The Grosse Pointe Sail Club was founded in 1948 when the City of Grosse Pointe Park invited a dozen sailing enthusiasts to establish a sailing club at the city’s Windmill Pointe Park. Located at the head of the Detroit River, Windmill Pointe Park and its marina provide an ideal venue for conducting sailboat races. The club’s Tuesday Evening Sundown Series, now in its 43rd year, is the longest running open racing competition on the lake, drawing hundreds of sailors every Tuesday night throughout the summer. With its location at the junction of the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, the Windmill Pointe Park main pier offers spectators an excellent view of both the starts and finishes of the Sundown Races and other club sponsored race events.

As a member of the Detroit Regional Yacht-Racing Association (DRYA), in addition to the Sundown Series the club also sponsors an annual Regatta just prior to the Port Huron-Mackinaw Race and a Fall Series set of four races during September and October. There are also “member only” races during the year, which include the Ladies Race and the Frostbite Race series. GPSC members are also eligible to compete in other races supervised by the DRYA during the year. Club members include sailboat owners, powerboat owners, and members that do not own a boat.

In addition to the numerous racing activities, the clubs calendar includes many social events during the year; theme parties, summer weekend rendezvous’, group cruises, and children’s activities. The GPSC leases office space in the Tompkins Community Center at Windmill Pointe Park and uses the community center for most of its social events.