2022 Fall Gam

PRIZE-GIVING CEREMONY DRAWS 52ND NEWPORT BERMUDA RACE TO A CLOSE

More than 100 prizes were awarded at Government House on Saturday evening

HAMILTON, Bermuda (June 27, 2022)—The 52nd Newport Bermuda Race drew to a close Saturday night with the Prize-Giving ceremony, held at Government House, starting in rain and ending with the glow of a setting sun. At the outset, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore Craig Davis asked the assembled guests to observe a one-minute silence to acknowledge and reflect on the passing of Morgan of Marietta‘s owner, Colin Golder, during the race.

More than 100 awards were presented for top finishes in each of 19 classes, and for numerous other superlatives, such as overall fastest and slowest elapsed times, youth teams, family crews, and club and service-academy teams. Then, at the very end, came the race’s trademark sterlingsilver St. David’s and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophies, which are “keeper” awards for the winners. (See Prize List of all winners. https://bermudarace.com/wp-content/ uploads/2022/06/N2B-2022-Prizegiving-LIST_-FINAL.pdf)

Her Excellency, the Governor of Bermuda, Ms. Rena Lalgie, hosted the ceremony, welcoming hundreds of guests and multi-generational sailors who came forward to receive prizes from the Governor and Craig Davis, Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, and Chris Otorowski, Commodore of the Cruising Club of America. Stephen Kempe, the RBYC Honorary Secretary, served as master of ceremonies, presenting the entire nine-page prize list. The

race is co-hosted by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

The coveted St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy, a silver and gold replica of the lighthouse awarded since 1954 to the winner of the largest division (108 boats this year), was presented to Sally and Stan Honey (Palo Alto, California), for the performance of their 56-year-old Cal 40 Illusion. With a crew including Carl Buchan (Seattle, Wash.), Don Jesberg (Belvedere, Calif.) and Jonathan “Bird” Livingston (Richmond, Calif.), Illusion posted the fastest corrected time in the division in the past 20 years, and its 1h:58m:04s margin ahead of Andrew Clark’s (Greenwich, Connecticut) second-place J/122 Zig Zag is the third largest in the same time frame.

The Illusion crew made repeated trips to the stage during the ceremony, earning half a dozen other prizes for the largest margin of victory in class, the top-performing vintage yacht, the fastest yacht from the Pacific Coast, and more.

Chris Lewis, Stan Honey, Sally Honey, Chris Sheehan, and Charles Swanson representing two division winners share a moment with their trophies. Sally Honey holds the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy for Illusion and Chris Sheehan holds the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy for Warrior Won continued on page 6

Her Excellency, the Governor of Bermuda, Ms. Rena Lalgie (red dress) presents the St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy to the Illusion crew (left to right) Jonathan Livingston, Sally Honey, Stan Honey.

LETTER FROM THE COMMODORE

Ahoy Shipmates!

Welcome to 2023! I hope your holidays were filled with family and friends. After now almost 3 years of Covid, the CCA has persevered in spite of the pandemic and with thanks to Jeff Wisch as chair of the Covid Task Force and its members. Our membership is at 1370 and we will again be adding members this Spring. Our members have found new ways to connect with Zoom meetings and webinars. Stations have been holding cruises again and numerous international cruises are on the calendar and being subscribed. We look forward to a cruise in St. Lucia in March, Mallorca in September and the Baja in the spring of 2024. Malta and Sicily will happen in September 2024 and then Scotland in June 2025. Thanks to our various cruise chairs Drew Kellogg, Howie Hodgson, Les Crane, Steve Calhoun and Jon Brewin for organizing these cruises in far away places. Now a bit of a recap of 2022.

The 2022 edition of the Bermuda Race had 180 entries; not a record but a very healthy entry list. CCA skippered boats constituted about 25% of the fleet entries and we had 20 podium finishes. All in all an excellent turnout and performance. The 2024 BR edition is being helmed by Mark Lenci as chair and Andrew Kallfelz as vice chair. Thanks to Somers Kempe for leading the way the past two years. We formed the Bermuda Race Foundation to be the BR Organizing Authority that officially became a 501c3 this year and is now accepting tax deductible donations. Thanks to Vice Commodore Jay Gowell and Past Commodore Brad Willauer for their work on this important project.

The Newfoundland Cruise, organized by Bill Bowers, drew about 20 boats and a very enthusiastic group of cruisers. Commodore Moya Cahill of the Royal Newfoundland YC and her team provided a well organized cruise of this beautiful Canadian Maritime Province. We definitely will need to get another cruise to Newfoundland on the books.

The Centennial celebration in Newport was super. Counting invited guests, members and spouses, we had over 400 in attendance. We had a splendid reception at the Sailing Museum and a wonderful gala under the tent at Ft. Adams. We had some super luminaries come and speak to our members including Robin Knox-Johnston, as well as visiting Commodores from the Irish Cruising Club, RORC, Royal Bermuda, Royal Newfoundland and the Royal Cruising Club. And Gary Jobson produced a great film about the CCA that has been seen by thousands on YouTube and at various station events. We published Tim Murphy’s book “Adventurous Use of the Sea ” and it is being sold on our website and on Amazon. If you do not yet have a

copy, it is a great read and good to have on the boat for inspiring nights in the salon. The companion volume, the “History of the CCA”, is being authored by Sheila McCurdy with publication later this year.

I know that I speak for the officers, R/Cs and Committee Chairs in giving kudos to our webmaster, Michael Moradzadeh, for his tireless work on the web, often with short deadlines, updating data, and creating new programs to meet the needs of our club.

This year we had to update and fine tune the dues payment and collection process. Secretary Molly Barnes, Treasurer Kathleen O’Donnell, VC Jay Gowell, Membership Chair Ernie Godshalk, and Nick Kennedy all worked together to accomplish this project. Dues were raised 6.6% for the year 2023 necessitated by increased costs, mainly in the printing of our publications.

The Long Range Planning Committee has been meeting regularly with Chair Tim Surgenor. There are a lot of moving parts to the CCA and Tim and his committee are preparing a report to the membership in 2023 to help guide us.

Our Annual Meeting Awards Dinner weekend will be back at the New York YC this year, Friday March 3rd for some meetings and Saturday March 4th for the Board Meeting and Awards Dinner, organized by Steve James. Thanks to Karen Kolker, Events Chair for organizing this weekend. We are looking forward to the Fall Meeting September 29th in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It is a beautiful town and area and thanks to Ernest Hamilton and his team in organizing this event.

In closing, I want to thank your hard working officers Jay Gowell, Molly Barnes, Kathleen O’Donnell, Historian, Doug Adkins, Ernie Godshalk Membership Chair, Yearbook Chair Barbara Watson, Ami and Bob Green, Voyages editors and our excellent committee chairs for their constant attention to the needs of the CCA.

This issue of the GAM looks to be another good one under the steady hand of Phil Dickey and loaded with content. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Editors: Phil Dickey, Chief Editor

Dennis Powers

Elisabeth Bohlen

Robert Beebe

Barbara Watson

Tad Lhamon

New Members Editors: Dianne Embree & Dorothy Wadlow

Commodore Christopher L. Otorowski

Vice Commodore Jay Gowell

Secretary Molly P. Barnes

Treasurer Kathleen M. O’Donnell

Historian Douglas D. Adkins

Fleet Captain

Paul Hamilton

Webmaster Michael Moradzadeh

Rear Commodores

Bermuda Les Crane

Boston Carter S. Bacon Jr.

Bras d’Or G. Ernest Hamilton

Chesapeake Beverley L. Crump

Essex Tom Wadlow

Florida Patricia Montgomery

Great Lakes Peter Balasubramanian

New York David P. Tunick

Pacific Northwest David C. Utley

San Francisco James K. Quanci

So. California Stephen Calhoun

Post Captains

Buzzards Bay Boris Paul Bushueff, Jr

Gulf of Maine Peter Driscoll

Narragansett Bay Dick Waterman

GAM Editors Emeriti

Dan and Mimi Dyer 2003-7

Chris and Shawn Otorowski 2008-13

Pieter de Zwart and

Joanna Miller-de Zwart 2014-17

Wendy Hinman 2018-20

Haley Lhamon 2020

Chris Otorowski 2021

Email submissions to gam@cruisingclub.org

Submissions deadlines are March 15th and November 15th

COMING UP… CRUISES AND MEETINGS

A MESSAGE FROM ANNE KOLKER , CHAIR, EVENTS COMMITTEE

Yes! We have events.

At long last we are meeting in person and planning events. However, these meetings are also unfortunately an opportunity to get infected with Covid. All Stations and Posts will be following the existing policy for CCA Events. All participants must be vaccinated with at least 1 booster and are encouraged to wear a mask when indoors at local events or as may be required at club-wide events. In addition, Stations and Posts should follow CDC and state and local health department policies as applicable.

ANNUAL MEETING

We are looking forward to the annual meeting at the 44th Street location of the New York Yacht Club. The meetings will be held on Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, 2023. For those who cannot attend, we plan to offer a zoom link to all meetings as we did for the Centennial.

FALL MEETINGS

2023: September 29-30, Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. Bras d’Or Station; Gretchen McCurdy, Ernest Hamilton

2024: October 17, Annapolis, MD. Chesapeake Station; John Devlin

2025: TBD. Southern California Station; Steve Calhoun

CLUB CRUISES

2023: March 11-18, Windward Islands.

Abby and Drew Kellogg

2023: September 9-23, Mallorca.

Les Crane and Howie Hodgson

2024: April/May, Sea of Cortez.

Dan Gribble and Gary Davidson

2024: September 7-21, Sicily/Malta. Les Crane

2025: June, Scotland. Jonathan Brewin

SAFETY AT SEA

There are 2 sessions scheduled in the spring of 2023.

Check the CCA events calendar on the website for updated information or contact the organizers of cruises for more information. We hope to see you joining the club for these Events.

Anne Kolker CCA Events Chair

MALLORCA SEPT 9-23, 2023

wind, and all should work out well.

The anticipated Itinerary is:

Saturday 9th - Palma - Board Charter boats in the late afternoon.

Sunday 10th – Palma – Provision boats and enjoy Palma

• Opening cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres near the marina where most charter boats will be berthed.

Event Plan as of Nov 2022

(Editor’s note. To access the full information about the Mallorca Cruise, please see its description on the CCA Website/ Member links/All Events.)

We now have almost 150 people who have indicated an interest in joining the cruise: thirteen in their own boats, nine who have chartered boats, another fourteen planning to charter, six looking to join a mothership and others looking to join another charter. The Cruise will run 9 - 23 September 2023; see the CCA Website/ Member Links/All Events if you are interested in joining us, and please fill out the survey. Helen helen@ sublimeyachts.com and Dawn at Sublime Charters have put together some Charter Opportunities—again, see the website. Their list is on a first come-first served basis so please look at the opportunities. We have identified a Swan 80 as a mothership, and we are taking bookings.

Howie and Wendy Hodgson are back from Mallorca where they were checking out our possible event venues. We are working on our cost estimates and budgets and hope to be back to you by the end of November with that in hand, asking for an initial $150 per person deposit.

Jock & Val Macrae, Mags and I spent a great two weeks in September 2019 shadowing our plans for the (2020) cruise. We had good weather, lovely swimming, fabulous food, and we explored some interesting calas (bays). We know we will have a great event next year.

“The weather is generally pleasant and the water warm (77 degrees) in September. Daily temperatures are in the high 70’s to low 80’s. Rainfall in our 2-week period over the 2017-2018 period averaged 0.6in. In 2019, there was a thundershower the day we arrived and two brief showers through the week. There were only a couple of unusually cloudy mornings, but there were many great days with pleasant temperatures throughout.”

We plan to sail 185 miles around the island counterclockwise. While winds are quite light in September, if anything comes up it will generally be out of the NE. In 2019, we had one day of 20-knot winds from that direction. Otherwise, winds were generally modest (<12kts) from the northeast. Going C-C should have the wind and sea behind us as we go along the North Coast. We’ve identified the harbours to head to if there is strong

47 miles Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday

• Explore the south coast and perhaps anchor off the long beach Playa del Trench (21mi) or off Colonia de St Jordi

• Illa de Cabrera (27 mi from Palma) is a nature reserve on the southeast tip of Mallorca. There is a very protected all weather harbour. We plan to make bookings (necessary) here on Monday and Tuesday night. Plan on staying one night.

• The calas along the east coast south of Portocolom are not to be missed.

Wednesday 13th – Portocolom – Dock Party – We have been assured there should be enough room for 50 boats in the marina and on moorings in this protected harbour. We are working out arrangements for a dock party ashore.

50 miles Thursday/Friday/Saturday

• Explore the calas between Portocolom and Porto Cristo.

• Possibly head into the protected Puerto de Cala Ratjada before going around the Cabo de Pera.

Saturday 16th – Alcanada – Casual dinner ashore. Fleet anchored offshore in the lee of Isla d’ Alcanada or in Alcudia harbour about 4 miles west depending on weather and personal preference.

35 miles Sunday/Monday/Tuesday – possible stops

• Polencia

• Cala Formentor

Then head around Cabo Formentor, from which point the coast is quite open, but you can probably pull in for a swim at

• Cala de San Vincente

• or the incredible Cala de la Colobra before heading for shelter in Soller.

Tuesday 19th – Soller - Cocktail party ashore. We have been assured there will be room for us either in the marinas or anchored in the harbour. Plan to spend more than one night in Soller to give yourself a chance to take the tram from the port up to the town

continued on page 18

THE CRUISING CLUB OF AMERICA

The Journey of the CCA

The Cruising Club of America was born in 1922 of the desire of a group of dedicated cruising sailors to form a club in North America similar to the Royal Cruising Club in Britain. Their objectives were to promote ocean voyaging in small yachts, sharing information regarding destinations, encouraging the development of suitable cruising yacht designs and recognize the accomplishments of oceangoing sailors.

The CCA has remained a club without a clubhouse and invites into its membership only qualified bluewater sailors who are considered good shipmates. The CCA has, since 1926, partnered with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in sponsoring the Newport Bermuda Race. The CCA, consistent with its original objectives, has been instrumental in the development of rating rules and safety standards for ocean racing and blue water cruising.

The Cruising Club has 1400 members and over 1000 yachts in the fleet. Its activities are organized around eleven Stations and three Posts stretching from Bermuda to the Pacific Northwest, and from Southern California

to Nova Scotia. Cruises have included New Zealand, the Ionian Sea, the Baltic, Ireland, Scotland, Turkey, Croatia, Newfoundland, the Caribbean, and Thailand. CCA awards the Blue Water Medal, Far Horizons Award and Young Voyagers Award honoring important bluewater passages. The Club has provided leadership in developing yacht racing rating rules since the 1920’s, including the current Offshore Racing Rule. These efforts have produced safer and faster yachts and helped to make racing and cruising more widely embraced.

The CCA just held its weeklong Centennial Celebration and Awards Ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island with over 400 in attendance, including Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and many Blue Water Medal winners. The Cruising Club has successfully navigated its first century and stands poised to continue to foster “The Adventurous Use of the Sea.”

A just published book with that title written by Tim Murphy and edited by Sheila McCurdy profiles 18 past and present members of the CCA. Learn more about the CCA at cruisingclub.org

The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy, a silver replica of Bermuda’s tallest lighthouse awarded regularly since 2002, was presented to Christopher Sheehan (Larchmont, New York) and his Pac52 Warrior Won for victory in the higherperformance, professionally crewed Gibbs Hill Division (18 boats). Sheehan enters the record book as the first owner to win both the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse and St. David’s Lighthouse trophies. In 2016, he won the latter with his Xp44, also called Warrior Won.

“It’s very humbling,” said Sheehan, who last year won the Transpac Race and, last February, the Caribbean 600. “There are so many wonderful records and legendary sailors in this race.”

The Bjorn R. Johnson Castle Hill Trophy for the corrected-time winner in the Multihull Division was awarded to Jason Carroll (New York City), whose MOD70 Argo set a new course record of 33 hours (19.24-knot average) and became the first Saturday finisher in the 116-year history of the race. The trophy was newly minted in 2018 when multihulls were invited to compete in the race for the first time, and Carroll won it that year as well in Elvis, his Gunboat 62 catamaran.

The Finisterre Division Trophy was awarded to octogenarian Dudley Johnson (New York City), who

triumphed over 39 other boats with his high-performance cruiser Prevail, a Tripp 65. Reflecting on the wait for this race forced by COVID-19, Darris Witham, skipper of Prevail, said, “The boat has the right name. The race is a liquid Everest, and it had to be climbed. Dudley had done the race once before, and he really loved it and wanted to do it one more time.”

The Double-Handed Division trophies, the Moxie Prize and Philip S Weld Prize, went to 20-year-old Zachary Doerr (Butler, Pennsylvania), a Webb Institute undergraduate, and 53-year-old Vladimir Shablinsky (Glen Cove, New York), sailing together on the Figaro Custom 2 Groupe 5 in Class 6.

“We were hesitant to believe we were doing too well, so we pushed all the way through to the end,” said Doerr. “The only time I got excited was when we finished in Bermuda and got cell service; the first text that popped up was from my parents, saying, ‘You guys are almost definitely going to be first.’ The whole experience feels kind of surreal being on the island now—a week ago I was taking finals.”

Charles Swanson, Chris Sheehan and Chris Lewis receive the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Trophy from the Governor.

Dudley Johnson (center), owner of the Tripp 65 Prevail, and his crew receive the Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy

Zack Doerr receives the Moxie Prize

Vlad Shablinsky receives Philip S. Weld Prize

Trixie Wadson Trixie Wadson

The William L. Glenn Family Participation Prize, for the top team with four or more family members aboard including an afterguard member (see requirements, https:// bermudarace.com/prizes/glenn-family-prize-entry-form/), was won by Brian Bush (North Chatham, Massachusetts) on Toujours, which also won Class 7 in the Finisterre Division.

Wasp, a US Naval Academy boat skippered by John Neubauer (Annapolis, Maryland), won the Stephens Brothers Youth Trophy. The award is for the top boat in the St. David’s Lighthouse and Finisterre divisions crewed by sailors more than half of whom are between the age of 14 and 23, inclusive (see requirements, https://bermudarace.com/ prizes/stephens-brothers-youth-prize/). Wasp, a J/133, also won the Battle of the Atlantic Trophy with the third best corrected time among boats from service academies in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division.

The Corinthian Trophy for the top-finishing all amateur crew went to Froya, a McCurdy & Rhodes 46 co-skippered by Lane Tobin (Seattle) and Bill Gunther (Essex, Connecticut). Froya finished second in Class 11.

The George W. Mixter Trophy is awarded to the winning navigators in the St. David’s Lighthouse and Gibbs Hill Lighthouse divisions, and this year the trophies went to California sailors Stan Honey of Illusion and Chris Lewis of Warrior Won. “This is really special to me,” said Lewis. “We’re both members of the St. Francis Yacht Club, and Stan has been my mentor for many years.”

As the rain clouds dispersed and the sun set on the 52nd “Thrash to the Onion Patch,” sailors lingered at Government House, enjoying the end of an extraordinary event. The start of the 53rd race will be on June 21, 2024.

George W. Mixter Trophy: Chris Lewis (left) navigator of Warrior Won and Stan Honey, navigator of Illusion

Stephens Brothers Youth Trophy (left to right): Ulysses Buzan, Nate Bramwell, the Governor of Bermuda, Ms. Rena Lalgie, Skipper Jack Neubauer and Rowan Suarez-Parmer

William L. Glenn Family Participation Prize to (l to r) Brian Bush, Jeff Bush, Jonathan Smith, Tom Tetrault, Paul Duffy, Mary Bush. Trixie Wadson photo

Corinthian Trophy: Froya crew, left to right, John Winder, Lane Tobin, Frank Bohlen, Vince Wyborski, John Brooks, Warren Costikyan

Selina Stokes (Norfolk, Virginia) receives the Endurance Trophy as cook aboard the 37-foot Destiny, the last boat to finish with an elapsed time of 151hr:46min:37sec.

