When Prairie Creek Lake was dammed up in the 1950s, several people in the area who raced small sailboats discussed starting a sailing club on Prairie Creek. In 1963, they organized the Muncie Sailing Club. According to member James Taylor, when the club first launched, the property lacked docks, a seawall, and driveways.
“In the beginning, there was only a barbed wire fence, thorn trees, bulrush, mud, and a rundown house,” says Taylor.
Over time, the club grew to 100 members, all of whom owned small recreational daysailors or snipes. Keith Addison, Commodore of the Muncie Sailing Club, got into sailing when he moved to Muncie in 2020. Upon meeting others at the Muncie Sailing Club, he found that many of them shared common interests.
“Some ride motorcycles. Some fly airplanes,” says Addison. “People who are drawn to sailing like the adventure, the challenge, and the independence.”
The sailing community always has one another’s backs. Whenever members of the club see someone struggling, they step in to offer a tool, a shackle, or some friendly advice. They even have created legacies on the water. Take Cooper’s Lighthouse, which was erected in 1997 in memory of Charles W. Cooper. Member Fred Bedwell was a friend of Cooper’s, and one day while out sailing, Cooper mentioned that sailing was his favorite adventure. The lighthouse sits on the grounds of the Muncie Sailing Club and was funded by money raised by members of the club.
An interesting historical tidbit: During the Civil War, a Union Army train derailed in New Castle, Indiana, causing a carload of cannonballs to fall from the train. The ball that sits atop Cooper’s Lighthouse is one of those cannonballs.
Six decades ago, sailboats on Prairie Creek were all small. Now, however, some people own larger watercraft that are 20 to 25 feet. These larger vessels enable owners to sleep overnight on their boat. Addison and his wife did this before the 2022 IRONMAN 70.3 Muncie competition when they anchored out in their boat the night before the race. The Muncie Sailing Club sponsors the race, and Addison was one of four sailboats on the water to help in case a racer found themselves in distress.
With a steaming cup of coffee in hand, he recalls feeling the dewy air on his cheeks as he watched the sun come up over the horizon that morning. Across the water, everyone was getting set up for the race. From Addison’s vantage point, all was still, silent and serene. When the race commenced, hundreds of people started swimming.
“They looked like little fish jumping out of the water in a pattern,” Addison says. “As they were doing the strokes and got closer to our boat, I could hear the splash, splash, splash of water. If I had closed my eyes and didn’t know what was going on, I would have thought it was a salmon run.”
Today the club has a private clubhouse, bathroom & shower facilities, fully equipped kitchen, and dining & screened porch. Other amenities include secure & safe docks, playground & shelter house, easy launch access areas, inside & outside picnic area, fire pit, grills, sandy beach, and social events. New in the last three years to the Muncie Sailing Club is the integration of kayaks. Members can store them in bays rather than having to hassle with transporting them back and forth from their houses.
Currently, the Muncie Sailing Club has between 50 and 60 members. Some of the people in the club have been sailing for more than 30 years, but they welcome new members—and new sailors—with open arms. Members even teach lessons although if someone is seeking a sailing certification, they need to get it through the American Sailing Association. The lessons teach sailing terminology and offer hands-on practice to help newbies get their sea legs. Students can use club boats so it’s not necessary to invest in your own boat to take lessons.
“We had a couple who joined the club this year after taking classes,” Addison says.
Although they do not offer camps for kids, one of their members is the Director of the Delaware County Extension Program through Purdue where kids 15+ can learn the basics of sailing. “There’s nothing like the feeling of sailing when you turn a bit and suddenly see that sail flap a little. Then it fills up and the boat propels forward,” Addison says. “Even though I’ve sailed for several years, I still get that little-kid sort of feeling when an invisible energy pulls me through the water.”
The mailing address for Muncie Sailing Club is P.O. Box 390, Muncie, IN 47308. The physical address is 8331 S. 560 E., Selma, IN 47383. For more information, call 765-216-5843 or visit sail-msc.com.
