{"id":1247,"date":"2025-05-01T15:51:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T20:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/?p=1247"},"modified":"2026-01-26T15:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T21:52:18","slug":"ku-sailing-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Emma Russin arrived at KU in 2019, she didn\u2019t know port from starboard. But she knew a good breeze when she felt one\u2014and she felt something promising blowing across Perry Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t grow up sailing,\u201d says Russin, e\u201923, g\u201925, a Minnesota native and recent master\u2019s graduate in environmental and water resources engineering. \u201cBut once I got involved, I realized it was something really special. There\u2019s nothing else quite like being out on the water. It\u2019s kind of a timeless moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KU Sailing Club<\/a> has existed in one form or another since the 1970s. By the time Russin signed on, it was less of a team and more of a floating friend group\u2014just a few students with access to boats and a willingness to get wet. Russin, along with a few like-minded students, set to work transforming it back into a true student organization, complete with regular practices and a competition schedule, social media presence and dues structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, KU Sailing is a thriving, competitive club sport with nearly two dozen members, a healthy waitlist and more wind in its sails than ever. And if you\u2019re picturing an elite yacht club with blazers and champagne flutes, think again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of us had never touched a sailboat before college,\u201d says senior Abe Pankratz, e\u201925, the club\u2019s outgoing president. A chemical engineering major from Wichita, Pankratz joined the team during his sophomore year. \u201cI played baseball and basketball growing up, and soccer in high school, but sailing clicked in a totally different way. It\u2019s strategic, physical and just plain cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
KU sailors rely on the enthusiastic support of club alumni, which include (left to right) Jack Lischer, b\u201923, and Harland Zamora, e\u201923.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

College sailing, it turns out, is designed to be accessible. Teams don\u2019t haul their own boats across state lines\u2014hosts provide them. KU sails in the Collegiate Sailing Association conference, which includes schools from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The boats\u2014typically two-person 420s\u2014are stripped down for simplicity. No spinnakers allowed, just mainsails and jibs, life jackets and quick wits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSailing is physically intensive and there\u2019s a lot of thinking that goes into it,\u201d Pankratz says. \u201cThere\u2019s no YouTube tutorial that substitutes for the wind smacking you in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practices take place on Saturdays at Perry Lake, northwest of Lawrence. Thanks to partnerships with the Perry Yacht Club and area alumni, KU sailors have access to up to 14 boats, though the club owns and maintains six of its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, those boats break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOften,\u201d says Russin with a laugh. \u201cThat\u2019s what a lot of our dues go toward\u2014maintenance, plus travel costs like rental vans and hotel stays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The club also benefits from a dedicated support system. Local sailing advocate and alumnus Ted Lischer, b\u201989, along with his family, has been instrumental in connecting students with sailing opportunities beyond KU. \u201cHe\u2019s like our honorary coach,\u201d says Russin. \u201cHe helps with everything from logistics to life lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russin herself served as club president before handing the helm to Pankratz. Under their leadership, KU Sailing has again evolved into a serious pastime for students craving breaks from computer screens, although trophies were never the endgame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is to create lifelong sailors,\u201d says Russin. \u201cOne of our members rented a boat in Europe and sailed the Mediterranean because of what he learned here. That\u2019s the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For both Russin and Pankratz, the experience paid off beyond the water. Prospective employers, it turns out, are curious about students who can manage boat fleets, lead teams and balance spreadsheets with sail sheets. \u201cI got more questions in interviews about sailing than anything else on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9,\u201d says Russin, who\u2019s heading to Minneapolis to work for the sustainable engineering firm Stantec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pankratz, too, is Minneapolis-bound, hoping to launch a career in environmental engineering. And yes, he plans to keep sailing. \u201cBut,\u201d he adds, \u201cI don\u2019t really want to do dinghy sailing anymore. It\u2019s fun, but I\u2019m a tall guy, so I\u2019m looking to graduate to a bigger boat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they pass the tiller to a new generation of Jayhawk sailors, both leave the club with gratitude\u2014and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe next exec board gets it,\u201d Pankratz says. \u201cThey want to build something lasting. That\u2019s what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Chris Lazzarino, j\u201986, is associate editor of Crimson & Blue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo courtesy of KU Sailing Club<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":1214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,15],"tags":[92,73],"class_list":["post-1247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jayhawks","category-students","tag-campus-organizations","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nRevitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds - Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T20:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-26T21:52:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"508\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Lazzarino\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Lazzarino\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Lazzarino\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bace5b41e514faa0992191ef43cc840a\"},\"headline\":\"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T20:51:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T21:52:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":750,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Campus organizations\",\"Sports\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Jayhawks\",\"Students\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/\",\"name\":\"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds - Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T20:51:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-26T21:52:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":508},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/ku-sailing-club\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/\",\"name\":\"Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Crimson & Blue\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KU Alumni\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/CB-Mast_3-color_horz.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/CB-Mast_3-color_horz.png\",\"width\":1272,\"height\":239,\"caption\":\"KU Alumni\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bace5b41e514faa0992191ef43cc840a\",\"name\":\"Chris Lazzarino\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bf5a2e81cf741b202a63fc8594a72034eac3cedbc8cbe2c9806ff3fb6cf5d56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bf5a2e81cf741b202a63fc8594a72034eac3cedbc8cbe2c9806ff3fb6cf5d56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bf5a2e81cf741b202a63fc8594a72034eac3cedbc8cbe2c9806ff3fb6cf5d56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Lazzarino\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/kualumni.org\\\/stories\\\/author\\\/chrislazzarino\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds - Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni","description":"A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds","og_description":"A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.","og_url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/","og_site_name":"Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni","article_published_time":"2025-05-01T20:51:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-26T21:52:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":508,"url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Lazzarino","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Lazzarino","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Lazzarino","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/bace5b41e514faa0992191ef43cc840a"},"headline":"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds","datePublished":"2025-05-01T20:51:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T21:52:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/"},"wordCount":750,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg","keywords":["Campus organizations","Sports"],"articleSection":["Jayhawks","Students"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/","url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/","name":"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds - Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-01T20:51:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-26T21:52:18+00:00","description":"A new fleet of student sailors has steered the organization to favorable seas.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Sailing-Club-KU.jpg","width":900,"height":508},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/ku-sailing-club\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Revitalized KU Sailing Club finds fair winds"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/","name":"Crimson & Blue - KU Alumni","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Crimson & Blue","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#organization","name":"KU Alumni","url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/CB-Mast_3-color_horz.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/CB-Mast_3-color_horz.png","width":1272,"height":239,"caption":"KU Alumni"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/bace5b41e514faa0992191ef43cc840a","name":"Chris Lazzarino","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf5a2e81cf741b202a63fc8594a72034eac3cedbc8cbe2c9806ff3fb6cf5d56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf5a2e81cf741b202a63fc8594a72034eac3cedbc8cbe2c9806ff3fb6cf5d56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bf5a2e81cf741b202a63fc8594a72034eac3cedbc8cbe2c9806ff3fb6cf5d56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Lazzarino"},"url":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/author\/chrislazzarino\/"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}