Along with his passionate penchant for navigating open waters, Richards, the son of a shipwright, brought several of his sailing vessels with him from Northern California to Fayette County. Before long, he found himself in, well, uncharted waters (for him) in West Virginia.
"Sailing alone is both peaceful and serene," Richards explains on the SMSA website, "but, frankly, sharing with others both the art and joy of this sport is far better, and long ago surpassed my need to win regattas. When I first put my boat in the water at Summersville Lake and started away from the beach, it quickly became apparent to me that I was the only sailboat out on a warm, clear and breezy day. That same story played out weekend after weekend ... Where are all the boats? My answer came soon enough. There weren't any! Well, not boats with sails!"
To address that dearth he detected, Richards incorporated the SMSA as a nonprofit entity, became the group's harbor master, bought a few small boats and began teaching free Basics of Sailing classes at the pond he installed on his property.
More than 600 people have taken the classes which are offered on weekends every month from May through September (if weather conditions comply).
Richards' pond contains marker buoys for novices to navigate and negotiate. Sailors have the option of docking their own boats on his property as well.
Richards said each month's class almost invariably fills to capacity. "We limit the number of students to seven, in order to teach as much as possible in two, six-hour sessions. Generally, three coaches share responsibility for a safe learning -- and, most of all -- fun class."
After they learn the rudimentary ropes of sailing, many of the students become SMSA members themselves, he added.
"The majority of our membership is made up of past students," Richards said, "and our growth has come mainly from our students."
The nonprofit mini-navy consists of approximately 50 active members at present, their ports of call not only in West Virginia, but Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky as well.
"We really don't see or, for that matter, plan to be a big-name yacht club," Richards explained, "but, rather, remain a group of like-minded folks that enjoy being on the water powered only by the wind -- the idea of sharing the knowledge gained and by applying that knowledge to introduce the love of sailing to others."
Like Richards, Bob Rodak, of St. Albans, has boated most of his life. His especial interest in sailing was ignited by his brother-in-law and sister-in law, West Virginia transplants living in Illinois who invited him to crew on their boat one sunny Sunday a few years back.
Afterward, Rodak read an article about the SMSA in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia magazine. "I signed up, took the class and bought a sailboat. I've bought several sailboats since then," the retired attorney said.
Rodak also served as the SMSA's commodore from 2017 to 2020. The commodore's role is, largely, to arrange and facilitate group activities and fundraisers and just keep operations sailing as smoothly as possible, he said.
The commodore also coordinates out-of-state group trips to the waters of the Outer Banks, Lake Erie, and other ports.
"We have fun, collegial sailing events that are organized -- or semi-organized -- to get people to sail, basically," Rodak said. "Some of us, especially the retired people, go to Summersville a lot and have day sails pretty regularly. Some of the members around here will just get together and boat on the Kanawha.
"The bulk of my friends I met through sailing, I can easily say that. I spend a lot of my time engaged in sailing, and many close friendships have developed through sailing and the Association. It's a major part of my life. It gets me on the water with people; we have a shared interest that kindles friendships and relationships," Rodak said.
Current SMSA Commodore Thadd McClung lives near Hamlin and works as a full-time safety engineer with the West Virginia Division of Highways. His sailing avocation started inauspiciously, he recounted.
In 1992, McClung opened and operated a car wash while working his way through his studies at Marshall University. He earned enough money from the venture to purchase a 24-foot sailboat -- with a cabin -- he found in a hobby shop parking lot in Proctorville, Ohio.
"I was ridiculed for buying a sailboat in the Proctorville/Huntington area, but I restored it and put it in the Ohio River," he said.
There was one potential problem with his maiden voyage, he disclosed.
"The thing was, I had never sailed before. That first day was exciting, to say the least. An older gentleman sailed past me that first day, came about my starboard side and asked how long I'd been sailing. When I told him it was my first day, he said, 'It shows. You're going to kill yourself.' He pulled me over to the dock and started my instruction."
After a series of lessons from his benefactor and completion of graduate school, McClung lived on his sailboat for a couple of months in Guyandotte, Ohio. He relocated to Florida, where he continued to sail on the Intercoastal whenever time permitted.
He returned to West Virginia, married his college sweetheart and undertook a new career. "When COVID hit, that all came to a screeching halt," McClung said. "I told my four boys, "We need something to do that isn't around people. Let's buy a sailboat!'"
McClung followed through, acquiring an Escape trainer sailboat from a seller in Altizer, Calhoun County. Affixed to its transom was a sticker which read "Sewell Mountain Sailing Association."
"I read that and laughed my ass off," he said. "Back before World War II, my grandparents met at an ice cream social on Sewell Mountain. I thought, 'How in the world would you have a sailing club on Sewell Mountain?'"
Upon researching that perceived geographical oddity, McClung discovered the SMSA online, and he and his children traveled to Corliss to enroll in Richards' sailing class. "When I found the free sailing class and the Hospice Regatta they did, I was hooked," he said.
So hooked that he assumed the SMSA commodore's post earlier this year.
"Prior to that, I had started an Appalachian Sailing YouTube channel. My brother has a YouTube channel that's very successful. He told me, 'Everything you're interested in, do a YouTube channel.'"
McClung put his YouTube endeavors on hold as he became more involved with the SMSA. The group's members "saw a lot of energy in me and marketing potential, so they asked me to be the commodore."
Through McClung's efforts, the SMSA brought four sailboats to the Kanawha River for the recently revived Charleston Sternwheel Regatta earlier this summer.
"I really have to give a shout-out to [Charleston Mayor's Special Assistant] Jane Bostic. She and Mayor [Amy] Goodwin helped up build a bigger, stronger presence for sailing in Charleston and the rest of West Virginia. It was a tremendous success. We got 40 or 50 new members on our Facebook page from that experience. And since Regatta, we've seen an uptick in the river rafting guides who are joining us. We're seeing a marriage of the river rafters, kayakers and sailors now," McClung said.
While recreation and camaraderie are primary bonds for those in the SMSA ranks, community service has been a major impetus for them as well for more than a decade, through outreach efforts such as the Mountain Mama Hospice Regatta. The 11th annual fundraiser for Hospice of Southern West Virginia in Beckley will take place next weekend at Summersville Lake near Mount Nebo.
Per its website, annual membership dues cost $60 for a family (up to four), $50 for individuals, $25 for students and $10 for youths (up to age 18). Military discounts are available.
To dive and delve into more about the Sewell Mountain Sailing Association, including membership applications, visit its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/smsawv, or surf to the official website, smsawv.org.
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