Welcome aboard and thanks for taking the time to visit. Our club consists of family memberships and both dry parking and wet slips for sailboats for all who are interested in the sport of sailing. Our club has multiple racing fleets including the Snipe Class racing fleet (INSA), a multi-class racing fleet (ENSA), the Manawa Match Racing League (MMRL), and Cruiser Fleet Racing. We are fortunate to have the Lake Manawa Sailing School (LMSS) which offers a variety of sailing classes. LMSA is also home of the Windward Women, women sailors who provide support and camaraderie for women who sail. As you peruse the different pages, you will notice that this site is all about sailing – the boats, the people, the pastime and the sport.
Where: Lake Manawa Sailing Association (LMSA) is located on Lake Manawa in the southern part of Council Bluffs, Iowa. You can find us by taking the Lake Manawa exit off of I-80 and drive south one mile and west one-quarter mile. Our address is 812 Comanche St.
Public Hours of Operation:
Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day
Weekdays 12:00pm to 8:00pm
Weekends 9:00am to 9:00pm
Member Access:
Members of the club have gate code access any time
Pre-season staffing: Weekends May 8 thru 22 – Noon till 7:00 pm
Post-season staffing: Weekends Sept 11 thru Oct 16 – Noon till 7:00 pm
Please Remember:
No Fishing
No Swimming
No running or jumping from docks
The history of our Sailing Association is rich with tradition dating back to the 1940’s. Our Snipe Class regattas have drawn competitors from around the nation, including national champions, and two of our members have sat at the helm of SCIRA (Snipe Class International Racing Association) which is the governing board of the Snipe Class. Since we’ve moved to our present site in 1986, our club has grown to include many classes of boats under 28 feet in length. In 2013, LMSA began operating as a concessionaire to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Currently our membership exceeds 150 and our on-site boat parking exceeds 120 including both dry parking on trailers and wet slips in the water.
Sailing means many different things to our many members. Some view it as an excellent opportunity to spend family time, while others may view it from a social perspective or even from a competitive angle. With the sailing season being six months long, May to October, having fun on the water becomes the primary focus. Inevitably. . . every season. . . like clockwork . . the fun catches up with some of us that make for incredible stories, or incredibly funny stories, that are told and retold at our many social gatherings throughout the year.
If you would like to learn more about sailing, or our association, please check out the pages of this website and contact us through the “Contact Us” page of this website. You can join LMSA on-line following the steps on the Join Us page. Also, if you are looking for sailing instruction, check our our Lake Manawa Sailing School (LMSS) under the “Sailing” tab. Better yet, check the schedule and stop by on a racing day or any other day. . . any one of us would be happy to show you around.
Again, Welcome Aboard!
Sincerely,
The Members of LMSA