A Rich History
The Neenah Yacht Club was organized in 1864 and merged with the Nodaway Yacht Club in 1905 to become the Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club (NNYC). Like many early yacht clubs in the United States, no formal sailing education was offered. Fathers learned to sail and taught their brothers and sons, etc. The Fox Valley Sailing School (FVSS)—an entity that is entirely independent of the Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club—was organized in 1958. So for nearly a century, no official sailing education was offered; or nearly so.
In 1926, the Neenah-Nodaway Junior program was started when the club acquired three dinghies. These boats were to be used for boys who had no boats of their own. As is typical of sailing schools, racing became an instrument for additional instruction and improvement. The boys recruited for this program came from what was then known as the Boys’ Brigade.
Can you answer this question?
• How many other yacht clubs in the U.S. are actually older than NNYC?
The answer to this question and many more can be found in James C. Kimberly’s book The History of the The Neenah-Nodaway Yacht Club of Neenah, Wisconsin: An Account of Yacht Racing on Lake Winnebago from 1859 to 1957, which was published in 1957. No, this book is not available on Amazon.com but the Fox Valley Sailing School would be happy to help you acquire a copy for yourself. Just send us anemail with your contact info.
The Fox Valley Sailing School owes its existence to a few generous sailors and members of NNYC in the 1950s who saw the need for organized sailing instruction in our community. This was not too long after the end of World War II, when the Fox Valley saw an increased interest in junior sailing and racing.
Called by various names through the years, such as “Neenah Nodaway Sailing School”, for example, the sailing school was created and nurtured by John Galloway beginning in 1958. The Breakfast Optimists Club of Neenah—of which John was a founding member—was responsible for making the initial donation of boats, leading to the creation of our own Opti fleet. It was Bob DiRenzo, the Optimists Club President during that time, who sent John and others on a mission to find a way to help youth in the area.
The sailing school became better organized and served as a stimulus for junior sailing during the 1970s. Karrie Galloway served as sailing master during the development of the broadened program in 1970 and 1971. She was followed by Janet Apple in 1972 and 1973 and Adrienne Dick in subsequent years. At one time or another, all of Galloway’s kids played in role in sustaining and strengthening the school.
FVSS began to include adult instruction as well. In 1979, the school was incorporated as Fox Valley Sailing School and was accepted as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
During the 1970s, pre-(sailing)season classroom sessions were conducted at the Neenah YMCA by Bud Dick, Gus Larson, Joel Ungrodt, Dieter Kutscha and Owen Felton. Occasionally, guest speakers such as Buddy Melges, Peter Barrett and Bruce Goldsmith were brought in. The school continued to grow, reaching an enrollment of over 120 by 1980 and maintaining approximately that level through 1984. The school eventually developed its own fleet of X-boats as a result of donations by NNYC members.
Today
Over the years, sailing school classes have been held in various locations. One popular place has been Neenah Harbor at Riverside Park. Our adult sailing classes continue to be held there.
The Kids’ and Teen Program eventually moved to Doty Park, just across the harbor from Riverside Park, and stayed there for many years. In 2003, the sailing school board experimented with holding the youth classes at Rec Park since that’s where Thursday Night Youth Racing was being held (and still is). Rec Park in Neenah is now the permanent home for our Kids’ and Teen Program. The City of Neenah has generously partnered with us to build waterfront facilities next to the Neenah Pool.
FVSS now offers nine 1-week camps for Kids’ & Teens at the basic and advanced sailing levels. We are becoming very good at matching the offerings of the sailing school with the needs and desires of the community.
Make a splash with sailing class, register for lessons now!
Meet the Instructors
Matt is returning for his 8th year as an instructor, but you probably won’t see as much of him this year. When he’s off the water, he’s researching transplant immunology at UW-Madison, where he is pursing a Biology degree. He also races sailboats with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Sailing Team
Will is our head instructor this year. You will likely recognize him because he’s been an employee since 2018, and before that he was a camper. Will learned to sail through the Fox Valley Sailing School, starting at the age of 7. When he’s not on the water, you can find him outside, birding or hiking. During the rest of the year, Will attends the University of Wisconsin, majoring in BioChemistry.
Teddy has been an instructor since 2019, having spent the 4 summers prior as a camper. He has been sailing with his family since he was 6 years old. During the off-season, look for Teddy out on the snow – he is on Ski Patrol and loves to cross country ski as well.
Hello to Harry! If he looks familiar, it’s because his twin, Teddy, is also one of our instructors. Like his brother, Harry has been sailing since he was small, when he started sailing with his dad. Harry can often be found maintaining the condition of our boats and buildings.
Emma is relatively new to sailing, experiencing the sport for the first time just 2 summers ago. We are especially lucky to have Emma join us because her family moved to Colorado and she spent the last year there. She will be returning to Colorado to attend college in the fall, but in the meantime she’s excited to be spending the summer in Wisconsin sailing on Lake Winnebago again.
This is Ethan! Ethan has been a fast learner the past few years. He started lessons 2 years ago, then moved quickly to a junior instructor last year, and is now one of our instructors. Ethan is very involved with the Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club, and races with them 4 days a week! His co-workers are impressed with his dedication for sailing.
This is James! He has been a familiar face at the sailing school since he started taking lessons when he was 8 years old. Like all of our instructors, he hasn’t stopped sailing since! When he’s not on the water, you can find him playing video games and writing computer programs.
This is Max’s second season as an instructor, after starting as a student in 2021. When he’s not sailing, Max is running cross country and skiing.
