst, club vice president and a junior genetics and cell biology major. “A lot of people on our team don’t have a lot of sailing experience. Most of the people in our district start in college.” Though the hours are long, club members don’t have to commit fully, Taylor said.

“I just do it when I can do it,” he said. “We do take the racing side seriously, but we do a good job involving everyone regardless of experience. It’s completely flexible. Not every member competes every weekend.” The competition in the Northwest is less than fierce, and the club members are good friends with nearly everyone in the Northwest division, Wheeler said.

“We really encourage people to join. We’ll teach them how to sail,” Wheeler said. “When I joined, I’d sailed once. Now I love it. It’s my favorite thing to do.”