HISTORY

Carlyle Sailing Association is an Illinois Not-For-Profit Corporation formed in 1954 as Valley Sailing Association (VSA). The directors of VSA, aware of the shortcomings of the original location and the growth of sailboat racing, investigated sites at several of the lake projects being planned.

The most attractive site was Lake Carlyle. The lake consists of 26,000 acres of water, approximately 8 miles-long and 3 miles-wide. The site is located about 55 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri.

The directors of VSA spent hundreds of man-hours planning a new sailboat harbor. These efforts resulted in a lease agreement with the Illinois Department of Conservation for the present location. In the spring of 1971, the VSA Corporation moved two-thirds of its membership and assets to Carlyle Lake.

Paved boat parking and drives, three jib cranes and 400 feet of dock comprised the major site facilities at the time of occupation. The building complement included a house trailer for the harbormaster, a utility shed, and a "his" and "hers" privy.

Through the judicious balance of income and expenditure and participation by the membership, the amenities at CSA have expanded through the years. In 1973 a three-pod pavilion structure was completed. Nineteen seventy-four saw the installation of a rest room/shower facility by the State of Illinois. The harbormaster moved into a new residence in 1975 and an observation building providing shelter from the elements was erected in 1976. Over the years, barbecue pits, children's play area, landscaping, expansion of docks and cabin boat-parking areas, and beach facilities for catamarans were added. Facility improvements in 1994 included: enlarging the rest room/shower building, adding bath rooms, finishing the basement of the Observation Building, adding a new Storage Building, and dredging the harbor. In 2001, the club completed a major addition to the Observation Building, enlarging the upstairs meeting room, adding a downstairs classroom and upgrading the kitchen.

Since the club’s founding in 1971, at least one national one-design racing class has requested CSA to host its districts, national or international regatta each year.

The 1976 Championship of Champions regatta, sponsored by the United States Yacht Racing Union (now United States Sailing Association), first brought CSA to national attention. The following year Yachting Magazine held its "One-of-A-Kind" Regatta at CSA; the first time in over 20 years an inland lake had been chosen for that event.

In 1984, the club initiated a weeklong Junior Sailing camp. The camp has grown through the years and spawned the Carlyle Junior Sailing Association (CJSA) in 2001. The CJSA is a subsidiary organization under the direction of CSA that encompasses a number of harbors at Carlyle Lake.

In October 1993, CSA hosted the United States Sailing Association's Championship of Champions Regatta for the second time.

CSA was the site of the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival, the primary development vehicle for U.S. Olympic sailing teams. Forty-two sailors competed in Men’s and Women’s Mistral sailboards and Open Lasers during the five-day event. This sailing event drew over 4,000 spectators, the largest crowd in U.S. Olympic Festival history.

In 1995, CSA became a charter member of the Carlyle Lake Association (CLA), an organization of above the dam people dedicated to working with each other and with below the dam interests to benefit sailing, power boating, farming, hunting, camping and fishing. During the 2001 sailing season, 170 CSA members were also members of CLA.

In 1999, CSA first offered a three-day Adult Learn-to-Sail camp. This camp uses both classroom and on the water training to teach the fundamentals of sailing to adults. The Adult Learn-to-Sail camp has continued to grow in popularity each year. In 2001, a second three-day adult sailing camp was conducted to meet the demand for training.

Each year CSA hosts the Whale-of-a-Sail regatta in September. This is generally CSA’s largest regatta of the year. The Whale-of-a-Sail is a multi-class, two-day regatta that attracts over a 100 boats each year.

CSA, with assistance from Carlyle Yacht Club and Boulder Yacht Club, held its first Leukemia Cup Regatta in 2001. The Leukemia Cup Regatta was a fun filled multi-class regatta organized to raise research funds for the Leukemia Society. Historically, first time events raise an average or $15,000. CSA’s first time in hosting this regatta raised over $35,000 in contributions for the Leukemia Society Foundation.

Over the last 30 plus years, CSA has continued to grow. At the end of the 2001 sailing season, CSA had 387 members and 317 boats registered in the club.