Trixie Wadson

Trixie Wadson

A NORTHWEST PASSAGE ASSIST FOR A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VOYAGE

BY DAVID THORESON

In late summer, for the third time in my life, I arrived in Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk), Northwest Territories, Canada. The two other times were sailing the Northwest Passage from east to west in 2007 (Cloud Nine) and west to east in 2009 (Ocean Watch). My current visit to the remote village, situated on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, was not planned. In fact, I had just arrived by taxi of all things. The SUV dropped me and my new mate, Ben Spiess, from Anchorage, near the only pier in town at the terminus of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway. Yes, the end of the Ice Road.

The goal of this ordeal was to meet a 47-foot Stevens named Polar Sun and assist sailing the vessel to Nome, some 1200 nm away. The sailboat was attempting an eastto-west Northwest Passage and had left Maine in early June of this year. The owner of the vessel, and expedition leader, was Mark Synnott, a very well-known and accomplished mountaineer, climber and guide. Mark is also a best-selling author and writes for National Geographic Magazine amongst many other publications. In recent years, Synnott had become very interested in the combination of climbing and expedition sailing. The NWP was the outgrowth of his plan, and he was doing a feature piece on his 2022 expedition for National Geographic.

Back in May, I had done a little consulting for the voyage along with my great friend, Herb McCormick, from Cruising World Magazine. Everything was going by the book until the trouble started with a gale and some sea ice which trapped

Polar Sun in their anchorage in Pasley Bay, deep in the heart of the passage. Thus began a harrowing ten days of being surrounded by ice and pressure, fighting off the ice to survive.

Eventually they freed themselves from the ice and made it to Cambridge Bay. The voyage was delayed, and two of the film crew left for another assignment, leaving only Mark and Ben..

This is when I got the call to see if I could meet them in Tuk and sail the rest of the voyage. I packed a duffel and a strategy and headed to the Arctic Ocean.

We arrived in Tuk four hours before Polar Sun arrived. The strong easterly had blown some water out of the bay and the boat went aground at the end of the dilapidated pier, stern angled out. No worries; Ben and Mark were just happy to be there. The next day we got fuel, changed oil and filters, and

Polar Sun at Tuk Pier

Polar Sun in Tuk;

left at high tide out of the long shallow channel and bent her off to the west. The winds were 20-30 knots from the east. We settled into a 6-8 knot, rolling, downwind run shooting for Pt. Barrow, some 500 nm away. It was cold, sleeting, and breezy, great polar sailing conditions. I was loving it.

There was nothing to see by day or night; this was a passage-making voyage. Our weather window was perfect, and we rounded Pt. Barrow and headed southwest into the Chukchi Sea. Soon we started seeing a big weather system develop in the Bering Sea. A north Pacific Typhoon named “Merbok” was restrengthening over warm waters and ripping north out of the Aleutians. We would not make Nome in our weather window.

We created a strategy to anchor underneath Pt. Hope, a 15-mile spit of land some 300 miles north of Nome. This proved to be a great move as “the storm of the century” with a

12-foot storm surge wiped out many small communities and damaged 1000 miles of SW Alaskan coastline, including areas immediately surrounding Nome. We departed our anchorage while near the eye of the storm and motor-sailed, close-hauled, in tough conditions towards Nome. We caught a favorable wind shift near the Bering Strait and sailed into Nome in the sunshine and before the next storm. This was by far the most intense short-term experience I’ve ever had sailing 1200 nm in these cold and fast-changing conditions.

David Thoreson is a photographer, sailor, and author. David is the first American sailor in history to complete the Northwest Passage in both directions.

Author David Thoreson

Polar Sun crew (L to R): Ben Zartman, Mark Synnott, David Thoreson, Benjamin Spies

Polar Sun sailing into Nome

Polar Sun approaching Point Hope

From September 11-16, the Cruising Club of America celebrated our combined Fall Meeting and Centennial in Newport, Rhode Island. Over 400 members, spouses, and guests attended; many members cruised their boats to the celebration, with cruises organized to or from Newport by the Essex, New York, Florida, Chesapeake, and Bras d’Or Stations. Members enjoyed visiting each other’s boats, and we had a special treat touring Dorade, brought generously to Newport for tours by owner Pam Rorke Levy. The Centennial was delighted to welcome Commodores from other yacht clubs: James Neville of the RORC, David Beattie of the Irish Cruising Club, Moya Cahill of the Royal Newfoundland YC, Vice Commodore Tim Trafford of the Royal Cruising Club, Vice Commodore Tim Steinhoff of the Royal Bermuda YC, Commodore Paul Zabetakis of the NYYC, and Rear Commodore Clare Harrington of the NYYC.

The meeting began with registration and an opening reception organized by the Essex Station at our Newport venue, the Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina. Many thanks go out to the ESS team, led by Brin and Joy Ford, Dennis and Verity Powers, Mindy Gunther and other Fall Meeting Committee members and volunteers. Committee meetings filled Monday’s schedule, punctuated by an entertaining lunch history talk by Doug Adkins, CCA Historian, at the Hotel. Monday’s Reception and Dinner were held also at the Hotel, and we were treated to an excellent talk by larger-than-life Sir Robin KnoxJohnston, winner and only finisher of the first Golden Globe Race and first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world. Sir Robin attended many of the events and Receptions and engaged in multiple conversations with our attendees. He couldn’t have been a more engaging guest.

Tuesday concluded the Fall Meeting and featured more committee meetings and a great lunch talk by

Pam Rorke Levy, “Dorade: Almost 100!” The Official Fall Members Meeting occurred in the afternoon, followed by cocktails at the Hotel.

The official Centennial Celebration began on Wednesday with a fascinating Heavy Weather Sailing forum at the Jane Pickens theater, moderated by Frank Bohlen and featuring panelists Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, Rich Wilson, Steve Brown, and Randall Reeves. These panelists made presentations about their heavy weather experiences and answered questions from the audience afterwards. Strikingly, despite sharing many hair-raising big water adventures, these sailors said that they had never been afraid,

and that when in danger, their minds were busy devising strategies to get themselves out of their predicaments. Like Sir Robin, maybe these gents are cut from a different sailcloth than most of us. Lunch at the Hotel featured talks by Jean-Luc, Randall, and Rev. Robert Shepton, who shared mountaineering stories in addition to his sailing adventures.

Wednesday afternoon’s activities returned to the Jane Pickens, where we were treated to two Gary Jobson films, “Cruising Club of America: Sailing the World for 100 Years,” and, “Ted Turner’s Greatest Race: The 1979 Fastnet.” We also were treated to two video entries in Historian Adkins’ Sea Chanty Contest. Following these excellent video presentations, we attended a very nice Reception at The Sailing Museum in downtown Newport, where attendees enjoyed many interactive exhibits and a brief address by Commodore Otorowski.

Thursday began with a presentation of new sail technology by Will Welles and Austin Powers of North Sails, followed by presentations from Chris Freeman, VP of Mystic Seaport Museum, Mark Grosby on our Archives, Sheila McCurdy on “CCA Characters Over the Years,” Bill Strassberg on Safety at Sea, and a yacht design forum featuring Jay Gowell, Bill Cook, Mark Ellis, Stan Honey, Shelia McCurdy, Jim Binch, and Catherine Reppert. A Yacht Hop rounded out the afternoon from 11:30-15:00.

Perhaps the best event of the Centennial was the spectacular Gala Awards Dinner held at Fort Adams, overlooking Newport Harbor, in fine weather, with attendees in smart casual dress. We had a fine cocktail hour and then a superb surf-and-turf lobster and steak dinner under the big tent. Next, Steve James presented the awards. Sailors receiving awards in person were: Jack and Zdenka Griswold, Commodore’s Award; Gretchen Biemesderfer, Carl Vilas Literary Award; and Jim Chambers, Richard S. Nye Award. Those

Welcome to the Centennial; excellent placard by Mindy Gunther ESS

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in great form at Monday’s dinner

Phil Dickey Dan Nerney

receiving awards virtually on the video wall were: Matt Rutherford, Young Voyager Award; Peter and Ginger Niemann, Blue Water Medal; Curtis Green, Rod Stephens Award; Sherry and Don Stabbert, Far Horizons Award; and Skip Novak, Royal Cruising Club Trophy. Following the Awards, we danced under the big tent to the sounds of “Decades by Dezyne.”

On Friday morning, after a casual continental breakfast at the Hotel, our meeting disbanded; many members visited the Newport International Boat Show, which began on that day.

The Fall Meeting and Centennial Celebration was informative, festive, collegial, and a great deal of fun. Due substantially to great work from many volunteers, and great performances by the Newport Harbor Hotel, the Jane Pickens Theater, the Sailing Museum, and Fort Adams, our event proceeded smoothly and flawlessly. Commodore and Shawn Otorowski deserve special thanks for planning the event over the last seven years. If only we could attend the 200th!

Respectfully submitted,

Phil Dickey

GAM Editor in Chief

Dave ESS and Sue Dickerson enjoy cocktails at the Newport Harbor Hotel

Essex Station volunteers Dorothy Wadlow ESS, Tom Wadlow ESS, and Bob Greene ESS at the registration desk

Molly Barnes BOS, Charlie GOM and Gale Willauer

Karyn James FLA and Ann Devereaux

Dan Nerney Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Brin Ford ESS, Garry Fischer BOS, Ed Kane BOS, Jack Towle BOS

Yuko and Hiro Nakajima NYS

Vice Commodore Jay Gowell BOS

Forum speakers (L to R) Randall Reeves, Rich Wilson, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, and Steve Brown. Moderator Frank Bohlen ESS

Randall Reeves entertains at Wednesday lunch

Sally SAF and Stan Honey SAF

Shawn Otorowski PNW, Debra Gayle-Malone BOS, and Wendy Cullum enjoying the Sail Museum Reception

Commodore Otorowski introduces the Heavy Weather Sailing Forum at the Jane Pickens Theater.

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Phil Dickey

Design Forum, featuring (L to R) moderator Vice Commodore Jay Gowell BOS, Catherine Reppert BOS, Mark Ellis ESS, Stan Honey SAF, Shelia McCurdy BOS, Bill Cook BOS, and, virtually, Past Commodore Jim Binch NYS

Sail Museum Reception

Under the tent

Cocktails in spectacular weather at Fort Adams

Commodore Otorowski addressing the attendees

Past Commodore Shelia McCurdy regales with “CCA Characters Over the Years”

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Phil Dickey

Phil Dickey

Vice Commodore Jay Gowell BOS and Shawn Otorowski PNW looking very young

Past Commodore Medland in the groove

Steve James FLA beginning the Awards ceremony

Phil Dickey

Phil Dickey

Dan Nerney

Dan Nerney

Historian Doug PNW and Susan Adkins enjoying dinner under the tent

CCA’S CHARTS & GUIDES COMMITTEE

NEW ONLINE CCA CRUISING GUIDE TO MAINE BREAKS NEW GROUND

The all-new CCA Cruising Guide to Maine is now just five months old (as of September 30), and it’s been an impressive beginning.

Two years ago, the first bold decision was to embrace an online resource’s unique capabilities. A template was created so that over 30 CCA members and content contributors could share their wealth of knowledge about various harbors and anchorages in a consistent and graphically pleasing manner.

After nearly two years of collaboration and creativity, the online guide sparkles with the best local knowledge on over 65 harbors and anchorages. In addition, the website includes twelve thoughtful articles on a range of related topics, such as anchoring, mooring, cruise planning, fog, lobster gear, safety issues, etc.

The content is regularly reviewed and enhanced by feedback from guide users. Over the first few months, there have already been dozens of real-time updates and enhancements, one of the significant advantages of an online guide.

The results have been extraordinary. With a fledgling Social Media and Email marketing effort that began in earnest in late July, the site has already had over 6,000 users, 20,000 page views, and over 400 hours of engagement by users. Compare this to well-regarded CCA printed guides, where sales of a few hundred copies per year are considered a success.

While some of us may keep our well-worn but dated print guides aboard for a while longer, the advantages of a dynamic, graphicallyand data-rich online guide have become embedded in the priorities of a new generation of cruising sailors

Additionally, the new Digital Maine Guide has also enjoyed unusually positive reviews, testimonials, and user feedback.

“We so appreciate the effort of CCA to produce the guide to Maine. We are experienced cruisers and sailors, but this is our first summer in Maine and we return to the CCA guide as the most up-to-date, non-commercial, and opinionated and accurate (good!) guide to Maine. Really looking forward to the continuation of this project for the CCA.”

- Chris G, Little Harbor 54

“Can I just say, cruising in Maine this summer and the weekly blurbs of the CCA Maine Cruising Guide is (are) sooo

helpful. I think I might know a location, but then the depth of experience and expertise of the members shown in these weekly updates is amazingly helpful. If I missed something in a recent cruising location - now we have a reason to go back Thank you.” Susu & JC, S/V EPIQUE

Now that the Guides Committee has created a simple and successful template for online guides, what other stations will come forward to share their unique cruising knowledge with the local cruising community? For

SPINNAKER CARNAGE IN THE 2022 NEWPORT BERMUDA RACE

It seemed like every sailor on the docks at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club had been on a boat where the A2 kite had blown up during the first day of the Race. Though there are no official tallies of the number of torn sails, Jack Orr, North Sails expert in Bridgeport, Connecticut, says, “our shop is full of them.” Jack points out that his folks are repairing kites from many sail manufacturers, not just from North. Why was there so much A2 carnage?

Our beautiful North A2 on the Swan 46 Flying Lady tore not in the blustery 30 kt winds on Sunday, but in 6-8 kts of NW wind on Friday afternoon, after the 20+ kt SW wind that made our start sporty had faded. We faced confused 6-8 foot seas leftover from the sou’wester, and our 32,000 pound boat was struggling in the light nor’wester, with the bow rising up on the waves and slamming down in the troughs. During one of those downstrokes, our big A2 tore in a spectacular fashion, from about 1/3 up the luff, across the girth to about the halfway point, then down into the foot. We quickly hauled her in and set the A3, also a beautiful sail,

more information, please contact the committee at guides@cruisingclub.org.

The hard-working contributors to the online guide for Maine are:

Andrews, Sandy GMP

Babbitt, Jane GMP

Babbitt, Tom GMP

Baker, Milt FLA

Barton, Bill BOS

Block, Roger GMP

Bruce, Doug GMP

Chandler, John GMP

Coit, Dan GMP

Deupree, Jesse GMP

Fletcher, Max GMP

Gabrielson, Mark BOS

Godshalk, Ernie BOS

Griswold, Jack GMP

Griswold, Zdenka GMP

but one that on starboard tack forced us to sail about 30 degrees above the rhumb. Thus our quest for silver was essentially over—we needed that A2 to sail down to rhumb, and despite a few painful jibes back to port (which gave us no VMC to Bermuda), we found ourselves 50 miles east of rhumb at the midpoint of the trip. That we managed a middle-of-class finish on Tuesday morning is due to the crew’s resilience and mental toughness.

So why did that sail explode in light winds? Jack Orr reminds me that for most of the St. David Lighthouse fleet, the sails are built for both offshore and inshore sailing. Many of our boats predominantly sail Block Island Race Week or similar events most of the time and sail a Bermuda Race only every other year. The dual-purpose sailing requires compromises in sail design and build, and Jack says that the dual-purpose sails were the ones in his shop for repair.

Heavy boats like Flying Lady generate high shock loads in the luffs of the sails when the bow and tack of the sail accelerate downward while

Guck, Brian BOS

Haddock, Jennifer GMP

Keegin, Stafford SAF

Lyman, Cabot GMP

Myers, Mark CHE

Orem, Nick BOS

Pratt, David GMP

Rubadeau, Bob BOS

Salter, Maggie BOS

Simon, Frank GMP

Simon, Libby GMP

Todd, Galen GMP

Warren-White, Nat GMP

Willauer, Brad GMP

Willauer, Charlie GMP

Wohlforth, Bill BOS

The CCA Guides for the Atlantic Maritime Provinces enjoyed a healthy sales resurgence in 2022 with a

hobby-horsing in big leftover seas in light downwind conditions. Jack reckons that these conditions exist in only about 5% of Bermuda Races— significant periods of light, lumpy, downwind. I have sailed in 6 Bermuda Races, and this is the first time I have

return to cruising following the Covid pandemic. An updated version of the Nova Scotia Guide, edited by Committee Co-Chair Wilson Fitt, was launched in April. This book was well received and sold very well throughout the summer. Updated Newfoundland and Labrador Guides editions are in the works for 2023. The committee is working to find a new editor for the Gulf of St Lawrence Guide . James Evans (BDO) is to be congratulated on a 19-year stint as the creator and editor of this excellent guide.

The Cruising Guides Committee is keen to talk with CCA members interested in sharing their cruising experiences with others. It’s a rewarding process that people find enjoyable.

Flying Lady on the Stamford Vineyard Race, 2019, flying the A2 kite

experienced these conditions.

So must we accept that in some races we will lose our kites? One thing Jack says we can do is tighten the luff rope in these conditions, so that the dyneema, rather than the sailcloth, absorbs the shock loads (I was previously unaware that the luff ropes could be adjusted).

Jack also says that conversations with your sailmakers may allow them to design a different kind of spinnaker if your program is more committed to offshore than inshore racing. Nylon fabrics, from which most spinnakers are made, lose

strength and get heavy when wet, and they therefore must be treated with water repellants. Racing spinnaker design, in general, has advanced toward using repellants which are coated onto the fabrics. Coating the fabrics make them less porous and more stiff—both are qualities which improve transmission of the energy from wind puffs into boat speed by decreasing wind leakage through the weave and by decreasing energy loss to stretch of the fabric. These sails are fast in inshore conditions. However, the stiffness tends to make the sail more vulnerable to shock loads and

make it less durable, factors that are unfavorable for offshore work. In contrast, cruising spinnakers are generally made from more stretchy fabrics in which the individual fibers are impregnated with water repellant, rather than the entire sail being coated with it. The stretchy cloth is more forgiving in shock loading and is more durable, but it won’t get you silver in Block Island. For programs that are more committed to offshore than inshore racing, the sailmaker can design a compromise spinnaker with fabric which can stretch a little more during shock loading, and which can be strengthened along the luff to resist the high instantaneous loads. That’s the direction I’ll be going in 2024.

The bottom line is that your dualpurpose spinnaker will be fine in 95% of our Bermuda Races, at least according to Jack Orr. However, if you want the ideal offshore sail, your sailmaker can build a compromise sail that won’t sink your race in the first afternoon!

Chart Loaning Service

Your Charts and Guides Committee has traditionally overseen two club functions–the holding, cataloguing, and lending of the Club’s collection of world charts; and the editing and publishing of four CCA-affiliated Cruising Guides to the Canadian Maritimes. Notwithstanding the electronic conversion to plotters and internet websites, paper charts and guides remain far more than 20th century relics. Even as we embrace new technology, the continuing desire for the big picture, the love of the written word, and the utility of advice from those with specific knowledge–not to mention the requirements of good seamanship–keep paper charts and a library of guides on most chart tables.

Hoping to encourage more use of the Club’s charts and guides resource, the committee invites members planning cruises to be in touch with us. In fact, we hope to become something of a convener or link to connect cruising members looking for expertise with fellow members who have it. To that end the committee invites those amongst you who feel you have expertise to offer to join our ranks. Conversely, if you are looking for expertise, we also want to hear from you. For more information, please go to https://www.cruisingclub.org/mo/charts-guides

Notice the tear in the luff and the parted dyneema luff rope.

