Commodore Kilpatrick
Ann Kilpatrick, commodore for the OKC Boat Club, poses for a photo by a line of yacht club burgees at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, August 26, 2009. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Ann Kilpatrick has been at the steering helm of Lake Hefner’s Oklahoma City Boat Club all year as the commodore, and she’s been on the board of directors for five years. But when she first petitioned to join the boat club about 30 years ago, it wasn’t open to women.
Her term of office as commodore, which ends in October, caps a long history with the OKC Boat Club and a lifelong love affair with boats. She has been sailing since she was a child. As an infant her parents took her with them when they sailed. Boat lore has it that she was carried on board the boat in a picnic basket.
Kilpatrick is the second female commodore ever, and she is one of two who broke the barrier for women in the club. When she was first asked to join, the application and interview process took 14 months. When it was over, she became a dues-paying member in 1982; today, there are 20 women out of the 200 members.
The boat enthusiast owns a 22-foot F2 keelboat and a sunfish once sailed by Paul McCartney. Her dad, the late Bill Kilpatrick, also a commodore in the 1950s, introduced her to sailing and gave her access to his boats while she was learning.
Her mother, the late Joann Kilpatrick, was a crew member on the boats for her husband, and her brother, Mac Kilpatrick, is a championship sailor.
The sailor can be found at the boat docks at least five days a week. She organizes races, is chairman of the monthly board and membership meetings, and uses her lawyer skills to remind club members about her pet projects — one of which is the annual charity regatta in June that began in 2001. That Lighthouse Charity Regatta raises funds that are distributed to two Oklahoma City-based charity events a year.
“About 30 years ago, they added the Wednesday night races that are really the most popular races today. They start in May and end in September. It is a great way to break up the week, like a mini-vacation and de-stressor in the middle of the week,” she said.
Another project that she loves is the youth sailing program for club members’ children and their friends. The boat club has 19 beginner boats for use by kids and also female sailors who are beginners.
When she is not on the water, she is at the Club House, a one-story brick building near the docks. The floating dock has 155 wet slips for members’ boats with two launch ramps and two hoists. There are five docks. Dry storage is available for 250 boats.
“We were included in plans to host the U.S. Sailing Team if Oklahoma sailing became an option for Olympic training,” she said. “We’ve had the North American J22 Championship races in 2005; the Adams Cup Women’s Championship in 2008, plus numerous races through the years. We have many championship sailors, “ she said.
Kilpatrick has been the racing and entertainment committees for the Club. She developed the donor base for the charities.
She has sailed in many waters including the Virgin Islands, Penobscot Bay in Maine, San Francisco Bay and Newport R.I. “Sailing is really a ‘green’ sport, she added. “I think that is another reason that sailing has had an increase in popularity. We use the wind for our fuel.”
When she is not making waves at the Club House, she’s focused at her church, at the Junior League of Oklahoma City or as a Casady School alumnae. She was an economics major in college and then went to law school.
After the commodore’s banquet in October where past commodores, current board members and general members of the club meet for one last “Aye Aye” to their outgoing captain, she probably won’t just sail away. This dedicated sailor certainly wouldn’t want to miss the Wednesday night sailboat races at Lake Hefner.
Click here for other photos of Ann Kilpatrick in The Oklahoman
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