My name is Vincent Mattiola, and I am the president and founder of the "Panther Sailing Club" at the University of Pittsburgh. I am new to this forum, but I just wanted to see what some folks thought of our prospect of creating a sailing club at Pitt and practicing + possibly holding small sailboat regattas at the Point region where the three rivers meet.
Our club formed only last November, so we are very early in stages of development yet, but have already received enormous response from Pitt students who are very interested in the idea. We have begun "learn to sail" classes being taught by a US Sailing Instructor, so as to educate Pitt students about not only the basics of sailing, but also racing, boat handling, and safe sailing in the rivers in general. We are currently seeking funds to purchase a fleet of 7 Club FJ sailboats (2-person dinghies used in collegiate racing) and the necessary equipment to outfit a club for safe and responsible sailing in Pittsburgh (pfd's, chase boat, radio, possibly wetsuits/drysuits, etc). Our biggest hurdle however is in convincing people that it is possible to operate a sailing club based at the Point region of downtown Pittsburgh, so as to secure funds for the club.
Basically, I just wanted to open our idea up to this forum's comments and criticism, because I'm very passionate about introducing the sport of sailing to Pitt students, and want to make sure we can have the support and advice of more experienced Pittsburgh river boaters. I've never done anything like this before, so please don't be afraid to even say why you hate the idea. I'm a sophomore undergrad at Pitt, and frankly, I've just grown tired of watching sailing videos online instead of actually being out on the water.
Thank you in advance for your input. Any comments, advice, or critiques are helpful! If you would like to reach us personally, please feel free to email panthersailingclub@gmail.com
Welcome to the BoatPittsburgh.com forums. I applaud your efforts in starting up your club and wish you the best of luck. Unfortunately, sailing is extremely uncommon on the rivers although not unheard of. There are a few local lakes (within an hour of Pittsburgh) that might be a better place to start your club. Lake Arthur is the first one that comes to mind. There is a dealer called Wind and Water in Butler along Rt. 8 that also might have some more info for you. Good luck.
first off i have to agree with Grantz.
i have never seen anyone sailing on any of the three rivers.
the currents as well as the barge traffic would make it very dangerous
and although windy at times most of the time our wind is pretty calm.
if your gonna sail i strongly urge you to have an electric motor or an outboard
ready to go in case of emergency,
as well as a ship to shore to moniter barge traffic.
it takes those barges along time to get stopped.
they have the right of way over us pleasure boaters
and more often then not by the time they see you coming around the bend
its allready to late to stop.
truth be told imho i dont think it is safe enough to do
however that being said,
i happened upon this one site in the middle of summer last year,
not sure but i think he is a professor at pitt http://www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/sail/index.html
Panther Sailing Club - University of Pittsburgh
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