Phil Dickey, Essex Station

of Soller or hire a car and test the mountain roads. 47 miles Wednesday/Thursday/Friday – possible stops

• Calla de Deya if a west wind

• Foradada if an east wind. Plan on heading there (4 miles west of Soller) for a breakfast swim. The paella ashore is recommended.

• Andratx - a beautiful, protected port on the west coast

• Stop for a swim in the calas between Pta de Cala Figuera and Puerto Portals.

• Charter Boats will generally be due back by the end of the afternoon Friday.

Friday 22nd Palma – Closing Dinner – Venue to be reconfirmed.

Participants are encouraged to allow extra time while in Mallorca for some land travel to enjoy the stunning mountain vistas and lovely towns and villages. The island is a flat plateau with cliffs and caves on the south and east sides and mountains and beautiful rock formations on

the northwest side. Some suggested hotels in Palma will be listed after Howie’s trip. Palma can be quite busy in September, so you are advised to book well in advance.

We have been working closely with Helen and Dawn of Sublime Yacht Charters who came well recommended by friends in Palma. The standard charter would have you going aboard 5:00 pm Saturday 9thth and have the boat back in Palma for the party Friday with departure from the boat Saturday morning 23rd.

A recent update of the RCC Balearics Pilot has been created by David and Susie Baggaley, friends of CharlesHenri Mangin (ESS), and a pdf version can be ordered through the RCC Pilot Guides.

On the Website, you can find photos of our destination. Les Crane & Howie Hodgson – Co-chairs

ENVIRONMENT OF THE SEA

The Environment of the Sea Committee has been concentrating its efforts on reducing single- use plastics on our boats and in our land-based events. We have been promoting the Sailors for the Sea Green Boating Guide and Clean Regattas guidelines. Campaigns and legislation promoted by Sailors for the Sea, teamed with the larger global organization, Oceana, have been presented through the Environmental Moment of the monthly Waypoints. Signatures supporting these issues have contributed to some important victories. California enacted the strongest plastic source reduction policy in the US. The Canadian government will phase out some of the most commonly found plastic polluting Canada’s shorelines by the end of 2023. The U.S. Department of the Interior will phase out single-use plastics in national parks and public lands. But there is still more to do!

The 2022 Bermuda Race Green Team introduced the role of “Environmental Steward” as a designated crew position through the SailGate entry system. Boston station member, Chan Reis, described this E-Steward as a crew member willing to help prepare, provision, and execute the race with sustainability in mind. The Clean Regatta race partner, Sailors for the Sea, has endorsed the concept and is awaiting the Green Team’s Clean Regatta Platinum Level Sustainability report. Some 50 e-stewards were designated out of 178 boats that started the race. And for the first time, the Bermuda Race NOR included a sustainability and clean regatta pledge promoting the CCA’s longstanding leave-no-trace objectives. Please see the Bermuda Race Sustainability page for more information on this wonderful program.

Beach cleanups were promoted around the country, but the most amazing cleanup effort has been accomplished by San Francisco Station member Mary Crowley. Her Ocean Voyages Institute has been removing ghost nets and other plastics from the North Pacific Gyre since 2009. In July 2022, the sailing cargo ship Kwai arrived in Sausalito with 96 tons of recovered materials. This mission brings the group’s total to over 692,000 pounds of plastic removed from the ocean

Stay tuned for more environmental victories by CCA members in the future!

Rowena

Carlson, Chair Environment of the Sea Committee

Ghost nets and other marine debris on the deck of KWAI, summer 2022

UPDATE ON RECENT MEMBERSHIP TRENDS

The Long Range Planning Committee was formed in 2020 to help chart the future course of the CCA as we round the centennial mark in our history. The committee started its work with an analysis of recent membership trends, which was presented at the fall meeting in Newport.

We are very pleased to report that the significant push to recruit younger members while maintaining rigorous membership standards (which started under Commodore Jim Binch in 2016) has been effective. Next Watch Members (those 54 or younger) numbered 106 in 2017 and grew to 144 in 2022, representing 10% of the club. During that same period the number of women members doubled from 57 in 2017 to 116 in 2022, or 8% of the club. During 2019 and 2020, immediately before the pandemic, the club added more than 70 new members per year as compared to 46 in 2015. The

growth in Next Watch membership is significant in that it represents a reversal of a long trend documented in reports by Tad Lhamon in 2003 and Doug Bruce in 2016.

With over 1400 members in 2022, the club has grown steadily at a rate of around 1% per year for the last several decades. Two-thirds of our members belong to stations on the east coast (BOS, ESS, NYS, CHE, FLA) of the US with just under a quarter on the west coast (PNW, SFO, SCA) and the balance in the GLS or international stations (BDO, BDA). The fastest growing stations from 2016 to 2020 (pre pandemic) were the GLS, PNW, CHE, BOS,

BDO and SOC.

Thanks to all the proposers, seconders and membership committees for their focus on this effort, and most importantly to the new members who have joined the club recently. This is a great reminder to all CCA members of the importance of being on the lookout for potential new members who meet our high standards and working to get them to join.

A full copy of the presentation is available on the LRP page on the CCA website.

ADVENTUROUS USE OF THE SEA

By Tim Murphy.

Edited by Sheila McCurdy Reviews from CCA Members

From Tom Whidden —Some think sailing yachts are only for the elite to show off their wealth and fame. The reality is anything but, as shown by Tim Murphy’s intriguing Adventurous Use of the Sea. This book profiles colorful skippers from contrasting backgrounds, each harnessing wind and sails in singular ways to power their dreams. Tim Murphy has done a wonderful job telling each story of hardship and triumph that puts the reader in the cockpits of historic yachts, sturdy cruisers, and high-tech race boats. This book belongs on your bookshelf to savor for years to come.

—Tom Whidden, past president of North Technology Group and America’s Cup Hall-of-Famer, is the author of three books, including The Art and Science of Sails.

From Gary Jobson —Tim Murphy’s book about Cruising Club of America members and their yachts is a great read. He captures the very essence of 100 years of CCA history and the reader will be inspired to head offshore to make “adventurous use of the sea.” Each voyage is unique, and the locations are special, but the best part is getting know the people who have enjoyed remarkable lives on the water. A good collection of excellent images enhances the narrative. Every sailor should read Tim’s book. You will return to it often.

—Gary Jobson is a sailor, television commentator, and author of 19 sailing books. He is Vice President of the International Sailing Federation and President of the National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Adventurous Use of the Sea is now available on the CCA Website and on Amazon.

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

BERMUDA

A Newport Race year is always a busy one for the Bermuda Station. Our Somers Kempe was Race Chair this year and his father Stephen Bermuda chair. As you will read elsewhere it was a very successful event.

One local highlight is the reception we hold for CCA participants in the race. Organized by past host Alex Cooper, the party this year was held at the home of departed NBR legend Kirk Cooper. His widow, Helen, was a most gracious host and the event was a great opportunity for Commodore Otorowski to present her with a plaque honoring Kirk’s achievements. It was a beautiful evening with about 100 guests enjoying the cliff side view over Soncy Bay, about a half mile west of the RBYC.

Our next get together will be a members’ meeting in October and then a public dinner in November to feature Gary Jobson’s movie “The Cruising Club of America: Sailing the World for 100 Years.”

BOSTON

The Boston Station’s 2022 sailing season got off to a good start with an afloat GAM off Newport’s Third Beach at the mouth of the Sakonnet River in early June. Some eight boats were present for the Follow The Wave GAM organized by the Buzzard’s Bay and Narragansett Bay Posts, which also have reports published in this GAM. They promised and delivered on both good camaraderie and good holding ground. They accomplished both very well, see photo.

The popular in-town Rats lunches resumed in the Spring and have continued into the Fall after the long Covid break. All three were well attended for the established fare of cocktails, chowder, coffee, and cookies atop the old, established, yet discreet building, with its welcoming reception loft at the top of its long, rickety threeor-four-story stairway climb. The loft area is home to the India Wharf Rats Club, which allows our lunches to be held there. It was special to see

many friends and continue with the emergence process from Covid.

A successful in-person New Members Dinner was held in mid-

CCA Members arriving at Windfall

Good holding ground promised for Sakonnet Third Beach GAM . . . entangled CQR rests lazily on old mushroom!

October for the first time in two years. Some fifty members attended to enjoy good company and an excellent evening at the Union Club in central Boston. Nick and Phyllis Orem organized the event and introduced RC Carter Bacon to present the evening. Carter introduced past flag officers, current members with organizational roles, and CCA Vice Commodore Jay Gowell, whom he invited to address the audience. Jay spoke to two central themes that he believed to be of paramount importance--volunteering and new member proposals. Jay first drew attention to the critical role of volunteers in the success and breadth of Club activities and invited the new members as well as everyone else to find opportunities to participate. He briefly noted the range of activities: the publications, (Blue ((Red)) Book, Voyages, GAM and Waypoints), the Website, the Bermuda Race and its Foundation, the Bonnell Cove Foundation, and the variety of Cruises and GAMs. The second theme was about new members and how essential the proposers are to their identification, promotion and success. He stressed the essence of the qualification criteria, the role of high standards of seamanship

and recognition of sailors to whom any one of us would easily loan one’s boat. RC Carter Bacon then introduced Ernie Godshalk, Chair of CCA Membership, who again thanked and spoke to the importance of finding quality new members. He passed the baton to James Phyfe, past Membership Chair for the Boston Station, and currently chair of the CCA Communications Committee, who was standing in for Jeffrey Wisch MD, New Member Chair, who could not be present. James set off the evening’s procedure of presentation of eight new members; another five were unable to attend. The format was to have each proposer introduce their new member and then for each new member to speak briefly to their sailing adventures to date. An interesting and enjoyable suite of accounts followed. Ernie closed the evening with a presentation to James for his outstanding works in his prior role of Station New Membership Chair.

David Curtin Historian, Boston Station

BRAS D’OR

What a terrific sailing season we enjoyed here in Atlantic Canada. Wilson Fitt hit the nail squarely on the head with his closing remark in a recent correspondence: “Alot of ‘goings – on’ for a small group,” in referencing Bras d’Or Station member activities.

The Spring 2022 Bras d’Or GAM Report mentioned Hans Himmelman was headed back to Turkey to wrap up his refit of Delawana and to sail her back home to St. Margarets Bay, N.S. Well he is back and the boat looks terrific. I’m not sure how many Trans Atlantics Hans has under his belt, five or six, the number continues to climb: pretty impressive.

Ben Garvey sailed Antares to Bermuda with his family--the trip was instigated by his kids! From all reports it was a breezy, wet and very warm delivery as the green water on deck required everything battened down making for close quarters below. The four to five day slog to windward did not deter the crew however--well, maybe Lana. They stayed on RC Les Crane’s dock in Hamilton and had a wonderful time enjoying the island and hospitality of numerous BDA Station members.

The trip home was much more pleasant, eroding the memory of the earlier beat to windward into 25 – 32 kts in full ocean conditions for 4 days straight to get there. Ben noted ,“Over all it was a great introduction for the kids. They seem to still want to do more – there are murmurings of the Azores as a next target.” The acorns do not fall far from the tree.

Judy Robertson has recently returned to the Med to continue her adventures on Semper Vivens. Closer to home, Erwin and Diane Wanderer aboard Ocean Wanderer participated in the CCA Newfoundland Cruise, which, from all reports was a huge success in every respect.

Charles Westropp aboard Wind Free participated in the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron summer cruise to

Standing from left. David Miller, Alex Hood, Jamie Ewing, Jay Gowell (Vice Commodore CCA), Carter Bacon (RC BOS), John Youngblood, Ernie Godshalk (Membership Chair, CCA). Seated from left. Kenneth Bacco, Paul Kanev, William Rogers, William Gammell. Proposers (not pictured): Ray deLeo, Robert Farley, Drew Plominski, Hank Halsted, Mike Hudney, Shelia McCurdy.

Prince Edward Island waters.

Julien Delarue and three friends sailed Andrumede to Sable Island. Hurricane Fiona almost spoiled the fun when Parks Canada officials wavered on allowing their visit due to damage to roofing and siding etc on station buildings, but gave them the green light at the last minute. The light air conditions on departure meant motor sailing much of the way but the silver lining was the calm conditions upon arrival, resulting in an easy landing. In the past, Julien and his family had attempted to visit the island only to be turned away because they could not safely land their dingy ashore due to too large breaking seas on the beach.

On arrival, they were greeted with shorts and t-shirt weather which made their stay all that more pleasant. The staff were more than accommodating and the Station Manager provided a wonderful overview of all the station activities as well as the wildlife. Only 6-8 boats visit each season so they felt privileged to have such a rewarding experience. Sou’west winds carried them home...

Keeping track of Phil Wash is a full time job. Early this season he sailed with friends from the Azores to Dingle, Ireland, and was up and down the coast of Nova Scotia countless times. He participated in the finding and retrieval of an abandoned yacht off the N.E. coast (many will be aware of the sailboat Escape that experienced a horrific

accident on board resulting in the tragic death of the skipper/owner and his wife). There is a sobering account of the terrible event in “Blue Water Sailing,” https://www.bwsailing.com/ anatomy-of-a-tragedy-at-sea/

And if that is not enough, Phil is headed south this month... I bet he is on the water as I write!

There is word that Sandy MacMillan is planning to take Manana south, stay tuned.

We are so fortunate to have such a rich and diverse bounty of cruising destinations at our door step. The following is a wonderful account of yet another member(s) summer cruise provided by Wilson Fitt. Many of you know Wilson, not only for this sailing acumen but his contributions to all CCA members’ cruising enjoyment through his work on the CCA Atlantic Canadian cruising guide books.

Here is more from Wilson:

In August, Rod Fraser and Wilson Fitt crewed for Peter Watts for a cruise from St Peters, Cape Breton, to Chester, Nova Scotia on Peter’s unique power vessel Katahdin I (calling it a mere “boat” would be a disservice). Skipper and crew had a combined age of 243 years and two centuries of sailing experience!

After leaving the Bras d’Or Lakes through the lock at St Peters on a bright sunny day, we turned west through the scenic and placid Lennox Passage and then down to Guysborough, a seldom visited but very historic and well protected harbour with a nice little marina and friendly folk. The next day in a building wind we coasted along the south shore of Chedabucto Bay toward Canso. The wind off the land was touching 30 knots by the time we gained the protection of the harbour and the narrow passages that go inside off-lying islands to the rockbound and totally uninhabited Louse Harbour.

The next morning was foggy as it is inclined to be in those waters. The crew well remembered the days before

Rod Fraser, Peter Watts, Wilson Fitt aboard Katahdin Phil Walsh aboard Escape

Wilson Fitt

David Stanfield

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

Anniversary. The Bras d’Or Station was well represented at the celebrations in Newport, RI. RC Ernest Hamilton sailed there in Glooscap II; Phil Wash in Philharmonic, along with Reg Goodday , Gretchen McCurdy and David Stanfield (all hosted by Peter and Liza Chandler BOS – GMP). Hans and Dani Himmelman, Kit McCurdy and Charles Westropp all arrived by car. Congratulations to all the organizers. It was a wonderful party.

In closing, mark your calendars, the Fall Meeting will be hosted by the Bras d’Or Station, Lunenburg N.S. Sept 29th - 30th, 2023... a good time will be had by all!

David

Stanfield

GPS, chart plotters and radar when navigation was by compass and watch and we would stop, look and listen for the bell buoy when we thought we were close. In those days we would have hesitated to set out in the fog, but when caught by it, as frequently happened, we always seemed to find our way back one way or another.

With all the modern gear at hand, the crew set out boldly and found their way along the coast without difficulty, through Marie Joseph Harbour to a lunch stop at Beaver Harbour and then on to Shelter Cove, a popular spot often shared with other boats. In this case, CCA boats Wind Free (Charles Westropp) and Vagrant (Grant Gordon) were at anchor when Katahdin arrived.

The last long day was foggy and calm to start, then clearing and still calm, perfect weather for motor vessels. We arrived back in Chester in good time for an excellent supper and celebratory drink. This was a cruise full of nostalgic moments, particularly for Rod who has spent a long and adventurous sailing life along the Nova Scotia coast, has explored most of the nooks and crannies and had stories to share about most of them.

Wilson Fitt:

It would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the CCA 100th

Bras d’Or GAM Correspondent

BUZZARDS BAY

We changed up our meeting in April by having a dinner instead of a luncheon with the objective of drawing some younger members. The meeting was followed by a presentation given by Eric Braitmayer on the Annual Maintenance of Your Boat’s Windlass and Thruster(s).

Our first Follow the Wave rendezvous was held on June 4th at 3rd Beach in Middletown RI. For the second year in a row, it was a combined event between the Buzzards Bay and Narragansett Bay Posts. We had 14 boats and 38 members join the

Phil Walsh, Gretchen McCurdy, David Stanfield, and Reg Goodday aboard Philharmonic

Eric Braitmayer giving presentation

Liza Chandler, Reg Goodday, David Stanfield, Peter Chandler, and Phil Walsh en route to Fort Adams and the 100th Anniversary Gala Celebration

Ernest Hamilton

Kit McCurdy

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

FTW with a gathering on a threeboat raft consisting of Steve Taylor’s Meridian, Rusty Kellogg’s Blue Magic and Ray Cullum’s Frolic. A good time was had by all and the Rum Keg was kept flowing.

In September a large number of Post members attended the Fall Meeting/100 Anniversary celebration in Newport. Six members from the Buzzards Bay Post enjoyed the Newport Harbor Hotel marina and welcomed all members on board during the “Boat Hop.”

The final Follow the Wave of the season was planned for October 1st at Bassetts Island hosted at the home of Bob and Joyce Wallace. Unfortunately, due to heavy rains and a strong northeasterly, it was necessary to cancel. It is a great location and will be back on the calendar for next year.

Our winter luncheons will resume in November at the Beverly Yacht or the New Bedford Yacht Club.

Paul Bushueff, Post Captain Jeff Gonsalves, Post Secretary/Treas.

CHESAPEAKE

This year has brought a welcome change, a switch from Zoom meetings and faux get-togethers to on-the-water and in-person events. Our Chesapeake Station kicked off the season with a bottom-of-the-bay Spring Cruise. Thanks to a lingering northeasterly, a small fleet of upper bay stalwarts sailed a favorable reach to Norfolk.

Hospitality at The Norfolk Yacht and Country Club was superb. The next day, thanks to Peter Gibbons-Neff, cruise participants visited the Norfolk Naval Station and had a guided tour of the 1,100-foot aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead ship of her class.

The next day, busy Norfolk was left astern disappearing rather quickly in a southern version of Maine’s “slight overcast.” Fortunately, Cruise Chair Chris Bell’s well-thought-out

itinerary led the fleet on a short hop to Cape Charles. This step-back-in-time harbor town is nestled near the tip of Delmarva and stands out as a perfect counterpoint to busy Norfolk. The next day involved a tack back across the bay and a shoreside visit to historic Yorktown. Just as the fleet prepared to disband, a friendly southwesterly filled in and the usual northbound slog turned into a pleasant reach.

Luncheons at the Annapolis YC featured interesting speakers, and plans evolved for pre- and postcentennial cruises. Roel Hoekstra, Chris Bell and others were fully engaged pinning down all of the moving parts. In June, RC Mark Myers congratulated Bermuda Race participants “Glenn Doncaster on Nanuq, Michel Cone on Actea, Will Passano on Polaris, Richard Born on Windborn, and Kodiak with Jahn Tihansky, who all showed well, and Jeff McCarran on Sonrisa was also in the hunt. Congratulations to all!”

