Lake Pleasant, Arizona

When West Walker moved to Arizona, he needed to take his passion with him, so he created a desert sailing community.

The story.

West Walker grew up racing sailboats at the Jersey Shore during his summers. He progressed and began spending summers coaching young sailors. However, after graduating 8th grade, West and his family moved to arid Arizona.

Throughout his freshman year, West explored different options for sailing. He pursued started a team at his high school, but encountered many common impediments to scholastic sailing. In the fall of 2022, he established the Arizona Sailing Club.

By the spring of 2023, the group raised enough money to bring a fleet of 9 Club Flying Junior (FJ) sailboats to Arizona. The boats found their home in a dry storage space on the western shore of Lake Pleasant, where they began practicing almost every single Saturday.

The Arizona Sailing Club let the group freely practice and race in regattas without interference. It also let the sailing community expand past the body of one school, offering students from across the Valley the opportunity to train with the team.

Most recently, the Arizona Sailing Club has developed 2 distinct tracks. The high school program comprises weekly training to compete in 6+ regattas per year. The youth program includes roughly monthly events where any child can come to learn to sail and have fun on Lake Pleasant at no cost.

The club has found great success working with the Arizona Yacht Club, ASU Sailing Team, and Park City (Utah) sailing program, combining efforts for more productive practice and in-state regattas.

Timeline

  • West moved to Arizona and began laying the groundwork for creating a high school sailing community in the desert state. Important relationships with both in-state and out-of-state organizations were developed.

  • The Arizona Sailing Club was founded and became an official team in the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association. Racers competed in their first regattas, taking 2nd place in both. Practicing on a singular boat, the original members took action to grow the group.

  • After fundraising, 9 FJ sailboats were purchased and delivered from the East Coast to Arizona. With more resources, the club ramped up practices to compete in all 6 PCISA circuit regattas. The Arizona Sailing Club began welcoming high school sailors from other schools.

  • Wanting to let elementary and middle schoolers participate, the club introduced the youth program. Phoenix kids were made able to start the sport younger and enjoy being on the water while building experience. The club also built on its high school division by working with ASU and Park City High School to hire a coach.