The dam closed it gates 100 years ago on June 24, 2011 and White Rock Lake began to fill.  Centennial events were held in and around the lake to commemorate this milestone. They ranged from a photo contest to a half marathon and included a Centennial Bike Ride, Historical Exhibit at North Park Mall, White Rock Lake Festival, Rowing Sprint Championship, Bass Fishing Tournament, Beach Party of the Century and a Centennial Concert at the Arboretum. All proceeds from events went to help fund capital improvement projects at the lake. CSC held a Centennial Sailing Clubs Open House and Wooden Boat Show (photo) in conjunction with White Rock Boat Club (WRBC).  WRBC also sponsored a Centennial Regatta and CSC held a White Rock Lake 100th Birthday Party for our membership.

Both the racing and social programs at the club continue to expand.  Races are being held on Wednesday evening (Lasers and fun races - photo), Friday evenings (Vanguard 15s), Saturday (Butterflys and Snipes) and Sunday (all fleets). The First Friday parties were started in the 2000s and are still going strong throughout the summer.  These are very popular with the membership and well attended. 

The SMU sailing program at CSC continued hosting several SEISA regattas each year until it became inactive in 2016.

The club also hosts a Radio Control Fleet which takes advantage of the club’s unique over-water facilities each spring hosting a major International One Metre (IOM) class regatta - annual Blow Out Regatta (photo).  It has grown to attract participants from around the US and from foreign countries.

A campaign started in the early 2000s to refurbish the common areas and docks has continued into the early 2010s. Most of the pier work was completed in the early 2010s.  The VIP facility (photo) at the north end of the club, was replaced in 2011. In 2011 and 2012, the plumbing and electrical systems, respectively, were replaced. Since CSC is a volunteer organization and members do most of the club maintenance, a financial incentive was added to encourage members to support the work days.  This was added to the bylaws in 2004 and continues to help turnout.   

Other projects provided additional pads and deck space for Lasers, youth Lasers and 420s and SMU 420s, and davits for Corinthians east of the north gazebo and on the northeast dock. These were accomplished in 2014-15.

Up the lake, White Rock Boat club entered into a major facilities renovation program, as well, rebuilding piers, pads and the clubhouse and adding new heads.
 
The club continues to grow with between 300 and 350 members.  We made a final push into the digital age in 2011 adding credit card payment for dues and special events. The Women's Racing program was reprised in 2011 as WOW - Women on the Water - and the Snipes held the 75th Southwestern Regatta that same year.

CSC, in a unique partnership with Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club, hosted the 10th Annual Leukemia Cup Regatta in 2011. All centerboard boats and the Corinthian Fleet sailed at CSC on White Rock Lake, with DCYC hosting the Catamarans and keelboats at Lake Lewisville the following weekend. The fund raising total for the first 10 year of the event reached $1 million. A special fundraising event replaced the Leukemia cup in 2013, The Commodore's Cup where the Commodore chooses a charity to receive the regatta proceeds.

The club has extended other traditions as well, such as Sailing for Rhinos which is held in conjunction with the Dallas Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) and raises money for preservation of the endangered Rhino.  The 13th annual event was held in 2016.

CSC hosted its first Special Olympics Regatta in 2000 and the tradition continues today. CSC has sent a team to the Special Olympics World Games since 1999. These games were held in North Carolina and we returned with a bronze medal. The games are held ever 4 years in the year prior to the Olympics. CSC teams won Gold medals in 2003 (Ireland), 2007 (China) and 2011.  Anderson Jones (CSC) and his unified partner Curtis Brown (SOTX) won the Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece in 2011. Steve Comen took a group to the world games in Los Angles in 2015 and brought back both gold and silver.

          

Talk about a big deal - the club hosted US SAILING’s Championship of Champions regatta in 2011.  This regatta brings together 20 sailors who have won national class-championships within the past year.  Twenty races were sailed in round robin format over 3 days in October.  Club members' Flying Scots were used.  CSC put their best foot forward on and off the water with the weather god’s cooperation. CSC was awarded the prestigious St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy (shown above) for the excellent race management at the CofC regatta. CSC also won this trophy in 1986 which puts it in elite few who have one this trophy more than once.

The lake’s spillway and dam were severely damaged in a flood in 2006.  After an extended design period, work started to rebuild the spillway and repair the dam in late 2008 and was completed in 2010.  This project added observation areas, parking and trails to the area which now serves as the gateway into the park.  The park department, using bond and private funds, embarked on a major program to upgrade other park facilities around the lake – roads and parking lots, jogging/bike trails, landscaping, dog park, lighting, signage… which ran into the mid-2010s.  The elevated bridge on Northwest highway was completed in 2012. The Arboretum embarked on a major expansion program. The White Rock Boathouse expanded its facilities building a new rowing center next to the filter building in 2008. A second rowing club, Dallas United Crew, began operating from a parking lot between CSC and WRBC in 2012. The new millennium has brought many improvements at the club and around the park.

May 2015 was the wettest on record in Dallas going back to 1899. There was major flooding throughout Texas. The club flooded three times within a week with water rising about 2 feet over the docks.

The junior program continues to thrive with the junior sailing camps growing each summer. Clinics are being held year round to help develop the young racers.  The CSC racing team has been quite successful on the TYA youth regatta circuit. 

The Texas Sailing Association (TSA) has a long tradition of producing champion racers that have bested the best at events all over the globe. The first annual TSA Bob Gough Race of Champions was hosted by CSC in January 2017.  It had a unique, multi-generational format. The winners of each of the Youth Circuit classes were invited to participate. They brought one adult crew from their home club and TSA will supplied a Texas Legend crew.  CSC provided Flying Scots for racing. The regatta will carry the name of CSC’s Bob Gough, one of Texas‘s legendary race officials.  Some of the Texas Legends that participated in the regatta included Kelly Gough, Bill Draheim and Paul Foerster.

As we approach 2020, the Corinthian, Butterfly, Flying Scot, Laser and Snipe fleets are all still active.

This history will be updated from time to time as new information becomes available. If you have anecdotes, photos, facts, corrections or other interesting information about sailing on White Rock Lake, please e-mail it to Frank Richards or send to 7274 Williamson Circle, Dallas, 75214.

Updated 2-24-2017