Fleet Captain Bev Crump summarized the Centennial: “Our

Chesapeake Station was well represented with a large contingent of members and boats. It was a great opportunity for CHE members to meet members from other stations and to learn about the work of the numerous national committees. Monday and Tuesday were devoted to Committee Meetings and the Fall Members’ Meeting. It should be noted that CHE is well represented on the national level by John Wright, our Governing Board member, and Chace Anderson, the Chairman of the Finance Committee.”

CCA-CHE’s annual meeting opened with artfully succinct committee reports. Outgoing Rear Commodore Mark Myers, recipient of thumbs-up accolades, quickly obtained approval of the nominating committee’s list of new officers, introduced incoming

Entrance to the marina in Cape Charles, Va, with the tall ship Godspeed tied port side to

Past RC Margy Robfogel, current PRO, delivers the Race Committee Report

RC Mark Myers receives a commemorative burgee for duty done

Naranjo

Naranjo

Naranjo

Rear Commodore Bev Crump, and adjourned the meeting in favor of Tred Avon YC ‘s food, beverages and camaraderie.

The highlight of this year’s annual meeting was Tony Parker’s recount of the cruising exploits of the late E. Newbold Smith, a CCA-CHE member, renowned Naval Academy athlete and avid high latitude cruising sailor. Tony’s talk detailed several of Newbold’s major voyages, including a challenging transatlantic made aboard his S&S Swan 43 Reindeer –the first of his four thusly named cruiser/racers. He and his crew sailed

northeastward to Svalbard with a return route through the ice-bound Denmark Straits. Newbold cultivated and relied on a multigenerational crew of Chesapeake Station members ready for serious high latitude, expeditionary sailing.

A look astern-

CCA-CHE member Bob McNitt is deceased, but his contributions are worth mentioning. Bob started sailing the old-fashioned way. Just after the depression, he and his brothers built a 17’ sailing skiff and began to explore the local waters of Raritan Bay. The following year,

he and his brothers stretched their horizon with a summer’s worth of cruising/camping along the Great South Bay. In 1934 Bob reported to the U.S. Naval Academy. Small craft sail training and sailboat racing continued, but his primary focus was on becoming a newly minted naval officer, ready for what lay ahead. Over the next decade he would serve aboard an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, a destroyer, and a submarine.

Many years later, I was chatting with Bob at a yacht club award ceremony. The Commodore referred to the book Thunder Below, the tale of the wartime heroics of Commander Gene Fluckey and the crew of the submarine USS Barb. He asked Bob if he had ever met Gene Fluckey. Bob responded, “yes, he was an extraordinary man.” What Bob left out was that he had been Fluckey’s executive officer aboard the USS Barb, and during his five WWII combat patrols he had received two Silver Star medals for valor. Bob’s modesty and extreme competency carried over into civilian life.

After the war, Bob earned a

Second from left Tony Parker, the owner of Reindeer, gathers with fellow crew from the Newbold Smith era of adventure

Ebby du Pont, Donna and Alex Schlegel share their wooden boat restoration interest

Susan Crump and RC Bev Crump enjoy the company of Chace Anderson and Claire Parker

Bob McNitt rowed out in a dinghy and singlehanded his Alerion Express 20 well into his 80’s

Nellie Crockett and crew motor by Lady Liberty, adding a fitting finish to the Centennial Cruise

Lenore Naranjo at the helm of Wind Shadow with fall cruising in full swing

Naranjo

Ted Parish Naranjo

Naranjo

Naranjo Naranjo

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

master’s degree in engineering from MIT and became an advocate for an enhanced academic program at USNA. During his tenure as Dean of Admissions, he helped to redefine academic policies, institute the position of Academic Dean and continue to advocate the value of intercollegiate sailing and summer sail training. In the mid 1990’s, as a member of the False Committee, he strongly supported the establishment of the Vanderstar Chair position, whose responsibilities include oversight of USNA’s Sailing Programs’ safety training and vessel readiness. Thus far, CCA-CHE members Captain Ron Trossbach USN ret., Ralph Naranjo, Renee Mehl, and Jonathan Wright have each held the position and have helped to see that Rear Admiral Robert McNitt’s vision of sail training lives on.

Ralph Naranjo, Historian Chesapeake Station

ESSEX

The Centennial celebration is in the books, and what fun it was! The big week in Newport began with the Fall Meeting, and the Essex Station was proud to be host. It was great to return to an in-person event after two years of virtual Fall Meetings,

and even better to have it wrapped with the energy of the Centennial Celebration! Thanks to Brin and Joy Ford for their steady hand on the helm leading the committee of 20+ station members through months of planning, and then the execution. Thanks to Mindy Gunther for her guidance throughout, and the great poster boards in the lobby.

Back to the summer!

Enthusiasm was high for the resumption of the Bermuda Race this year!

The CT Spring Boat Show, sponsored by WindCheck Magazine and held in Essex at the Safe Harbor Island Marina, is a popular spring event in late April, early May. This year the Essex Station assisted with the Saturday program promoting the 2022 Bermuda Race. Rives Potts led off, sharing his “secrets” for

NBR preparation in his usual easy speaking fashion. Paul Jennings, who has raced in seven NBR’s, some of them with Rives, spoke about his long-planned and carefully executed process for entering his own Cal 40, Towhee, as a first-time owner. Next up, Dick Holliday described how BROC’s Ambassador Program, which he chairs, assists first-timers through the comprehensive entry and prep process. Finally, Frank Bohlen held forth revealing the nature of the Gulf Stream and advising navigators how to prepare for it.

Essex Station yachts competing in the 2022 NBR included: Shearwater (Dan Biemesderfer), Carina (Rives Potts), Towhee (Paul Jennings), Flying Lady (Phil Dickey), Maree (Dave Dickerson), Misty (Fred Alardyce), Legacy V (Michael Wiseman), and Froya (Lane Tobin/ Bill Gunther).

Brin and Joy Ford at the Duty Desk

Good crowd for CCA Presentations at the CT Boat Show

Commodore Chris and ESS RC Dennis Rives Potts presenting at CT Boat Show

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

At the invitation of Ed Kane and Mystic Seaport, ESS members visited Bolero for rum punch on July 22. Bolero was on the new CCA dock at the Seaport. Present were PC Sheila McCurdy, RC Dennis Powers, Tom Wadlow, Mike McBee, and Chris and Shirley Wick. Ed Kane was a gracious host, holding our attention with tales of Bolero’s restorations and sailing adventures. He also served a tasty rum punch.

dinner ashore.

The Summer Cruise gathered in Block Island. Bob Green reports, “Eroica’s maiden voyage in mid-July was to one of the fine CCA moorings in Bonnell Cove on Block Island. Our sail from Watch Hill was magnificent with winds SW 12-15 on the beam, testing our newly installed shoal draft keel freshly minted in Mexico City. “

Essex Station created a hands-on SAS Training for juniors! Dave Dickerson bought a new life raft for his new yacht, Maree. He donated his old life raft to the Jr Sailing Program at Niantic Bay Yacht Club, a great idea! The juniors received instruction on the raft’s purpose, deployment, boarding, etc. After class the raft became a prop for summer fun!

No ESS article would be complete without updating Louis Meyer’s

Congratulations to Carina, Towhee, and Froya for podium finishes.

The Spring Cruise’s destination was lovely Hamburg Cove in Old Lyme, CT. Present were RC Dennis and Verity Powers, Mac and Pat Turner, Jeb and Dianne Embree, Chris and Shirley Wick, Sandy and Sydney Van Zandt, and Bob and Ami Green. All enjoyed great weather, cocktails, and a catered

Also present were Frank and Elisabeth Bohlen on Tattler, Dave and Sue Dickerson on Maree, Stan and Barbara White on Lark , Rob Moore on Selkie, Dick and Ardis Holliday on Everbreeze, Chip Cooper on Makai , and Al Burnett on his tri, Friends Festivities included a raft-up cocktail party on the CCA moorings one night and a cookout on CCA Beach the next evening.

Light reading off watch

Eroica’s Block Island arrival

Niantic Bay Jr Sailing SAS

Summer cruise GAM at Block Island

Biemesderfers’ Shearwater at NBR Start

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

whereabouts with his paramour, Strummer. Once the trade winds settled down in May, Louis and Strummer departed Grenada headed up the Caribbean. Engine issues led

FLORIDA

to stops in Bequia and St. Thomas. The problems weren’t fixed; nevertheless, Strummer headed north for Florida sans engine or generator. Hand steering, Louis sailed Strummer to Cape Canaveral, Florida, arriving in early June for haul out. Explaining his decision to sail north from the Caribbean without the engine Louis said, “after all it is a sailboat!” After a visit home and engine repairs, Louis left Florida in mid-July, arriving home in Stonington, CT, July 29.

Mike McBee

ESS Historian

As with other Stations, this past summer and fall have been an exciting transition time for our Florida members. We have largely broken loose from the shackles of the Corona Virus, although with careful medical protocols still in place including face masks, vaccinations, and booster shots. It’s almost like a new set of safety procedures added for new weather circumstances when sailing offshore. Our members have increasingly launched and commissioned their boats – some for the first time in three or more years. We are now almost back to our pre-pandemic levels. Some members have bought new boats. And the biggest CCA event of our lifetimes was the blow-out 100th Anniversary Celebration in Newport. It was truly spectacular! The report below covers these items and also evolutionary improvement changes in the Florida Station’s programs, including changes in locations and times of our various monthly luncheons in different part of the state.

Our regular monthly lunches formerly held in Stuart have now been relocated north to Vero Beach, to be held on the second Tuesday of each month, November through April. The move north will attract more members to come from the Melbourne

and Orlando areas. The St. Petersburg Yacht Club lunches are the second Thursday of each month; the Miami/ Lauderdale lunches are the fourth Wednesday of each month starting in January. The Florida Station Annual Meeting will be at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, January 20 - 21, 2023. In addition to our own Station members, all snowbirds and other visiting members are always more than welcome to any of our events.

Rear Commodore Pat Montgomery & Ken Hege:

Pat reports on their summer’s cruising in Sweden and Norway: “After much apprehension of having our boat stored for 30 months coupled with the stories from other sailors’ vessel equipment failures (after extended dry storage due to Covid), we were pleasantly surprised upon return to the west coast of Sweden. The yard inspected all systems, replaced the thru hulls and hoses, fuel and hydraulic lines, replaced the sails, polished the fuel, conducted extensive battery tests, and

Straight On Til Morning Dockside in Son, Norway, with the Norwegian Fleet

Pat Montgomery

Louis and Nik, Frangipani, Bequia

Strummer arrives in Stonington, CT

History of the CCA

Tracing Our History XXVI

Historian’s Remarks at the Cruising Club’s 100th Anniversary Celebration Newport, Rhode Island - September 12, 2022

I must admit to a certain trepidation at presuming to adequately address this gathering with a talk regarding the Cruising Club and its history. Before me are many who have truly made that history and added to the lore and luster of the CCA with their cruising and racing, the sharing of their vast yachting knowledge, their advancement of safety at sea, their initiative and leadership in protecting our oceans and, of course, their great sea adventures. The decades of devotion represented by many, many members here stand in sharp contrast to the single decade or so since my fortunate invitation to join the Cruising Club. And behind me historically are nine CCA Historians, each with a contribution that will be difficult to match. But I enjoy history and I like to share it. Nevertheless, you must know that as I stand before you, I feel a little like Elizabeth Taylor’s seventh husband. I know what to do and I know how to do it. I’m just not sure if I can make it interesting for her.

If this were a TED talk…and I hope most of you know what those are… it might begin with guidance about how actually to prepare a talk. That guidance might be “Just stick to the three F’s”. Give ‘em some Facts, give ‘em some Fun and give ‘em some Filosophy.” So, here goes!

If there is one abiding characteristic of the Cruising Club over the whole span of its 100-year history, it is that we have always kept close track of our activities and our members. The records of early meetings, the formulation of club objectives and membership qualifications, and the minutes of gatherings, gams and cruises all survive from our very earliest days, if you dig enough. Apparently, we have always liked to tell sea stories. William Washburn Nutting sailed his Baddeckbuilt ketch Typhoon to England in 1921, ostensibly to observe and report on the Harmsworth powerboat races. He must have been charming, and the

acquaintances he collected include Dr. Claud Worth, the famous British cruising sailor, writer, and promoter of yacht design. With the example set by the Royal Cruising Club, Nutting and Casey Baldwin returned to New York with Uffa Fox aboard and with a plan to establish a cruising club in North America to advance the notion that small vessels could be taken to sea and survive long ocean passages safely. Certainly, there then prevailed in many quarters the sentiment that such an activity was foolhardy. Joseph Conrad had called the sea the “accomplice to man’s restlessness.” Nutting could understand that, but much of the general populous might have defined it as “the accomplice to man’s recklessness.” Despite that public perception…or maybe because of it…, the Cruising Club sprang to life in 1922 with narrow guidelines for membership intended to ensure that the objective of cruising long distances in small vessels was glorified and advanced in a club devoted to companionship around that activity. Organizing occurred in the spring, and what soon followed must have been a prodigious membership recruiting effort. Beginning with a charter membership of 34 plus 2 honorary members, new members were admitted immediately and included three from the Pacific Northwest. The Club had grown to 170 by 1925, and members’ yachts totaled 115. By 1929 the membership had grown further to 245, and the fleet was comprised of 183 yachts, the most numerous being 59 sloops and cutters, followed by motorboats at 55. Schooners numbered 44, yawls totaled 20 and ketches 22. There were always a few catboats. The 1929 fleet included yachts with names like Banzai and Swastika. That would soon change.

Sadly, by 1929 the Club had already recorded the last voyages of 39 members, notable amongst them Bill Nutting, lost at sea in 1924

with the disappearance of the Leiv Eriksson, recreating the Viking Route to “study the oceanography, fauna, flora and Norse drinking customs of the region.” Sounds familiar! He and his crew left Greenland enroute to Labrador on September 8th, never to be seen again. An extensive search was launched but without success. It was ironic to have lost him so, but the club survived and grew. But tragic loss was not the normal end for the Club’s 39 last voyagers because even then, the Club was not young, and that issue has continued to challenge us to this very day.

I would like to tell you my charted course for today’s remarks. It will be impossible to note every facet of our Club in a few short minutes but here are some topics I would like to light upon. First is the controversy surrounding cruising and racing. Second is the coexistence of motor and sailing yachts in our history. Third is the expansion of the Club with its Stations and Posts. Those are some of the “facts” part of my talk. I would also like to touch on the issue of exclusivity in our evolving search for and embrace of great Cruising Club members. And lastly, I would like to celebrate the work our Historians, official and otherwise, and why our records are so important. Maybe those last two topics are the philosophy part of this talk. Let’s start.

The Cruising Club’s early years exposed differing views regarding cruising and offshore racing. The Bermuda Race of 1923 was not officially sponsored by the CCA, but the majority of participants were Cruising Club members, and the race was organized, importantly, with CCA support of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. By 1926 the Newport Bermuda Race marriage was permanently made with Commodore Herb Stone performing the nuptials, and, ever since, the two clubs have jointly organized one of the most storied ocean races in the world.

History of the CCA

As the membership rolls continued to expand during the 1930’s, despite the ravages of the Depression, the development and refinement of the CCA Racing rule established the Club as the driving rule-making force on this side of the Atlantic for decades to come. The thirties saw extraordinary development in racer/cruiser designs with beautiful yachts, many of which were yawls, emerging from the drafting boards of Olin Stephens, Philip Rhodes, John Alden and William Atkin. Dorade, Stormy Weather, Ciclon, Baruna, Escapade, Gesture, Blitzen, Kirawan, Avanti, the New York 32, the Concordia Yawl, the Bounty Sloop and many more one-off and one-design additions added to the technology, seaworthiness, and beauty of the racer/cruiser fleet. The public was fascinated with yachting, and the media fed that interest with extensive racing reporting. Some of that publicity was created by the America’s Cup, and the races of 1934 and 1937 were the apogee of the glamorous J-Boat era. William Taylor, the second Cruising Club Historian, won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting of the 1934 contest between Rainbow and Endeavor. The increasing popularization and democratization of yachting made the Cruising Club better known and more widely admired. Racing made for greater press coverage, more glamor and more luster for the CCA, and even if some important voices poo-pooed racing, it helped importantly to build our Club and it still does. The CCA has always played a role in rating rules development. Early CCA rating rules changes headed by members like Olin Stephens continued until the advent of the International Offshore Rule of the early 70’s and the IMS, which evolved from the design excesses of the IOR that were highlighted by the 1979 Fastnet disaster. Other rule making bodies, the ORR and RORC, have played important roles alongside the CCA, but our Technical Committee has never wavered in placing the CCA at the table with rules designed to accommodate technical advances and promote safety. Racing remains a core aspect of the Cruising Club and I hope it will always so remain. Whether we race or not,

racing teaches us to be better sailors.

By 1940 the membership had nearly doubled from its 1930 level, but war clouds loomed, and the Cruising Club was uniquely populated with both veterans of the Great War and younger men whose skill and temperament were suited to contribute to the defense of the Allies, on land and at sea. Further, Cruising Club members were also poised to contribute their yachts to the coastal patrol effort. Remarkably, skills honed in motor yachts and warships, coupled with sailing skills, made for a potent combination. Alfred Loomis had predicted this in 1920 when he asked if there were any sailors left in the Navy, goading the service into supporting offshore racing. A notably large number of CCA members served in and commanded small vessels used in submarine combat in both the Great War and World War II. CCA members were prominent and numerous contributors to the war effort. Some were Generals-George Patton and Hod Fuller; some, like Samuel Eliot Morison, became Admirals. FDR had become a member in 1933, and many served at sea in the Pacific on Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts, PT Boats and other vessels. The 1945 Yearbook listed 189 members on the War Honor Roll out of a membership of 480. Nine had been lost in action. Members’ yachts, including both of Rudi Schaeffer’s Edlu’s, Henry Sears’ Actea, George Ratsey’s Zaida, Henry Morgan’s Djinn and Chester Bowles’ Nordlys, along with many, many others, served as guardians of our coasts from bases at Greenport on Long Island and in the Carolinas. Sailing yachts could remain at sea for longer periods than motor yachts, and this service marked the first time that the Navy had fought under sail since the mid-nineteenth century. The leadership of the Club was called to duty, and when Commodore Alfred Stanford accepted a commission in the Navy, his position was taken up by Boston Rear Commodore Schuyler Dillon, who in turn was commissioned. Fleet Captain Hobie Ford took up the cudgel and completed the term. Historian John Parkinson Jr. questioned whether any other organization had

contributed as much to the war effort. The yacht photos and flag code sections of the CCA yearbooks were omitted during the war years, presumably for security reasons, but they returned in 1946.

The records of the Club show a consistent and healthy compliment of motor yachts, and that continues to this day. At our founding, over 30% of the yacht roster was comprised of motor yachts. The probable nadir of motor yacht numbers came during the early forties, but there has traditionally been around a fifth of the membership who have chosen power. Presently, nearly 22% of the yachts registered to members are motor yachts. Notable members like Bob Drew, George Bonnell and Carleton Mitchell moved to the dark side from sail to power. Some members were and are ambidextrous with one of each. The club has even recognized cruising under power as worthy of its highest awards, albeit for quite extraordinary motorboat exploits. So, there should be no shame in propeller-driven yachting.

