Hello Everybody!
My name is Connor Witt. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a senior electrical engineering major from Reston, Virginia. This is my fourth year in the club, and after serving in both executive and officer roles, I am thrilled to take on the rewarding responsibility of being Commodore. This club has been the most impactful aspect of my college experience, so I am ready to give back to it as much as I can.
I remember coming out to my first Learn to Sail on a sunny Sunday morning my freshman year. Music was playing out of the shed, upperclassmen were relaxing out on the Hobie, and it was then that I knew I had found my home at Clemson. Finding any possible event to come to, I was determined to make Clemson Sailing my life. Now, after nearly four years, I have done just that, gaining many lifelong friends and experiences along the way that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
We remain the largest club sport on campus, with over 425 active members, and we continue to refine and elevate our members' experiences. Our sailing programs (Learn to Sail, Learn to Race, dinghy race team, keelboat race team) are thriving, and our social events (formal, semi, tailgates, Fridays at four, etc.) are as exciting as ever. We are now developing avenues to expand these programs and increase our members' access to sailing.
Currently, we are beginning a Learn to Big Boat program this Spring. This program will not only give Ripple the love and attention she deserves, but will also provide Learn to Sail graduates with useful sailing skills lasting beyond college. Secondly, our keelboat team has expanded to include a second J24! “Blind Date” was kindly donated to us by Jeff and Amy Woodard down in Charleston. With this new boat, we have opportunities to race more regularly and have officially become CORA members to compete in their regattas. Recently sailing well in the Frostbite Series and in SCOR, our keelboat team is on the come-up, so stay tuned!
One of my goals for this year is to spend more time at the docks. To encourage this, the executive board has committed to holding at least one work day each month. Keeping our home in good shape is very high on my list of priorities. With improvements such as a new flower bed and a repair of our flag pole, we have big plans to increase our “curb appeal”.
The main priority on the to-do list remains the Dock Project. After a year of university politics and miscommunications, we are ready to proceed with our dock plans. We have requested Army Corps approval and are ready to start building as soon as we have the permit. A great big thank you to all of those who contributed to our GoFundMe over the past year. Without your help, this project would not be possible.
With this new dock we will be able to safely continue our sailing programs and provide room for their growth. There are still lots of exciting developments ahead for the Clemson Sailing Club! I look forward to continuing on with ClemsonLife Day, the Spring Tiger Town Trophy, Sailgates, and all of the other wonderful traditions we have built here at Clemson. If you need me, I’ll be out sailing in the sunshine, but feel free to reach out to me at witt4@g.clemson.edu anytime.
Enjoy it,
Connor Witt