Cheney Lake in Kansas is another hotbed of inland sailing. Like so many inland sailors, members of the Ninnescah Sailing Association know how the world changes when you step off the land and onto your sailboat. And they also know it’s something worth celebrating. Kansas is pretty flat so the wind blows unimpeded. The only thing to interfere are sails on Lake Cheney.
Ringleader, Susan Osborne, organized this years event and wrote in to tell us what was going on with sailors in Kansas on June 23rd, ‘Between 80-90 members of the Ninnescah Sailing Association (Yacht Club) gathered to celebrate the 2012 Summer Sailstice on June 23. About 50 of the members wore the paprika-colored 2012 Summer Sailstice t-shirts, so it was a brightly-hued group!’
‘The party started with a pot luck dinner complete with burgers and hot dogs at the Afterdeck, NSA’s clubhouse. At 7:00 pm the crowd moved to their sailboats and set off to celebrate the day, first swinging by retired pastor Ray Keller’s boat for the Blessing of the Fleet (an ancient sailing tradition). Ray was joined by Pastor Larry Greenwood who donned bright red vestments for the event. It was hot outside and the wind was high, but that didn’t stop many of the boats from sailing long into the late evening. After all, Kansas is known for its windy days, and the sailors love the fast sailing with plenty of heel-time. This was the second annual NSA celebration of Summer Sailstice, and attendance tripled from last year. A new NSA tradition has been established!’
The population of Kansas is almost 3,000,000 but only the sailors get views and evenings like this. Just one more reason to be a sailor and get on the water for Summer Sailstice.
Pastory Larry Greenwood blessed the fleet to ensure safe passage and good times for the 80-90 participants in Summer Sailstice.
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