The post-war era saw design developments which advanced the CCA Rating Measurement Rule, and the 1950’s racing fleets were full of centerboarders after Carleton Mitchell took three consecutive Lighthouse trophies in Finisterre. Membership rolls marched forward and by the 50th Anniversary in 1972 stood at 869 with 582 yachts in the fleet. True to our founders’ objectives, by the halfway to 100 mark the Club had expanded geographically. From a New York centric birth, the Cruising Club began almost immediately to be influenced by a growing contingent from Boston, and a station there with a Rear Commodore was formed in 1924. A Post, then also called a Station, could be established almost anywhere members could arrange for visiting Cruising Club yachts to alight. Posts in Huntington, Long Island, and Branford, Connecticut, appeared early on in the Yearbooks. Many other Posts, as far flung as Tahiti, were announced and disappeared.

Boston always gave a lengthy station report. Although always viewed as the principal Station, with the CCA’s

History of the CCA

incorporation and mailing address in New York, the New York Station was not called out in the Yearbooks as such until 1970. Philadelphia appeared early as a Station and ultimately became the “New” Chesapeake Bay Station in 1948. Essex was started in 1933, organized formally in 1940 and merged with the Branford Post in 1949. San Francisco opened up the west coast in 1947, followed by Southern California in 1957 and the Pacific Northwest in 1964, this Post being the first example of a hand-picked set of new CCA members charged with establishing the Cruising Club in that sought-after cruising ground. PNW became a Station in 1972. The Chicago Post appeared in 1926, developed slowly with but ultimately became the Great Lakes Station and stretched the Club’s membership more actively into Canada. Florida had plenty of Posts over the years in places like Coconut Grove, Eau Gallie and Florida’s West Coast but was finally consolidated as the Florida Station in 1939. Ties to Bermuda were always very strong, and a Post was established in 1983, the Station in 1988. The Quissett Post became the Buzzards Bay Post, generally operating in concert with the Boston Station and the Gulf of Maine Post. Narragansett Bay was formed in 2017. The Bras d’Or Station harkens to our formative roots and was launched as a proud Post in 1966. Although small, it is mighty and became a Station in 2000. We now stand at eleven Stations and three Posts. Each Station and Post has developed a personality, and if I were to characterize them here, I would surely overgeneralize and run hard aground on some uncharted shoal. However, I think it is fair to say that size matters and that the Boston Station and its nearby Posts remain a weighty factor in setting the tone and conserving the traditions of the Cruising Club.

So, those are some of the facts. Maybe some Philosophy is in order. The Cruising Club has gone to great lengths to both embrace and eschew its exclusivity. This attitudinal bipolarity is evidenced by the careful and limited growth in the Club’s membership, its historic exclusion of female members, its

typical-for-the-time religious intolerance and its sometimes haughty and often uneven approach to the admittance of those deemed to be professionals. On the other hand, there is the oft-quoted statement of a member who, in response to the charge of elitism, retorted, “How do you act like an establishment big-shot when you’re four days out in the Gulf Stream and the head’s busted and the spinnaker’s flailing away halfway up the mast?” It’s a fair enough question on the face of it, but you still need to have the time and resources to get yourself out into the Gulf Stream and bust the head! As clubs go, the Cruising Club is not expensive. We have no clubhouse or docks or outstations, no swimming pool or tennis courts or golf course to maintain. We don’t even support a junior sailing program. The expense comes with what we do to be worthy of consideration for an invitation to membership and that is cruising and generally cruising to far- away places. To be able to do that is what cements us together and advances all our interests, but not everyone can enter that world and it is, therefore, exclusive, experientially and economically. Further, we maintain exclusivity by defining what it means to be a good shipmate. That term and the term ‘sailorman’ are code in the CCA, and our shipmates are our treasured and carefully chosen friends. My experience in watching that selection process is that we seldom go wrong and that our kind of elitism, the careful choosing of our shipmates, is the only way we can survive and prosper.

Over our history, we have struggled with dealing with women. Most men do. I have always said that all 14-year-old females already have a plan for the world and all the men in it, and that most men don’t realize until their mid-forties, if they ever realize it at all. The question of allowing women to attend CCA functions was a sometimes vexing one for the Governing Board in the 1920’s, but by the late 1930’s it had become clear that the extraordinary skills of women sailors, their citations as Blue Water Medalists, and their welcomed companionship for cruising

settled the question. Still, women were not admitted as members until 1994 with the election of Sheila McCurdy, Diana Russell and Patricia Clark. It was a small start, but the cadre of female members has grown consistently with women assuming well-recognized leadership positions, from Commodore to Rear Commodore and Membership chairs to Cruise Chairs. They are editors, writers and Safety at Sea presenters. Their contribution is far beyond their numbers, and female members now number 116, less than ten percent, but a good start. The men finally wised up.

The other issue of the exclusion of candidates with Jewish backgrounds was so prominent in the early years of the Club as to, unfortunately, be almost a given. One of my favorite yachts of the 1930’s was the exquisite S&S Yawl Avanti built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for Walter Rothschild of the Abraham and Strauss department store chain. By all accounts Walter Rothschild was the kind of shipmate we seek. His crews delighted in his leadership, and his participation in NYYC Cruises was welcomed, even if he was not a member. He supported youth sailing in generous and very personal ways, and he donated Avanti to the Coast Guard “Listening Fleet” during the War, only to buy her back and restore her afterwards. But he was Jewish. With real relief, by 1960 that barrier was gone. Walter’s son Bill Rothschild was elected in the 1970’s and ultimately served as our Commodore and, also, as Chairman of the NYYC Membership Committee. Again, finally, we wised up.

Professionalism has also been used to exclude candidates and still is the source of considerable discussion, but the Club has generally, if not always, found the right balance. Candidates may make their living in careers associated with yachting as designers, builders, yard owners, yachting writers or reporters, brokers, insurers, and sailmakers, but the Club works to judge them as sailors and shipmates. It assesses what they have added to the world of cruising, which we love, and if their love of that pastime is evident, we embrace them.

History of the CCA

Carleton Mitchell was a professional. So were Olin and Rod Stephens and Dick Bertram and William Hand and Herb Stone and Ted Hood. They made their livings with involvement in yachting, but they gave back in so many important ways; we are all lucky to have had them as our shipmates.

Finally, I would like to mention our Historians. There have only been nine before me, and they have provided a continuous record of our activities for 100 years. But they have not done it alone. Stations and Posts have reported their activities. Race Committees have chimed in. Minutes of meetings have been carefully maintained. The contributors to the CCA News, the GAM, Voyages, Station Historian’s annual reports, Waypoints and the editing of all of that work is what really records our history. Think of the many hours by so many members. Pity the poor archivists! A continuous line of Historians has combined, refined, and added to those details with the objective of consolidating and reporting our activities. The Club’s first Historian was William P. Stevens, and he served from 1927 until he died, holding his office over twenty years. A renowned canoeist, navigator and writer, he set a high bar and showed the way to those who followed.

William Taylor succeeded him and was accomplished enough to win a Pulitzer Prize, as I mentioned earlier. His successor was Jack Parkinson Jr., whose contribution to us is priceless, with the Club’s year-by-year history recorded in his text, “Nowhere is Too Far.” Please read it. Like Stevens, he ended his term with his seaboots on. Bill Robinson, yachting editor in the mode of Herbert Stone, followed Jack and expanded the presence of the Cruising Club and our activities. He embraced cruising and writing in a way that made it appealing and accessible. Carl Vilas of Connecticut and the Bra d’Or Lakes was next, and his charm is evident in his efforts. He revived the Cruising Club News, the war-time account of CCA members, and turned it into the fundamental feature in our keeping up with one another that

ultimately became Voyages. He led the effort to establish the Bras d’Or Post, and he and his venerable yacht Direction probably deserve to be included in Sheila McCurdy’s wonderful collection of Colorful Characters of the CCA.

Ross Pilling was not a big-deal yachtsman, but he punched above his length-over-all. He sailed a Marshall Catboat and Boston Whaler, but he was a true reporter of our history and was much sought after as a man who could always find Bermuda, navigating many, many races. Bob Drew did everything he could to advance the CCA and served as Historian even while Commodore. He took the Blue Wave to Ireland aboard his motorsailor Knight Hawk, brought back the Commodore of the Irish Cruising Club to our 75th Anniversary’s Blue Water Ball, and kept track of every nautical mile along the way. Then came our good fortune in finding Jack Towle. He transformed our history with his thorough and lively columns in the GAM, adding to the history so carefully published by Jack Parkinson, and he kept at it for eleven years. John Rousmaniere followed Jack Towle, and he stands as the most important chronicler of yachting in our age. Although his tenure was short, he added luster and expert consolidation with his CCA Histories in the GAM. It is to my great regret that he is not giving this speech today, and I wish him well. So, nine forebearers and here stand I, happy to take the tiller for this watch.

It turns out that the Historian has a flag and here it is. I am reminded of a story about flags and burgees. We have owned our Concordia yawl Coriolis for 41 years, and three other Historians sailed Concordias. A prior owner of our yawl was Gifford Ewing, a gentleman oceanographer from Woods Hole, Sorrento in Frenchman’s Bay and La Jolla, California. He was listed in the social register in New York and belonged to the NYYC, the Quisset Yacht Club on the Cape, and the Sorrento Yacht Club, which consists of two wooden blocks marking moorings, one of which read, “In Memory of George. He cruised.” Pithy, eh? One summer Gifford Ewing hired

a 16-year-old boy named John Correa to help him out, and young John, eager to please on his first day, laid out the three burgees. “Mr. Ewing,” he asked, “shall we fly the NYYC burgee today? “Oh no, John,” said Ewing. “I only fly that when I am trying to borrow money!” I have considered that same approach with my fancy Historian’s flag. With the cost of this lunch today, I may need to fly it very soon.

Jonathan Gornall is a British journalist and writer who twice attempted famously and unsuccessfully to row across the Atlantic. He was twice rescued. He twice abandoned his boat. Finding himself a new father in his late fifties, he decided that he should build a boat for his baby daughter. Without any experience, he set about to build a 12’ clinker-built rowboat to share his love of the water and provide life lessons to his little girl. His book, “How to Build a Boat,” documents the process, and in his chapter entitled “Dear Phoebe,” he tries to explain his aims and hopes for her, and he ends with this:

It would be remiss of me not to put in a word on behalf of adventure, in which a boat can be a most reliable partner in crime. True adventure can teach us so much about ourselves and the world around us, and yet in an age of easy travel and packaged experiences it grows ever harder to experience. Unless, of course, one has a little boat, and a couple of nearby rivers on which to sail her. Just saying. Oh, and if I were limited to offering you just one piece of advice, it would be this: at least once in your life, take a small boat and row it or sail it out of sight of land. Why? You’ll see.”

We have arrived at our 100th, and we are in good shape. We remain true to our founders’ goals and are over 1400 members strong. May our history continue to be worthy of our aspirations and our stories be an inspiration to our shipmates and the cruising world beyond. Thank you.

Douglas D. Adkins Historian

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

performed a four-hour sea trial. Venturing out in the skerries was a test for both the boat and us – all performed well!

It was a short season, July thru early September, and included the obligatory exit of the European Union to Norway and return. We sailed up and down the Oslo Fjord, met wonderful Norwegian folk and finished out the summer on the Swedish west coast archipelago. Straight On Til Morning returned to her heated winter berth on the island of Orust where we will see her again next summer.”

CCA 100th Anniversary Celebration

Some 15 plus Florida Station members traveled 1,700 miles to Newport for the magnificent celebration.

Florida Station Joint Cruise With The Chesapeake Station Fall Cruise To The Chesapeake Following The Newport 100th Anniversary Celebration.

John Siegel has reported that although three Florida Station boats had originally signed up for the cruise, only one was able to join – Night Hawk, with John Siegel, Erin Clancy, and their honorable boat dog Lucy. On day one, all boats tied up at the beautiful new CCA Dock at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Past Commodore Sheila McCurdy, a museum trustee, gave a comprehensive tour of the museum facilities.

On day 2, the planned anchorage in the Thimble Islands was aborted due to weather conditions, and the fleet proceeded to Port Jefferson. Nellie

Crockett arrived with a full load of fresh lobsters for all hands.

On day 3, the fleet proceeded to Oyster Bay. The highlight of this stop

was happy hour at Oakcliff Sailing with a tour of the facilities and description of the wonderful programs run by renowned sailing legend Dawn Riley. Oakcliff is dedicated to “Building American Leaders Through Sailing.” Dawn Riley is its Executive Director. The next and final day the cruise was to Port Jefferson, where all participants prepared for the run down the East River and to points south. John reported that the warm welcome and hospitality from the Chesapeake Station was superb. The Florida Station passes on a heartfelt THANK YOU for the Chesapeake Station’s grateful hospitality.

A New Boat For Milt & Judy Baker

After owning eight boats over more than 50 years, Milt and Judy decided last summer (2021) to go cold turkey – no more boats. Period. They owned their Nordhaven 47 Bluewater for 16 years, put more than 40,000 miles on her including an Atlantic crossing, and sold her in September, 2021. She tipped the scales at a little over 100,000 pounds. Milt said: “We truly loved her, but maintaining her became a taller and taller order for a couple of octogenarians.”

“But we quickly discovered we had a big hole in our lives that needed to be filled,” said Judy. After being boatless for six months, the new boat search began. They learned of a pristine American

Daniel Nerney

John Siegel, Kristina Thyrre, Atle Moe, Ann Devereau, Erin Clancy, Sennett Duttenhofer, Pat Montgomery and Ken Hege enjoy the National Sailing Hall of Fame

The beautifully restored 1925 67-foot Chesapeake Bay Buy Boat Nellie Crockett was the cruise flagship

Dawn Riley conducting a briefing on Covid testing procedures, with Chesapeake Station members

The Chesapeake Station Rum Keg was tapped and loaded on board Nellie Crockett by John Devlin, Mixologist

John Siegel John Siegel

John Siegel

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

Tug 34 for sale right in Southwest Harbor, ME, their summer home port.

“She drinks six, eats four and sleeps two.” The deal closed in June. She is the fifth

console boat named Jasmine, which functions as the family “pick up truck.” They summer on Narragansett Bay. This summer they added to their “family fleet” with the addition of a 20-foot Berretta pontoon boat appropriately named Summertime. This is their passenger tour boat and their popular day tripper. Both boats are shown below.

second in line. They were the backup offer. The first offer pulled out, and they were “it.” They immediately drove 10 hours from their home in Ft. Lauderdale to see the boat in Pensacola. The surveys were good, and the new Pastime was theirs.

1700 miles now separated them from their goal in Newport for the Centennial Celebration. The shakedown cruise began Memorial Day weekend, going to St. Petersburg, to Fort Meyers, across the Okeechobee Waterway to the Florida east coast and up the ICW. They visited with Carol and Gus Hancock overnight in Vero Beach, and then pushed north to Atlantic Yacht Basin in Chesapeake Bay, arriving June 3rd.

The rest of their summer cruising was best described as “free-for-all, with heavy doses of contemporaneous.” Pastime made frequent stops in boatyards

Bluewater they have owned, and so she became Bluewater V. She is more simple – single screw, single generator, single head, to name a few. Her gross weight is 20,000 pounds, not 100,000.

They love their new boat, and report that the new acquisition has been a great success. Next summer, they hope to take her a bit further afield.

A New Boat For Charlie & Kay Chapin

Charlie and Kay winter on the small island Useppa, on the west coast of Florida just north of Captiva and Sanibel Islands, west of Fort Meyers. There is no bridge to Useppa, so they have a Grady White 22-foot center

A New Boat For Pieter & Joanna de Zwart

After many years of owning a variety of cruising boats, both power and sail, mostly sail, in the late summer of 2021 Pieter and Joanna decided to sell their beautiful Baltic 51 sloop and make the crossover to a powerboat. Finally, in late February of 2022, they had a secure buyer for their Baltic, and launched an intense search for the perfect boat, with the goal of owning the new boat for the full summer cruising season in New England and having their new prize at the CCA Centennial Celebration in Newport in September. They quickly found that they were part of the pre-owned powerboat feeding frenzy initiated by the pent-up demand largely resulting from the Covid Pandemic. Boats were being purchased, sight unseen, on the day of listing at full listing prices or higher. They first fell in love with a rebuilt Huckins 44, but she flunked her survey. Their next love was Sabre 47. Their full listing price offer at 8:30 am on the first listing day placed them

for upgrades, while Joanna and Pieter joined other CCA members on their boats to cruise as far as Newfoundland, and also to the 100th CCA Anniversary Celebration in Newport. Pastime is now wintering back at Atlantic Yacht Basin.

Milt & Judy Baker’s American Tug 34

Kay & Charlie Chapin’s Grady White Jasmine, their family “pickup truck” on the island of Useppa

Kay & Charlie Chapin’s Berretta pontoon, Summertime, used for touring on Narragansett Bay

Joanna and Pieter aboard Pastime in Vero Beach, FL

Milt Baker

Kay Chapin

Kay Chapin

Gus Hancock

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

A New Boat For Atle Moe & Kristina Thyrre

Atle and Kristina cruised their new (to them) 65-foot Outer Reefbuilt Summer Star, replacing their 57-foot Nordhavn, who was also named Summer Star. The new boat has more outdoor living area, and also shallower draft. They cruised from their home port of St. Petersburg, FL, departing in February, meandering up the East Coast to Maine, and back down to Newport for the CCA Centennial Celebration, and then back up to Maine to winter on the hard. Next May, they will launch and start another summer’s adventure season. They encourage all CCA members to stop by Summer Star for a visit.

Gus Hancock Historian, CCA Florida Station

They all agreed that it was a fantastic time, enjoyed by all.

Those who were lucky to get away and do some serious sailing have sent in some great stories of adventure.

GLS true blue sailors Amanda and Peter Balasubramanian, with Sean O’Brian and his daughter, sailed their XC 50 Elefance from Antwerp to Portugal. After some minor updating of their electrical system, they set off to Briskens, NL, and on to Dunkerque, followed by a 230Nm sail from Boulogne to Roscoff, France. Next, they sailed across the Bay of Biscay to Muras, Spain, and another 270nm to Lisbon, Portugal, where they encountered a Swedish crew who had experienced rudder damage by orcas off Cape Finisterre. Amanda and Peter expect to explore the Algarve Coast next winter.

David Thoreson has just completed an Arctic delivery for National Geographic in the Northwest Passage. David delivered a Stephens 47

discoveries in the Artic and about his findings regarding climate change.

Chuck Gates has made a couple of notable trips this summer. First, he commissioned Skip Novak’s Pelagic in Thomaston, ME, after 2 Covid years on the hard, and skippered her 2400 miles to Sisimiut, Greenland, with some cruising in the Disko Bay area on the way.

GREAT LAKES

The weather in the Great Lakes this summer has been a little different than that of the East or West Coasts. We have had very few rainy days, lots of sun and very little wind. Now that fall is on us, the change has been 180 degrees with lots of wind, rain and chilly temperatures.

Rob and Nina Beebe, Mike and Donna Hill, Andy and Jo Jones, Rob and Kitty Lansing, Past Commodore Bob and Sally Medland, and Marty and Lisa Sutter attended the 100th Anniversary of the CCA in Newport.

cutter Polar Sun from Tuktoyaktuk, Canada, to Nome, Alaska (1,200Nm). He reports it was “cold and nasty,” but what would you expect?

They just missed the SW Alaska super storm Typhoon Merbok, documented in an interesting blog on his webpage www.davidthoreson. com. David’s Northwest Passage will be a documentary on National Geographic. I’m sure we would all like to hear more about his great

Chuck then joined Skip in Stanley, Falkland Islands, sailed to South Georgia Island on the Vinson of Antarctica , and successfully completed a ski mountaineering traverse of Shackleton’s island crossing with him, along with seven others, on a route modified to take them into some more unknown territory. It was a unique experience, to say the least, involving about 2000 sailing miles.

