Unlike the salmon fishing story, this is no April Fool's bit

"Prescott Arizona? Sailing?" and the exclamatory answer, "You bet!" are the first Q&A you'll find at the Prescott Sailing Club website ( http://www.prescottsailingclub.org/). The questions echo the surprise that both visitors and residents often express at the notion that there are sailworthy waters here, let alone a sailing club. But indeed there are.

Formed in the late 1990’s, the Prescott Sailing Club at first held meetings in a sailboat shop on Grove Avenue (yes, a high desert sailboat shop). The club currently has 19 members and an email list of another 20 or so folks who are interested in sailing. There's certainly potential for growth of the club, and not only because of the area's population growth: it's likely that there are experienced and potential sailors already in Prescott who simply haven't yet discovered the club or the pleasures of sailing here.

The members have a lot of fun sailing Lynx Lake and Watson Lake in small sailboats, each just a few miles from downtown Prescott. At this writing they had just returned with their boats in tow from Lake Pleasant, a much larger lake northwest of Phoenix. The sailing club expects to repeat the Lake Pleasant trip at least once each winter season, when the lakes nearer to Prescott are a bit on the chilly side for this sport. However, “chilly” is relative, and a few hardy sailors hit the nearby lakes in the winter and usually notify other members of their intentions by email. The club often combines sailing with cook-outs, including some shared dishes.

You don't have a sailboat? No problem - the club owns two sailboats for use by the few members who do not own boats and by those members who simply want some occasional variety in their sailing experiences.

Members occasionally engage in some casual sailing competitions, “casual” because the wide variety of boats they sail won't allow for “single class” restrictions. There are monthly meetings to plan for sailing events and to engage in special projects aimed at furthering the sport. One focal point is communication with the City of Prescott regarding Watson Lake facility enhancements that would benefit sailors, other boaters and even those who simply like playing and picnicking by the water's edge.

The Prescott Sailing Club meets at 7pm on the first Thursday of each month at Chuy's Mesquite Broiler, 576 Miller Valley Rd, Prescott. Visit the Prescott Sailing Club website to learn more about the club, including its scheduled events and meetings. And, by the way, there is also an Arizona Yacht Club with a website at www.arizonayachtclub.org.

(Rod Moyer is a member of the Prescott Sailing Club)