Windmill Class Association

Eight Bells for Bill Blanton
William "Bill" Blanton, a life long Windmiller sailor, passed on January 10th, surrounded by his wife Judith and loving family. The WCA shares in the family's grief, and sends our prayers and thoughts as they begin the process of healing. For all that knew Bill, or of him, his decades long contributions to the WCA will forever be recognized. An active sailor and competitor, he gave equally to the support of the Class. Serving as president for many years, he maintained our commitment to a family friendly association while ensuring high quality events. Most recently Bill assumed the role of Treasurer, keeping the Association well managed and in the black. But most importantly, on shore, you always knew you were standing next to friendly soul, willing to help you as needed.
We will miss him tremendously. Rest assured however, that each time you are up on the rail, in a full plane - he will be with you - grinning from ear to ear with that full beard flowing. We love you Bill!
~Dave Neilsen
Bill Blanton Memorial information
http://billblanton.wordpress.com/

The Windmill Class is a National Association of Owners and Builders of the Windmill One-Design Sailboat. Clark Mills designed the Windmill to be a challenging and exciting boat for teens to sail when they graduated from his Opti design. Today the Windmill Class brings families together from across the country to enjoy the thrill of friendly rivalry on the water and camaraderie ashore.

JOUSTER editor needed
Many thanks to Dave Ellis for his excellent three years of service.
REQUIREMENTS:
Compile others' stories, arrange on template pages, have printed, make labels and mail.
WCA pays expenses. Please contact one of the class officers for more information.

California Juniors travel to area regattas Darrell and the Lake Yosemite Juniors at the Lake Washington Regatta.
L-R Elizabeth Dietz(21), Darrell Sorensen, Julia McLoud(13), Casey Loeffler(14), Everett Loeffler(10), Brandon(14), Angus McLoud(13)

Looking to Build or Buy an NEW WINDMILL?

Litten Builders - The new Windmill built by Dan Litten and Lon Ethington is now for sale.

Sorensen Woodcraft is offering new Windmills in any stage of construction, from kit to finished boat.

Upcoming Events
Click on Events for information about future Windmilling events
While you are there, sign up so the organizers of the events can refine their plans.

DISTRICT WEB SITES
District 8 website.
Need help creating a web site for your district? - contact our Webmaster.

Communications
The Windmill Class utilizes Yahoo Groups for our communications.
You can go directly to the WINDMILL Group page by clicking here:
Windmill Class Yahoo Group
The Windmill Class is also on Facebook using the name Clark Mills
Visit the wall to see what's new in Windmill Sailing

File Photo: Fishing Bay 72nd AnnualRegatta

..but the clouds pretty much say it all


The Windmill is a 15 1/2 foot, 2-person racing dinghy designed by boat-builder Clark Mills in 1953. Having designed the Optimist Pram in 1947, Clark saw a need for a 2-person high performance dingy that can be inexpensively constructed by amateur builders. The class has since evolved with the times to allow fiberglass construction and aluminum spars, yet both wooden and fiberglass Windmills remain equally competitive. The Windmill is a born racer. Its narrow, hard-chined planing hull provides high performance. Being a non-trapeze, non-spinnaker boat makes the Windmill accessible to a wide range of sailing skills.

Contact the class officers for more informaion.

Length Overall 15' 6"
Length Waterline (LWL) 13' 8"
Beam 4' 9"
Sail Area 119 sq. ft.
Draft - Board Down 4' 2" / Board Up 6"
Mast Height 20' 3"
Portsmouth Ratings:
    Level 89.7     Light air 92.3    Medium 91.4     Heavy 86.4