Approaching first anchorage in Disko Bay

One of the many big ones in Disko Bay

Stephanie Morris

Atle and Kristina’s new Summer Star, off Chebeaque Island, ME.

Skiing right to the boat at Grytviken

Whiskey for Shackleton’s grave

Off from King Haaken Bay.

Chased out of Avannarlit by ice

Vinson of Antarctica in Fortuna Bay

Pelagic anchored at Avannarliit

Sunrise on Esmark Glacier

Tom and Sarah Post took delivery on Memorial Day of a 1997 Hinkley 36’ Picnic Boat Classic Rambler, whose hailing port will be Harbor Springs, MI. They had a wonderful summer of cruising around Little Traverse Bay and a one-week cruise of Grand Traverse Bay and Beaver Island. Tom and Sarah ran into fellow CCA members Bill Griffon and Nicole Van Leight on their 52’ Lyman Morse Power Yacht G3 They had come all the way from Stonington CT.

Karin Olsen Campia has been living life to the fullest. Karin sailed from Antigua to Bermuda in April aboard a catamaran built by friends in South Africa. It is regrettable the winds were forward of the beam, and it took 6.5 days in rainy and overcast days to get to Bermuda.

Karin crewed in the E22’s at Shelter Island and then went on to race the Solings Fall series in Annapolis and won the series in 15 –18 kts of wind. She then went to the North American Soling Championships at the RNYS in Halifax, which was

abandoned due to Hurricane Fiona.

Cam Macrae and the crew from Macrae Marine have entered the Rolex Middle Sea Race. They have chartered an XP40 and have selected Etchells racers from Canada and Britain for crew. Cam and his brother Andrew sailed the race with Les Crane in 2008 and are looking forward to achieving a good finish. Antelope is the boat name, and she is the only Canadian entry. It’s a great race from Malta up through the Messina Straits, around the active volcano on Stomboli, south to Lampedusa, and back to Malta, 660Nm.

Brian and Mellisa Hill and family (two boys) have experienced a trip of their lifetime on their catamaran Atlas. They sailed to the Bahamas and down the chain of islands to Georgetown in the Exumas. Realizing that they wanted more boat and more adventure, Brian and Melisa sold Atlas in March and bought another catamaran in Auckland, NZ, and sailed her up to Fiji.

Jock Macrae

GULF OF MAINE

The year 2022 transitioned from an early and full schedule spring of Zoom meetings to our full, in-person raft of activities. There was a Ski Gam at Sunday River resort in Maine followed by the traditional May Post Captain’s dinner at the Driscoll’s “Scotch Pines” in York Harbor, Maine. A jolly good time was had by all who enjoyed the “Surf and Turf” potluck meal in anticipation of the coming summer.

Two “Fenders Over the Side” gatherings were held. The July gam was held in Pulpit Harbor, North Haven, with Maggie Salter and Al Hickey as the anchor boat. The August Fenders was on a beach near Seven Hundred Acre Island in Gilkey Harbor, Islesboro. It was nice to see so many smiling faces enjoying snacks, a libation and sharing tales of summer cruises.

September, of course, brought our 100th anniversary celebrations.

The Post met for a luncheon in October followed by a visit to Maine’s First Ship in Bath, the pinnace Virginia just launched in June 2022. The Virginia is a re-creation of the first ship built in Maine in 1607. Bath is home to Bath Iron Works, builders of our Navy’s modern warships, so it was nice to see the first example of the long shipbuilding tradition.

Looking ahead, we will resume our December luncheon at the Damariscotta Grill, a January house

1.5 million King Penguin pairs in St. Andrews Bay

Musk Ox greeting party

The re-created pinnace Virginia

NEWS

STATIONS & POSTS

party and a mid-February “Ski Gam” at Sunday River.

The canceled 2020 plans for a weeklong club cruise, starting in Kittery, Maine and concluding in Boothbay Harbor have been dusted off for a July 21, 2023 start. We hope to see you there!

Charles A. Tarbell, Gulf of Maine Post Secretary

NARRAGANSETT BAY

The Narragansett Bay Post (NBP) has been very active this past spring and summer. We have been fortunate to host local in-person events, but also to be the “geographic home” to clubwide events including the Newport Bermuda Race and the fabulous Centennial Celebration in September.

At the end of March, about 30 of us enjoyed our first potluck dinner in over two years at Sheila McCurdy’s and David Brown’s house in Middletown, Rhode Island. It was great to see everyone in “3D.” Thank you again to Sheila and David for hosting such a great event and a good time was had by all.

On April 3, Bob Morton hosted a “Zoom Gam” titled “Brigadoon III – One Moment in Time.” Bob presented a terrific slide show on his boat Brigadoon III and the many races and adventures he had with her. It was great to reminisce and to see some of the classic boats competing in the races.

On June 4, the summer kicked off with a Gam at Third Beach with our friends from the Buzzards Bay Post. This is the second year the two Posts have teamed up to host this GAM and start the season. We had 11 boats, and 30 people attended. Mike Hudner on Moonracer was kind enough to serve as a congregation spot. The weather cooperated and a

Fenders over the Side Gam, Gilkey Harbor, Islesboro, Maine

Post Captain’s Potluck Dinner, York Harbor, Maine

Fenders Over the Side Gam, Pulpit Harbor, North Haven, Maine

Fenders over the Side Gam, Gilkey Harbor, Islesboro, Maine

good time was had by all.

On July 23 we had another Gam at Dutch Harbor on Jamestown Island. About 13 boats attended with Mark and Suzanne Grosby serving as the center raft on Fly Away. There were lots of laughs, and of course, the CCA rum punch was served. It was fun to see Bolero sail into the anchorage and anchor nearby. Many of the boats stayed overnight and enjoyed dinner on their own before heading home the following morning.

In September, the CCA Fall meeting and the club’s 100th anniversary were well attended and held right here in Newport. The NBP had many members help out behind the scenes to make this huge event happen.

We have a few events lined up and hope to have more as we flip the calendar to 2023.

On Friday, November 4, we have a lunch meeting at the Barrington Yacht Club in Barrington, Rhode Island. Ed Kane is kind enough to talk on

some of the joys and challenges owning Bolero, including owning a boat in syndicate.

On December 17, Commodore Otorowski and Shawn Otorowski have generously offered to open their house for another Holiday Gathering at their home in Newport.

As we move into the winter months, the NBP plans to resume holding potluck dinners and meeting at local points of interest. All CCA members are welcome to join us if you are in the area.

Dick Waterman, Post Captain

NEW YORK

Saturday, Sept. 9, 2022. The NYS joined the Essex Station for a wonderful dinner at the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club, whose commodore is CCA member Michael Wiseman. Two of our members sailed up from western Long Island Sound: I on Night Watch

(Noreen and Beau, our three-year-old Australian Labradoodle, arrived by car) and Dick York and Cynthia Whalen on Aragorn, Dick’s beautiful J-46. Other NYS attendees were Lindsay Gimple, Matt and Tori Gimple, Dinner Chair Scott & Anne Kraft, Mike Linhares, Dan Hu-Linhares, and Mark Scott.

Sunday, Sept. 11-Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. The Centennial in Newport. NYS member attendees were Chris Allen, Peter and Adrianne Becker, Jim Binch, Cliff Crowley, Rich du Moulin, AJ and Tony Evans, Eric Forsyth, Matt and Tori Gimple, Lindsay Gimple, Larry Huntington, Anne Kolker, Pete and Kandi Kolyer, Scott and Anne Kraft, Hiro and Yuko Nakajima, David Tunick and Noreen Shortway, Richard West, Dick York and Cynthia Whalen, and Peter Zendt. It was a splendid week of parties, meals, speakers, and awards. Great thanks to Commodore and Mrs. Otorowski, to the Essex team, led by RC Dennis Powers and Brin Ford, and to Steve James as the CCA’s

NBP members catching up

July GAM – crowded cockpit!

David Brown, Anne and Larry Glenn, Sheila McCurdy and Jay Gowell

Henry DiPietro, Janet Garnier, Karen Waterman and Paul Hamilton enjoying the day

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

hard-working Awards Chair. Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. The Bermuda Race, a Zoom collaboration organized by the NYYC and with the CCA. Presenters were Sheila McCurdy talking about the history and traditions of the Bermuda Race and Mark Lenci addressing the 2022 and 2024 races, including the tragic loss of life in the last race. It was the fourth in a series of Zooms on the great ocean races. About 200 registered. I moderated.

Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. The station met in person for our first indoor event in about three years, due to the pandemic, at the Stamford Yacht Club for dinner and a PowerPoint that I delivered describing my preparation and passage alone this past summer from A Coruña, Spain, to Stamford

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

The weather gods blessed the members of the PNW station with an extended cruising season thanks to warm temperatures extending to the end of October (in fact, a high of 88 degrees on October 16th). The diminished crowds and fine weather made for lovely cruising in September and October, and those who were able to take advantage were greatly rewarded.

Equally as important, Cruise Chair Joe Golberg somehow convinced the Canadian Government to loosen their border restrictions just in time for our Spring and Fall cruises, which exponentially inflated his potential menu of cruising destinations.

The Spring Cruise was held this year in Barclay Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The first major notch on Vancouver Island’s West Coast as you venture north, this fabulous cruising ground is nearly

all enclosed within the Pacific Rim National Park and is populated by The Broken Group, unspoiled islands with their shoulders to the Pacific. Cruise Chairman Golberg and his able commodore Elayne set a perfect itinerary with periodic gatherings interspersed with lay days for exploring. The timing was late May into early June, with the expectation that summer would not be upon us quite yet but that the crowds of boats and kayaks would have not yet arrived. Joe was right on both counts.

The fleet assembled on May 23 in Joe’s Bay, otherwise known as Turtle Bay, in the sheltered crotch between Dodd Island and Turtle Island, nearly at the center of the Broken Group. Eight boats and 18 cruising crew made up our fleet and, as is usual in the Pacific Northwest, a nearly even split of power and sail was evident. Turtle Bay is about 80nm from Victoria to windward up the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is a long day for sail and a lot of fuel for power but well worth it. We gathered on the

CT. 50+ registered, whittled down due to illnesses to 45 attendees. The feeling in the room was one of elation and jubilation for being able to assemble, and we applauded ourselves twice for “surviving and thriving.” I announced that our next rear commodore-elect is Peter Becker, but I indicated that I wasn’t sure yet whether I would accept the election results.

David Tunick, Rear Commodore CCA/NYS

NYS’s first indoor event in almost three years, dinner & speaker

NYS’s speaker at the Stamford Yacht Club, Nov. 5, 2022. 45 attended

Fall Cruise sunset from Saturna Island

Saturna Island “Sailors of the CCA” sing-along;

Berit Kenin

Berit Kenin

beach on Turtle and enjoyed drinks and appetizers. The CCA Burgee was proudly landed and flown.

We then headed for a rendezvous at the Port Alberni Yacht Club for two terrific nights on the docks of this unique spot in Robber Passage, between Tzartus and Fleming Islands. With very few members and a wonderful spirit of sharing the care of their club, the PAYC is primarily a center for sportfishing by members from Vancouver Island. Our hosts were warmly welcoming, interested in our Club and joined in our gatherings and rum-barreling. The island, like so much of Barkley Sound, is unspoiled and thick with the forests of cedar and Douglas fir so plentiful on this coast. Notably, the trees may be old but often their tops are gone, victims of the winter storms that lash this coast from the southwest. Paths help, but the bushwhacking is tough. The CCA felt lucky to be at this enchanting club. Several lay days followed, and the

fleet scattered, some to Bamfield to the west and others to the Pinkerton Island cluster and into Jacques and Jarvis lagoon, a true hurricane hole with a tiny entrance and shelter on all sides. While we had intended to rejoin as a fleet at Effingham Island, the weather compelled the Cruise Chairman to seek a more sheltered anchorage with enough room, so we returned to Turtle Bay. It was not boring. We found another good beach to gather for cocktails, held on to our hooks and enjoyed the bluster and the company.

Our final gathering spot was the regional town of Ucluelet, a fishing and tourist center at the northern edge of Barkley Sound. We were scattered through the moorages, interspersed with the fishing fleet, and we enjoyed the town and walks on the Pacific Rim trail. Our final night was a spectacular dinner at the Black Rock Resort where our private dining room looked out from a deck onto a narrow rock crevice leading to breaking waves and the open ocean.

Early the next day the fleet headed out, riding the tide and westerlies back down Juan de Fuca. We missed the crowds but not Covid, despite our mostly outdoor gatherings, and about half of our number tested positive within the next week. The cases were mild and part of life now we guess. It was a small price to pay for a great Spring Cruise.

The Fall Cruise was well-attended, with 23 boats spending eight days in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. With a start in Poet’s Cove, stops along the way included the Saturday Market in Ganges Harbor and a guest/host night in Montague Harbor

PNW fall cruisers on Saturna Island

Picturesque Barclay Sound sunrise;

Barclay Sound Spring Cruise gathering at Port Alberni Yacht Club

Chuck and Peggy Steward, Kaspar and Trish Schibli, and John Robinson confer onboard Blue Moon

Phil Swigard

Doug Adkins

Doug Adkins

K Robinson

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

on Galiano Island, where the fleet was treated to an impeccable approach and tie up by Trish and Kaspar Schibli on the engineless sloop Skoal to Doug Cole’s Morning Light. The stop in Montague was followed by a rum barrel and chowder extravaganza complete with a penultimate sunset in Winter Cove, Saturna Island, and the debut sing-along performance of “Shipmates of the CCA” by Chuck Steward. Capping off a night full of entertainment was a limerick slam orchestrated by Doug Adkins. The final cruise day featured a sit-down catered dinner in Port Browning. The weather throughout the entire cruise was phenomenal, and many of us extended the cruise on either end, relishing in the beautiful Canadian waters that had evaded us the past two seasons due to border closures. Our thanks go to Joe and Elayne Golberg for their work on these impressive outings for our station.

The hope is that next year’s Spring Cruise will cover central Puget Sound with stops at the Everett Naval Station, Holmes Harbor on Whidbey Island and possibly a tour of the Nichols Brothers Boatyard. Joe is also researching a possible Fall Cruise to Princess Louisa Inlet.

Members of our station continue to enjoy cruising in far-flung destinations. Sonny and Margie Stolsig aboard Hoptoad are stationary at Marina San Carlos until November 1. They will be heading down to Barra de Navidad for December and January and will then prep for a blue water voyage. They are weighing three possible destinations: French Polynesia, Costa Rica or Galapagos. Scott and Mary Malone aboard Morningstar spent a wonderful month in Antigua, Guatemala, taking Spanish lessons. Morningstar is currently on the hard in San Carlos and will relaunch in November. Their current plan is to spend another season in Mexico, but they are still discussing whether to head down to Panama and Galapagos and west to the South Pacific next season. Tonga finally reopened in early August, and

Kent Powley and Cathy Sherwood aboard Coquette were able to return to their Jeanneau 45 in the middle of September. They had left Coquette for five months back in November 2019. Working hard to clean off almost three years of grime from the volcanic eruption, to put canvas and sails back up, to apply new bottom paint and to modify the rudder, they plan to re-launch her October 7 and hopefully explore Vava’u before sailing east to American Samoa, then up to Hawaii for the winter. Kasper and Trish Shibli have been in Kefalonia, Greece, and are now on the way to Italy, where they plan to spend the winter near Rome on Starfire

Slightly closer to home, this summer found Peter and Janet Brown, Past RC Rick and Maureen Meslang, Roger and Lynne Werner, and Dan and Linda Newland making trips to Alaska, reaching as far north as Glacier Bay. A wet late spring greeted those who left early, and those who waited a bit longer seemed to have better weather.

Our program committee, competently chaired by Suzette Connelly, arranged very interesting speakers for the late spring and early fall. Our April meeting featured Dr. Chris Roberts who spoke on medical emergencies, first aid, and vital medical supplies to carry onboard. His explanations of AED defibrillators, and his demonstration of a well-supplied first aid kit (with explanations of the contents), made for a very educational and informative hour.

May’s meeting had CCA member Tor Bjorklund who has been a CCA member since 2018. He’s now restoring a Vic Frank 46’ sloop, Discovery, with the help of his 11-year-old twins. He studied boat building at the boat school in Port Townsend and now runs the UW Oceanography Machine Shop that maintains the research vessels Thomas Thompson and Rachel Carson He also assists Professor Paul Johnson in researching methane plumes in Puget Sound and its rivers. Tor showed

pictures of small holes in the bottom of the Sound and methane bubbles that rise to the surface. Our group was surprised to learn that there are over 350 methane gas plumes scattered throughout Puget Sound.

At October’s meeting we heard a captivating presentation from James and Jennifer Hamilton on the 1% problem—uncommon things that can go wrong when cruising--and when to call it quits. Both worked for tech companies while cruising. They hail from Victoria, originally, and are authors of “Cruising the Secret Coast.”

They discussed 5 hair-raising experiences on their Nordhavn 52 Dirona: getting caught in the ice in Norway, having a problem mid-Atlantic with a quartering sea flooding their engine room, being confined in Scotland for 2 months during a Covid lockdown with low fuel and a generator that was slowly failing, riding out a storm outside a marina in Richards Bay, South Africa, and entering Wide Way bar off the east coast of Australia after the boat rolled 69 degrees in dicey conditions.

Charlie Stillman, head of Environment of the Sea, has been hanging out with the folks at Long Live the Kings and had reports on the use of noise-deterring devices in position at the mouth of the Nisqually River to deter seals from their salmon prey. Also, he accompanied that organization on field trips to study the reason for depleted herring and lamprey stocks, which are primary food for chinook salmon. In last April’s meeting, Charlie reported that 70 Bigg’s Orcas had entered the Salish Sea to feast on their preferred prey, harbor seals.

Safety and Seamanship has been a priority at our station, and Dan Schwartz has kept us current on the different types of fire extinguishers and how to check and maintain them. He also presented some cautionary tales on lithium batteries. We look forward to continued, timely information from Dan.

Our thanks go to Susan Stillman

for performing the difficult task of being Secretary/Treasurer, and at the same time our designated tech whiz, making it possible for our members who can’t make it to meetings to experience them virtually. Our gratitude goes also to Elaine Cashar for volunteering to relieve Susan of this somewhat burdensome technical responsibility.

Please join us for our monthly meetings. The PNW Station normally meets at the Seattle Yacht Club on the first Wednesday of each month except July, August, and September, when we are out cruising. We are always very happy to have members from other posts and stations join us, whether for luncheons or our fabulous spring and fall cruises.

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco Station members continued their winning ways in 2022.

Close to home, Skip Allan and his crewmember, Sean Callagy, won the 82nd International 110 National Championship regatta on Tomales Bay, California, on August 8-12. Hosted by the Inverness Yacht Club, twenty 110-Class boats competed with Skip and Sean taking home the winners’ trophy.

On the other side of the country, Stan and Sally Honey’s Cal-40, Illusion, trounced the Newport to Bermuda Race Fleet to take line honors in Class 10, win the St. David’s Light Trophy and 12 other trophies! Remarkably, Illusion and Carina, owned and skippered by Rives Pott (ESS) won the Thames Sailing Club Trophy for the Best Performance by a two-yacht team. (The combined age of the two boats is 110 years!) Following the race, Stan and Sally sold Illusion to their nephew, John Vrolyk (SAF) and purchased a 48-foot powerboat, Sarissa, which they have known and admired for many years. We are pleased to report that, on October 14, 2022, Sailing World

magazine anointed Stan as “The Smartest Man in Yachting.”

