Lake Minnetonka Sailing School

Igniting a Passion for the Lifetime Sport of Sailing

In Deephaven, sailing has been in style for over a century: founders established the Minnetonka Yacht Club (MYC) in 1899 before Deephaven was even incorporated as a village.

Lake Minnetonka Sailing School (LMSS) started in the 1920s when MYC members were interested in organized sailing education for their children. For about twenty years, a volunteer group of parents ran private lessons out of the Minnetonka Yacht Club. The informal sailing school operated with a policy of BYOB - Bring Your Own Boat. Don Zinn, Brad Van Ness and Brad Robinson officiated LMSS from a function of the MYC Board of Directors into a separate non-profit organization in 1972. To this day, both MYC and LMSS call Lighthouse Island home.

Today, Lake Minnetonka Sailing School is one of the largest sailing schools in the nation with over 700 students enrolling each year. Our programs are made possible through the generous support of our community, volunteers, and donors. LMSS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and relies on your time and contributions to support scholarship opportunities and provide capital improvements such as, but not limited to, sailboats, coach boats, sails and ongoing maintenance.