Doug Long is planning the 2nd annual Hobie Dust Off at the Fort Peck Sailing Club out of Fort Peck marina this year for the Summer Sailstice. It's going to be a fun, non-competitive sailing day up in Northern Montana. This is Doug's 3 year anniversary of sailing in the Summer Sailstice, and is the owner of a Catalina 30TR named the Prairie Spirit. In 2022, Doug joined the 1st Hobie Dust Off and is the organizer of the 2023 edition. It's going to be a fun, non-competitive sailing day up in Northern Montana on Fort Peck Lake, fed by the Missouri River. Doug's first Sailstice was in 2021 on a Hobie 16. Sounds like some interesting sailing conditions on the lake, as his plan was to "sail with the waves on the dredge cuts," in his 16 on the Dredge Cuts event.
The Fort Peck Sailing Club has an interesting origin story. It's the first and only sailing club on a body of water “where any boat besides a fishing boat is an oddity, in their own words! Paige Anderson and Julie Burke founded the club looking for ways to introduce people to the sport. Though open house events and other sailing activities, they introduced the many curious newcomers to the fun of sailing: Julie and Page gave rides to half of them on the Hobie cat, while club member Rafe gave the rest of the intrigued visitors a ride on his Catalina 30. Says Rafe, "almost none of them had ever been on a sailboat. I took each group out for an hour, just a short sample of a good day cruising..."