Sylvia Seaberg and Tom Candy spent the Covid pandemic in New Zealand due to the fact that they were not allowed to leave at all. NZ Immigration kept renewing their visas and, when the South Pacific cyclone season ended in May 2022, the NZ Immigration told them to leave. Sylvia and Tom sailed Cinnabar to Savusavu, Fiji at the end of August and have cruised Vanua Levu and the Yasawas island groups since then. (Note: Cinnabar arrived in

Savusavu some 46 months after she arrived in NZ.) Silvia and Tom will leave Cinnabar in Fiji for the hurricane season and will fly to California in mid-November. Sylvia and Tom have not been home in three years, so they have many deferred tasks to look forward to but also look forward to seeing SAF members at our annual December holiday and awards dinner.

Ashley Perrin and her husband, Merfyn Owen, returned from a Northwest Passage voyage on the expedition ship Greg Mortimer from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada, and back again. In 2023, Ashley will lead an expedition from Kangerlussuaq, all the way through the Northwest Passage to Nome, Alaska.

Coincidentally, Ashley’s Capo-30 yacht, Santana, had been stranded in Nuuk, Greenland, due to Covid. Not only stranded—but with a broken mast that Ashley and Merfyn put back together with a riveted internal sleeve. Four hours after launching Santana and re-stepping her mast, Ashley and Merfyn set sail for Labrador to take advantage of a weather window. It was a very gray and inhospitable 700-mile, double-handed crossing of the Labrador Sea but then, Ashley and Merfyn enjoyed “most amazing cruising along the Labrador coast.” Ashley reports that, “t he history is amazing and the welcome second to none.” Santana is now safely ashore in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club her crew is going back next year for a month’s cruising in Canada’s Maritime Provinces.

We cannot keep Ashley out of the high latitudes. Ashley—who is an Antarctic Ice Pilot, will return to Antarctica this winter and will be leading a Climate-change Symposium onboard the new expedition ship Sylvia Earle with Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Residence of the National Geographic Society.

After eight years of constructing his 121-foot LOD, three-masted schooner, Anders Swahn launched Wolfhound in 2021, and promptly put

John Kennell and Douglas Adkins

Skip Allan and crew winning 110 International Championship

Sally Honey driving Illusion to victory in the Bermuda Race

Sylvia Seaberg’s Cinnabar in Savusavu, Fiji

Don Jesper Sylvia Seaberg

NEWS FROM STATIONS & POSTS

some miles under her keel. During January and February of 2022, Anders sailed Wolfhound 5,400 nautical miles from Wilhelmshaven, Germany to Charlotte Amalie, USVI, her home port and then, during May and June 2022, Anders sailed her 4,900 miles back to Wilhelmshaven, where she is now berthed. After 10,300 miles and two transatlantic crossings, Wolfhound will get some much-needed maintenance as well as the completion of some unfinished construction items, so Anders had a full tent, her “Winter Coat,” says Anders, built to allow for projects to be undertaken, even in the winter.

Last summer, the Gorch Fock, the three-masted barque that is a German Navy training ship, sailed into Wilhelmshaven. When her Commandant saw Wolfhound, he invited Anders to tour the training ship. “We were honored,” says Anders. “And last week,” writes Anders, “we were able to return that honor by giving the Gorch Fock Commandant a full tour of Wolfhound. It was a very enjoyable visit and an honor at the same time.”

Doug and Tamara Thorne were in Alaska and British Columbia from about May 15th to August 20th, enjoying three months of beautiful cruising in the Pacific Northwest aboard Tamara Lee Ann. They will leave the yacht on the hard in Anacortes, Washington for the winter and they will spend the winter in Mexico City for two months and then

Valencia, Spain, for three months. Next summer they plan to cruise British Columbia for a few months before sailing down the West Coast to California and eventually Mexico.

Jeanne Socrates is on the move again. In September she sailed Nereida from Victoria, BC, to Berkeley, California where she has Nereida at Cree Partridge’s Berkeley Marine Center (https:// berkeleymarine.com/) where she will do a final fitting out before she sets sail at the end of October for Mexico, the South Pacific and Australia. Readers will remember that Jeanne was effectively “marooned’ in Far North Queensland (FNQ) when she could not leave Australia and return to Nereida in British Columbia for over two years due to the Covid pandemic. The good news is that Jeanne made a lot of friends in Queensland during that period, and she wants to revisit them and cruise Aussie waters.

In other SAF news: Liz Baylis and Todd Hedin will return to their yacht Acquaviva in Orient, North Carolina, and head south to the Bahamas for the winter; and Suzy Knecht has contributed to the replacement of the Cruising Club of America dock that, since 1948, has offered berths to private yachts where mariners could tie up and enjoy Mystic Seaport Museum by day and night.

Bob Hanelt CCA-SAF Historian

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Steve and Stephanie Hathaway visited the London Boat Show last April and discovered hull #1 of the new Oyster 495 sloop. They were smitten enough to order hull #12, to be completed this coming October. Steve is planning to sail the latest Starr across the Atlantic

and ultimately ship her from the east coast to California. They are planning to visit the Oyster factory in Southampton prior to the end of 2022 to finalize fitting out details. The Hathaways are looking forward to cruising Starr and meeting up with old and new CCA friends along the way.

Alan Andrews was recently selected as the new Rear Commodore of the Transpacific Yacht Club and will be Commodore in 2027, following Bill Guilfoyle in 2025. Our station has a long leadership role in TPYC, along with the many members who have sailed the race and served on the Board. No less than 23 of our members have been past Commodores of TPYC, starting with W.L. Bill Stewart in 1942-47 (through WW II) and followed by Donald B Ayres in 1950-51.

After 27,000 miles of cruising and racing aboard their Tripp 56 sloop Brigadoon, Dan Gribble and Wendy Mason stepped up last July to a much larger sister ship in Newport RI. Prevail is a Tripp 65 built by Hodgdon Yachts of Maine in 2009. Dan reports that after sailing both, Brigadoon felt like a large dinghy compared to Prevail. The powerful new boat’s interior volume is huge, Dan says, and so is the rig at 104 feet. She is constructed of kevlar and carbon composite with a high degree of interior fit and finish. With a recent refit completed, Dan and Wendy are looking forward to cruising and racing in the Caribbean this winter and then heading east to the Mediterranean this summer.

Ric and Monika Sanders have been putting east coast miles on their Catana 42 catamaran Toolbox This summer they sailed to Maine’s Christmas Cove and visited with Jim and Mary Morgan along with Gerry and Tina Douglas. Then it was on to Newport for the CCA’s 100th followed by a several day visit to Mystic Seaport Museum, and return to Newport, where Ric helped our newest station members Eric and Tamara Barto work on their mast at NEB.

Toolbox departed Newport for Larchmont to Hells Gate and down

Wolfhound, in her “Winter Coat” in Willhemshaven, Germany

Anders Swahn

the East River, under the Verrazano Bridge into the Atlantic, for a windy and lumpy passage to Delaware before running down to Florida.

The 2024 CCA international cruise to the Sea of Cortez will be organized by our station. Cruise co-chairs are Dan Gribble and Gary Davidson. Larry Somers and Al Garnier will be our honorary advisors. Standby as plans develop. If you’re interested, contact Gary: davi2535@gmail.com.

Dennis Durgan recently completed a challenging yachting adventure, which involved hauling his fine 55’ 1966 Stephens cruiser for a complete removal of paint from the topsides and bottom. Dennis found a local yard and team for the job. He joined in with his guys grinding paint away until all planking was revealed. The bottom needed some re-caulking but overall was in good shape.

The entire hull was sealed with multiple coats of epoxy, primers, and coats of Awl Grip snow white topcoat. After cruising and caretaking Socorro for 26 years, Dennis says he is ready for some ROI from the recent yard visit. No doubt there will be landfalls at Catalina, Tinsley, and maybe Sea of Cortez in 2024?

John Fuller and Brad Avery spent time racing aboard the 1930 52’ yawl Dorade last summer. The antecedent to modern racing yachts, Dorade is one of those boats you do not want to miss an opportunity to sail on.

John sailed with the Dorade crew as trimmer last June in NYYC’s Annual Regatta. Sailing in the Classics

Division 2, Dorade won every race. She also won in the Around the Island Race, which was breezy, cold, and rainy. Dorade’s closest boat-for-boat contest was with the New York 40 Marilee, a restored Herreshoff 60-foot gaff-rigged sloop built in 1926.

Brad sailed in the Herreshoff Classic Regatta, sharing helming duties with Dorade co-owner Pam Rorke Levy. Pam’s husband Matt Brooks trimmed the main while tactician Kevin Miller kept the boat out of trouble and on the favored side of the Narragansett. Dorade finished at or near the top of the fleet all three days and won the Bristol to Newport race overall. A highlight of the event was a private tour of the Herreshoff Museum, where it was clear that Captain Nat was about 100 years ahead of this time.

Our station rear commodore Steve Calhoun oversaw a very successful member lunch at San Diego Yacht Club last October. The draw was a 52-year-old beauty, the recently restored S&S/Driscoll 51-foot sloop Brushfire. To an overflow crowd, Chuck Driscoll and Owner Peter LaDow presented a detailed slide show of the three-year refit, which reflected the craftsmanship that Gerry Driscoll and

team put into the build a half century ago. A dockside inspection of Brushfire followed, resulting in consensus that perfection had been achieved again.

Brad Avery SOC Historian

Toolbox in Maine

Soccoro fresh from the yard

Brushfire

Dorade

FINAL VOYAGES

H. Gilbert Jones

Nov 28, 2022

Paul A. Connor

Nov 8, 2022

Steven Hunt

Nov 6, 2022

Seth Saslo

Oct 13, 2022

Bradley J. Baker

Sep 30, 2022

Lawrence P. Bailey

Sep 26, 2022

P. Gerry Maurer

Sep 25, 2022

Peter Hoffman

Sep 8, 2022

William S. Chapman

Aug 19, 2022

Joseph T. Dockery

Aug 8, 2022

Richard F. Howarth

Jul 25, 2022

Harry Keith

Jun 22, 2022

Gerald P. Kynett

May 24, 2022

Joseph T. Callaghan

May 22, 2022

George Lewis

May 9, 2022

Ed C. Tarbell

May 8, 2022

Morgan R. Barker

Apr 6, 2022

Myron Arms

Dec 31, 2021

Robert N. Post

Oct 28, 2021

Andrew A. Burnett-Herkes

Sep 18, 2021

Duane M. Hines

Aug 6, 2021

James A. Hurst

May 26, 2021

Pierre S. du Pont

May 8, 2021

Charles H. Weiner

Mar 28, 2021

Roger T. Fortin

Dec 26, 2020

Obituary links may be found on the Final Voyages page in the members-only section of the CCA website. Voyages will continue to carry full remembrances with photos.

NEXT WATCH: THE NEXT GENERATION OF CCA

Next Watch is a club-wide effort to build the next generation of active, engaged CCA members. Next Watch activities are oriented toward ensuring the club is addressing the needs of younger members--generally, Next Watch members are those who are under 55 years old (although we appreciate those who are Next Watch at heart!)—as well as helping to maintain and enhance CCA’s reputation among potential members as an important organization for top-tier sailors.

Most stations (and posts) have a Next Watch Captain to:

• Provide input for events, activities, and resources appropriate for members raising children and/or employed with limited schedule flexibility;

• Participate in club-wide Next Watch meetings to help provide guidance for club leadership in how to attract, engage, and retain Next Watch members; and

• Assist with the onboarding of qualified candidates, including answering questions from prospective Next Watch members, inviting prospective Next Watch members to events, and helping new Next Watch members find a role on station and national committees and with events.

Building on the great work of previous chairs Roddy Hearne and Drew Plominski, Next Watch is gearing up for an active 2023, which will include monthly virtual presentations of interest (open to the whole club), developing and disseminating strategies for involving Next Watch members in events and committee and leadership roles, and planning activities to build the camaraderie and participation among Next Watch members.

Already, Next Watch members are making important contributions to the club. Congratulations to Molly Barnes, who will be the first young member in decades to be nominated to an officer role (and is also the first woman nominee for Secretary), and Amanda Balasubramanian, who has been nominated as a Governor. In addition, Amanda and Alex Robinson are also part of a triumvirate (led by Moe Roddy) now leading our Safety for Cruising Couples program.

If you are a Next Watch member or would like to be involved in Next Watch activities, make sure to let your station’s Next Watch Captain know!

Alli Bell, SOC, Next Watch Chair

REVISED “SAFETY FOR CRUISING COUPLES” WORKBOOK

A new, revised edition of CCA’s popular “Safety for Cruising Couples” workbook is available. The third edition is part of CCA’s widely recognized Safety for Cruising Couples seminars offered through boating groups around the country. The goal of the workbook and seminars is to help raise the competence and confidence of crew who are not generally in command of sailboats and powerboats cruising in coastal waters. The workbook is aimed at the less-experienced crew member and promotes partnership and teamwork between skipper and crew to ensure they can handle an emergency on their own boat.

The new edition includes updated basics about electronic navigation aids, expanded guidelines for calling for help using a VHF radio, ways to deal with various onboard emergencies, and man overboard (MOB) techniques. Chapters also outline ways to prepare your boat and crew before you leave the dock. Practice sessions, checklists and an enhanced additional resources section are included.

For more information about the revised workbook, seminar presentation materials, or how to host a Safety for Cruising Couples seminar, visit sas.cruisingclub. org/scc.

CCA CLUB STORE

Founder Martha Parker began Team One Newport in 1985. Her vision was to start a company that focused exclusively on clothing for sailors and also to find and develop clothing that fit women sailors. Martha grew up sailing in the JYRA of Long Island Sound and has an extensive sailing resume including an Olympic Campaign in the Yingling, two World Titles and multiple North American Championships. As an active participant in the racing scene, she gets to test the gear, as well as talk to sailors and receive feedback about the positive and negative attributes of the products that are on the market today. Team One Newport has been the leading outfitter for the world’s best sailors, racers, teams, and businesses for almost 30 years.

Team One Newport is our supplier. They offer a very wide variety of casual and technical clothing, sailing gear, and safety equipment. The holidays are fast approaching and you should find some great gift ideas on the website. Go to the CCA Store on our website and click on the Team One Newport link to check it out. The link can also be reached through the following URL: www.team1newport.com/Cruising-Club-of-America/departments/663/ If you have any questions, please contact the Fleet Captain, Paul Hamilton: pjhamilton6@gmail.com

BONNELL COVE FOUNDATION

In recent years the Bonnell Cove Foundation has funded essential elements of school and museum youth programs, environmental research, habitat restoration, medical research, search and rescue products, overboard rescue techniques and boating education. This year the Foundation has made grants totalling close to $89,000 thanks to the generous support of donors in the past.

In 2023, the Foundation is expecting an increase in the number of applications from various safety and environmental related organizations. Please ensure the Foundation will be able to fulfil the approved grant applications by donating at https://bonnellcove.org/donate to the Bonnell Cove Foundation a registered 501(c)(3) organization.

Thank you,

Joyce Lhamon President Bonnell Cove Foundation

On 8 September, thanks to over 100 Proposers, Seconders and Letter Writers in eight Stations, the Governing Board elected 23 qualified new members. Of the 23, two are female; four are Next Watch (<55); the average age is 62 years.

Station Candidate Proposer Seconder

BOS John Youngblood

Mike Hudner

BOS Randall Peffer R. J. Rubadeau

BOS William Gammell Drew Plominski

BOS William Rogers

Ray DeLeo

CHE Henry Sheets Schuyler Benson

CHE

Jonathan Sauer

CHE Richard Rosene

CHE

Andrew Armstrong

Roel Hoekstra

Susanne Crump Rives Potts

CHE William Wrightson

ESS Harold Guidotti

ESS Kenneth Johnson

ESS Lane Tobin

ESS Michael Paolucci

ESS Nathaniel Atwater

ESS William Reed

FLA

NYS

Drew Kellogg

Mark Kondracky

David Dickerson

William Gunther

James Hunt

Mark Kondracky

W. Frank Bohlen

Jim Wetherald

Michael Moore

Heather McHutchison

Mark Grosby

Andrew Parish

David Adams

Andrew Armstrong

Tad Thompson

Schuyler Benson

Daniel Biemesderfer

Frank Bohlen

Frank Bohlen

Brad Willauer

Mark Andrews

Phineas Sprague Jr.

Malcolm Bullock

Cliff Crowley

NYS Michael Linhares

NYS Richard Azar

PNW James Cole

PNW James Hamilton

SAF Michael Johnson

SOC Eric Barto

Lloyd Hooper

Bruce Johnston

Scott Kraft

Peter Darbee

William Cuffel

Don Stabbert

Rowena Carlson

Ric Sanders

Great thanks to the Proposers, Seconders and letter writers, and to the Station Membership Committees, for their service to the Club in attracting these qualified new members! Look for their biographies, prepared as usual by Dianne Embree and Dorothy Wadlow, in the following pages.

These new members have received a letter from the Commodore and timely communications from the relevant Rear Commodore, Station Membership Committee chair and Next Watch Captain intended to welcome and engage the new members. We can all help make new members feel welcome (and also reach out to less-active members):

• For some ideas, download the two-page document, “New Member Introduction,” sent to new members. It has been posted to the website on the “Propose a Member” page. It can be modified to include details relevant to a particular Station.

• You can help. The tradition and importance of warmly welcoming each newly elected member is deeply engrained in our club’s culture and cannot be overemphasized. The Proposer and Seconder and those who wrote supporting letters for a new member can easily play an integral role in this welcome process. And every member of the Station should make it a point to introduce himself or herself to new members and make each new member feel welcome.

• Encourage them to attend at least one of the “open”

Ken Hege

Ron Weiss

Michael Wiseman

Ian Gumprecht

Paul Baker

Scott Flanders

John Jourdane

Chuck Cook

committee meetings at the Annual and Fall Meetings

Do you know a qualified candidate? We welcome a diversity of candidates.

Do you know a great candidate but don’t know what members might be willing to Second or write letters? Your Station Membership Committee chair can help.

Are you wondering if your candidate is qualified? Look at the new Membership Qualifications Guidelines on the website at Member Links/Propose a Member. AND, call your Station Membership Committee chair.

Complete proposals are due to Station Membership Committees by early January (right after the holidays, so don’t wait). The full schedule is posted to the website on the Propose a Member page but check with your own Station Membership Committee chair.

Our Next Watch initiative continues to gather momentum under leadership of Alli Bell (SOC) and the Next Watch Captain in your Station.

Thank you for proposing qualified new members and engaging all members of The CCA.

Ernie Godshalk Membership Committee Chair

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

NATHANIEL B. ATWATER, JR. (NATE)

Mystic, CT

Spouse: Heather

Yacht: Hylas 49 Moonshine

Station: ESS

Proposer: Mark Kondracky

few. Nate and Heather have also found the time to cruise double-handed between RI, North Carolina and the Bahamas since 2017, first on a Pearson 40 and most recently on a Hylas 49, both named Moonshine after Star boats owned by Nate’s Grandfather David Atwater, a CCA member in the 1920s. Currently Moonshine is undergoing a major refit prior to going south to the Bahamas once again late this fall.

Affiliations: Sakonnet Yacht Club; American Yacht Club; Off Soundings Club; Corinthian Yacht Club

RICHARD T AZAR (RICH)

Palm Beach, FL

Spouse: Diane McGaw

Yacht: Tango – Oyster 56

Nate enjoyed racing and cruising throughout his childhood and teen years out of Little Compton, RI. He went on to race actively on the St George’s School Sailing Team in the mid-70’s and during his college years he took every opportunity to sail offshore. In his late twenties Nate worked for Steve and Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School in City Island, NY, where he gained a reputation as an excellent sailor and teacher, always calm under stress. During his tenure at Offshore, Nate had the good fortune to meet and marry Heather, daughter of late CCA member and sailmaker Herbert A. Hild. Herb owned a Tartan 37’ Sloop named Endurance which he was happy to allow his new son-in-law to skipper. After their marriage, Nate and Heather found gainful employment in non-sailing endeavors while raising two sons. However, in 2016, after Nate was the Navigator on the 2016 Newport to Bermuda race, they began leading flotillas for the Offshore Sailing School. They have since led over 20 of them as a couple chartering 3-6 boats in unique locations around the globe. Most of the participants are graduates of the school. Their flotillas have been in the Caribbean, Italy, Belize, Greece, the Seychelles and Tahiti, to name but a

Station: NYS

Proposer: Peter Darbee

racer on Sonar one-design boats she owned and was a Trustee and Secretary of Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. Rich is committed to safety and seamanship education. He holds a USCG 100 Ton Master’s License with a Sailing Endorsement and has completed courses from U.S. Sailing, the U.S. Power Squadron, the Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship, and the Mystic Seaport Museum. Meals aboard Tango are excellent since Rich has taken 250 hours of cooking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education, New York City. He is also a certified SCUBA diver and maintains a full SCUBA kit aboard Tango. Holding an MBA degree and a CPA license, Rich worked for over 16 years for Big-4 consulting firms before starting his independent consultancy practice. When not sailing, he and Diane spend summers in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, and winters in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Affiliations: The New York Yacht Club, The Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club, and the Sint Maarten Yacht Club

ERIC K BARTO

Kula, Maui, HI

Spouse: Tamara

Rich grew up in Sarasota, Florida, where he learned to sail. As adult sailors, he and his wife, Diane McGaw, bought Tango, a Swan 46, in 2003. After cruising with his proposer Peter Darbee aboard Peter’s Oyster 56 Mystic Pearl, they upgraded to their own Oyster 56, also named Tango, in 2016. Rich and Diane are a good team. They cruise aboard Tango in the Eastern Caribbean in the winter, basing in Sint Maarten and the BVI. In the summer, they sail from Long Island Sound to Maine. Rich captains the repositioning of Tango between the Northeast and the Caribbean in the spring and fall, often via Bermuda. He has completed at least 16 blue-water passages on the two Tangos, totaling about 22,000 nautical miles. Diane was formerly a successful

Yacht: Sea Child II – HH55 Catamaran Station: SOC

Proposer: Richard (Ric) Sanders

Growing up in Newport Beach CA in a boating family introduced Eric to sailing early. In his teens he was racing Hobie 14s and 16s and crewing in various Newport to Mexico Races.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Soon he was racing as Navigator aboard the family’s Hans Christian 43’ Wild Child and was Captain for the return trips. In 1978 Eric served as 1st mate and Navigator with his proposer Ric Sanders on a delivery from Los Angeles to Saint Croix via the Panama Canal. 1979 was a big year for Eric. He purchased his first boat, a 32’ doubleended sloop named Rocking Horse. In the 1979 race from Long Beach to La Paz on Chuck Cook’s North American 40 Slicker, Eric navigated the boat safely in as one of the few finishers in a notoriously windy race. Skippering the boat home, he met his future wife, Tamara. Two years later he was Skipper and Navigator for the return of his first Transpac Race aboard the Serendipity 43 Driller. Four other Transpac’s followed on increasingly larger boats culminating with the Spencer 65 Ragtime in 2005. Eric has earned his NAUI Scuba Certification, his USCG 100 Ton Captain’s License (current) and his Private Pilot’s License (current). Pursuing his interest in sailing catamarans, he and Tamara purchased a Conser 47 Catamaran, named Paragon, in California. They sailed her to their new home on Maui and set up Paragon Sailing Charters to take people day sailing. The trips became so popular Eric was able to purchase a sister ship in 1996. In 2007 they sold the business, purchased an Aikane 56 cruising catamaran Sea Child, and set off on a circumnavigation. After 10 years of sailing to the Galapagos, through the South Pacific, via the Red Sea to the Med and on the ARC across the Atlantic, Covid caught up with the boat in Grenada while they were in Hawaii. They were unable to use the boat for 2 years, so they sold her and bought an HH55 Catamaran they named Sea Child II Since then, they have been cruising the Bahamas and the US East Coast north to Rhode Island.

Affiliations: Lahaina Yacht Club, Hawaiian Canoe Club

MALCOLM ROSS BULLOCK (ROSS)

Miami, FL

Partner: Jane Laverne

Yacht: Irony – Joubert-Nivelt 54’

Steel Ketch Station: FL

Proposer: Lloyd Hooper

out for blue water cruising. But after battling cancer, Amanda died in 2016. In 2019 Ross left Florida to sail across the Pacific and was later joined by Jane Laverne. In spite of covid restrictions, they cruised the Eastern Caribbean, transited the Panama Canal, visited the Galapagos and continued west through the South Pacific Islands. They are currently in Savusvu, Fiji where they would welcome any CCA cruisers. Next, they plan to cruise slowly through the Western Pacific and Indonesia before heading for the Med.

Affiliations: Biscayne Bay Yacht Club

Check out the Website: www.cruisingclub.org

Ross caught the sailing bug early with the restoration of a plywood Fireball Racing Dinghy when he was sixteen. During his medical school and residency, he and his wife Amanda fitted out the bare steel hull of a Van de Stadt 38 ft cutter Andross. During one of their earliest bluewater adventures from Durban, South Africa, to the Comoros Islands and back, they survived a 360-degree knockdown, including loss of steering and electronics, during a severe gale. Not deterred, they continued to cruise Andross from a new base in the UK. In the mid-1990s, they sailed her to the Canaries, across the Atlantic to Guadalupe and north through the Caribbean and Bahamas to Virginia, where Ross and Amanda worked as physicians for 16 years and cruised the ICW and Cheaspeake Bay. A move to Miami came next, and Ross was involved in the sailing scene there and an active member of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. His medical knowledge and experience in boat maintenance made him willing and able to assist fellow cruisers with any issue—mechanical, electrical, or medical. In anticipation of retirement, Ross purchased as 54 ft Joubert-Nivelt Ketch Irony in 2014 and fitted her

The CCA website is remarkable for its clarity, ease of navigation and the wealth of information it contains. Michael Moradzadeh has done a truly amazing job in putting together a website that functions so well. You can find out almost anything you need to know about the CCA, its cruises, officers, committees and members on the site and download important cruising information. GAMs from the past seventeen years can be downloaded.

JAMES WALTER COLE (JIM)

Seattle WA

Spouse: Barbara

Yacht: Complexity – Hallberg-Rassy 36 Station: PNW

Proposer: William Cuffel

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

As part of his 21 years in the Air Force, Jim and Barbara were posted near the Great Salt Lake UT and started sailing. After he retired to Seattle, Jim worked as an aerospace engineer and they bought their Hallberg-Rassy 36 Complexity, cruising as far north as Glacier Bay. When Boeing transferred him to Australia in 2008, they decided to sail there double-handed (plus their 9 year old granddaughter). The five-month voyage took them to Hawaii and many of the South Pacific Island before arriving in Port Stephens, Australia. In addition to Skipper and Navigator Jim listed student, crew counselor, HF Operator, reef avoidance observer, educator, propulsion specialist, DJ, weatherman and purser in his job description. After six years in Australia, Jim retired again to resume ocean sailing. He and Barbara visited the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, and Indonesia before arriving in Malaysia. They spent two years in Pangkor, Malaysia, where they gave Complexity a complete refit and Jim added safety officer, satcom and radar operator, refueling specialist, sanitation officer, splicer, rigger and carpenter to his job description. In 2019 they sailed west through Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, taking time for land travel in each country. Next came a 2000-mile leg to from Koch, India, up the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti. They arrived in March 2020 just as Covid was shutting the world down. A group of five international cruising boats formed a small fleet for the 1300-mile upwind bash to the entrance to the Suez Canal, sharing knowledge and resources. Complexity often led the group. The voyage lasted two months and they were not able to go ashore until they reached Ismailia, partway up the Suez Canal. By now Jim had cook, engineer, plumber, diesel mechanic, radio operator, IT specialist and fleet leader on his job description. It was difficult to find a country in the Med which would take them, but Complexity was ultimately accepted in

Limassol, Cyprus, where they stayed 14 months. They are now cruising Greece and Turkey but are generally headed home.

Military Service: US Airforce, 21 years, retired as Captain

Affiliations: Puget Sound Cruising Club, Port Resolution Yacht Club, Musket Cove Yacht Club, Royal Belau Yacht Club

CLIFF F CROWLEY

Fairfield , CT

Spouse: Amy

Yacht: Hootenany – 30’Sloop; BabaMoo – Sea Ray 300

Station: NYC

Proposer: Robert “Bruce” Johnston

Club Cruises. Cliff has a USCG 100 Ton Masters License and is an active Delivery Captain on the East Coast. He is a Past Commodore of the Black Rock Yacht Club and has served on the Board of the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound. Currently he is Director of the International Society for the Perpetuation of Cruelty to Racing Yachtsmen which gives annual Moosehead Awards to race committees for both excellent performances and monumental goof-ups. Cliff is dedicated to adaptive sailing (see https://www.windcheckmagazine.com /article/on_watch_chris_o_brien/) and to involving young people in sailing, especially on big boats. Since their four children are now post college, Cliff and Amy have cut back their fleet to a 30’ sailboat and a Sea Ray 300. They plan to switch to a sailboat with offshore capabilities as soon as possible.

Affiliations: Storm Trysail Club, Milford Yacht Club, Fayerweather Yacht Club, ISPCRY “Moosehead Committee”

SUSANNE B. CRUMP

Cliff grew up and learned to sail Huntington NY. After moving to Fairfield CT, he and his wife Amy have owned numerous sail and power boats including a C&C 35 MK III, a Swan 391 and a Swan 44 MK II, all named Moondance. Cliff, Amy and their 4 children have cruised the Moondances regularly each summer around New England. Cliff also raced the boats locally and offshore. He skippered the Swan 391 in the 2004 Newport Bermuda Race and the 44 in the 2006 and 2008 races. Since the Swan 44 was sold in 2010, Cliff’s excellent seamanship and leadership abilities have made him a popular crew for offshore and local races on other people’s boats, including as Watch Captain during five Bermuda races. He has been a Watch Captain on Commodore Chris Otorowski’s Swan 39 Rocket J Squirrel in two Bermuda Races and three New York Yacht

Deltaville, VA

Spouse: Beverley (CHE)

Yacht: Legacy 42 Rapahannock

Station: CHE

Proposer: Rives Potts

Susanne broke barriers in 1975 when she raced a Carter 37 from Annapolis to Newport as owner/ navigator, in an era when the sailing

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

instructions did not accept women as owners. From an early age, in a sailing family, Susanne realized which skills would be beneficial on offshore voyages, and became a diesel mechanic grad and an offshore celestial navigator. She has participated in numerous Bermuda, SORC and Annapolis to Newport races, Navigating one Newport to Bermuda race and several SORC races. Susanne was also Watch Captain on a return trip from Bermuda when a storm jib and trysail were flown for most of the passage. She was Navigator for the east coast races on the first all-female SORC boat, Deuces Wild. Susanne was sailing coach for her children Will (CHE) and Cyanne, and they have both gone on to complete many races, such as Newport to Bermuda, Transatlantic and Fastnet. While no longer competing in distance races herself, Susanne was instrumental in helping prepare Rives Potts’ successful Carina for a Transatlantic race. Rives attests to the fact that Susanne can do anything on a boat, be it steering, changing sails, navigating, bleeding a diesel engine, as well as keeping speed optimum, and always maintaining an upbeat and positive attitude. Susanne and Bev now take their motor yacht Rapahannock around the Chesapeake, down the inland waterway and up to Maine. In addition to her nautical pursuits, Susanne maintains a busy professional life chairing a foundation and commuting between their home in Deltaville and Richmond.

Affiliations: Fishing Bay Yacht Club

Where to get CCA Burgees

The Sail Bag Lady is the supplier of CCA burgees. There is a separate page for them on the CCA web site: CCA Burgees – sailbaglady.com or call Bettina (the sailbag lady herself) at 203-245-8238.

WILLIAM HOWLAND

GAMMELL (WILL)

Boston, MA

Partner: Coco Nichols

Yacht: Philia – Mast & Mallet Thomas Point 34 Station: BOS

Proposer: Drew Plominski

to Mackinaw Race, 2 Key West Race

Weeks, 2 Regattas al Sol from Florida to Mexico, Koh Samui Race Week in Thailand, and an Oyster Regatta in Sardinia. He also has done numerous offshore deliveries as Captain. Will owns a company called Grand Prix Resources which specializes in service and maintenance for yachts. He has long been active in racing for the New York Yacht Club. Currently he is Chairman of the NYYC Young Members Committee and has infused it with new energy and new events. Sounds like he will make a valuable addition to the CCA Next Watch Committee.

Affiliations: New York Yacht Club, Storm Trysail Club, Southern Yacht Club, The Union Boat Club

William grew up cruising on the family boats in Narragansett Bay and learned to love racing at the East Greenwich Yacht Club. During his junior year in high school, he was in class afloat aboard the 190ft Barquentine Concordia with 45 students, aided by 25 teachers and crew. Completing 36,000 sailing miles, he learned all aspects of the ship-celestial navigation, directing sail maneuvers, maintaining the engine, generators, and water makers, leading safety drills and serving as Assistant Bosun and Watch Captain. Will sailed large keel boats competitively during his college years at Hobart and William Smith, and then found a way to combine a career with his passion for sailing, making his living managing yachts, preparing them for campaigns, racing and delivering them. He has been involved with a number of Grand Prix endeavors including with Decision, a series of TP52s and later the first Fast 40 (Carkeek 40), the Beneteau First 44.7 Valkyrie, and the Super30 Cone of Silence. His extensive international resume includes two Bermuda Races, most recently preparing and sailing aboard Nicholas Brown’s (BOS) X482 Foxtrot. He has also sailed a Chicago

HAROLD GUIDOTTI

Westbrook, CT

Spouse: Mary

Yacht: Island Packet Cutter Rig Orca

Station: ESS

Proposer: Mark Kondracky

Harold is a graduate of SUNY Maritime College, and in the 40 years since graduation he has completed six Atlantic crossings on training and merchant vessels. He earned a USCG license as 3rd assistant engineer – Steam and Motor, unlimited horsepower with Lifeboat and First Aid endorsements. For 2 years after graduation Harold served as Chief Engineer aboard Sequoia, the former Presidential yacht. Harold has served as Captain and Watch Captain aboard several cruising vessels on many long

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passages, and has outfitted Orca for extended offshore passage-making as he and Mary planned that their retirement would be centered around Orca. They made preparations to enter their boat in the 2016 Newport to Bermuda race as part of these preparations, but had to retire after the centerboard broke. Undeterred, they sailed her home from Bermuda and re-entered her in the 2018 race, in which they were the overall winner in the Cruising Division. In recent years, they have sailed on multiple occasions between the Bahamas and CT, in addition to which in August 2021 Harold served as Engineering Training Officer aboard the 565’ training ship Empire State VI sailing from A Coruna, Spain back to New York via Tenerife. He taught 2nd class cadets shipboard electrical systems and design, steam plant main propulsion operation and ancillary systems design operation. In all of his races and cruises, Harold’s attention to detail regarding safety, boat preparation and crew training have resulted in successful passages in a wide range of weather conditions.

Affiliations: Essex Yacht Club, CT

JAMES ROBERT HAMILTON

Seattle WA

Spouse: Jennifer

Station: PNW

Proposer: Don Stabbert

James and his wife Jennifer initially hail from Victoria, Canada, where their parents owned a variety of sail and power boats, and they started their boat ownership in Seattle with the

coastal trawler Dirona in 1999. Over the next eleven years they cruised extensively in the Pacific Northwest researching for their guidebook Waggoner Cruising Guide’s “Cruising the Secret Coast: Unexplored Anchorages on British Columbia’s Inside Passage.” After purchasing a Nordhavn 52 also named Dirona in 2010 with circumnavigation in mind, they made non-stop offshore passages from Seattle to Chichagof AK in 2010 and to Prince William Sound in 2011. In early 2012, they cruised the Columbia and Snake River systems to 738 ft above sea level in Lewiston, Idaho, and later that year began their circumnavigation. For the next 5 years of double-handed boating they crossed the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia, from Dampier AU to Richards Bay South Africa via Mauritius and Reunion, and from Cape Town to Barbados via St. Helena. This period included their two longest non-stop passages, of 3,025 nm from Australia to Mauritius, and 3,690 nm from St. Helena to Barbados. After cruising through the Caribbean and north as far as Newfoundland, they crossed the Atlantic in 2017 for a second time, from Newport RI directly to Ireland, and spent the next four years exploring Northern Europe, reaching beyond the Arctic Circle in Norway. In the spring of 2021 they completed a third Atlantic crossing, from Dublin to Charleston via the Azores. James continued to work as a senior engineer for Amazon before and during the circumnavigation, so he was up to the task of keeping their tech-heavy boat operational, but finds his previous career as a licensed auto mechanic much more useful in boat maintenance. He and Jennifer also shared their knowledge and adventures through magazine articles, the Nordhavn Owners Group posts, their website mvdirona.com and a YouTube channel. They sold Dirona in 2021 after cruising more than 110,000 miles together and living aboard for 12 years, and currently are back in Seattle pursuing land adventures until the

next boat calls.

Affiliations: Waikiki Yacht Club, Seven Seas Cruising Association (Commodore), America’s Boating Club of Seattle

CAPT. KENNETH JOHNSON

Groton, CT

Yacht: Lagoon 410 Painkiller

Station: ESS

Proposer: David Dickerson

Ken grew up on the water in Noank, CT and has dedicated his life to making adventurous use of the sea. He has spent his entire life in a marine environment, be it fishing, boat restoration, electrical supervisor submarine construction, charter boat captain, marine surveyor, or deliveries. He has his USCG Masters license, and was manager of the offshore boats at the Coastguard Academy, once leading a refitted yawl with a coastguard cadet crew on a Marion to Bermuda race. Ken has been a sought-after crew member/

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Navigator/Watch Captain aboard Newport to Bermuda races (12 –sometimes double-handed), Marblehead to Halifax races (6), and over the past 30 years has captained the delivery of almost 30 Ocean Cats from Belize and the BVI’s non-stop to New England. Between 2005 and 2015 he skippered his own Whitby 42 annually from Mystic to the Caribbean for winter cruising, mostly non-stop, with the occasional stop-over in Bermuda or North Carolina. In 2019 Ken delivered an Ocean Cat 51’ from Mystic to Portugal. Ken’s respected yacht survey business is now in its second generation, which only adds to his skill sets on board. In November 2019 Ken set off on a circumnavigation, but the pandemic slowed down his progress. In May 2022 Ken put Painkiller on the hard in Australia in order to return to the US to act as Watch Captain on Dave Dickerson’s Maree in this year’s Newport to Bermuda race. He then returned to Australia, and we caught up with him as he and his crew were about to leave Darwin on October 8. Their destination was Cape Town, a passage of @6,000 nm, which he expected would take about 50 days.

MICHAEL JOHNSON

Granite Bay, CA

Spouse: Vera Chotzen

Yacht: Vera Cruz - Jeaneau 349 Station: SAF

Proposer: Rowena Carlson

in the 20s to 30s most of the way and a failed auto pilot, requiring 16 days of hand steering. Michael and Vera are currently making the transition from racing to cruising. They sold the Beneteau after sailing the 2022 Pacific Cup and have purchased a Jeaneau 349, also named Vera Cruz, for cruising.

Affiliations: Richmond Yacht Club

MICHAEL CARLOS LINHARES (MIKE)

Mystic, CT

Spouse: Dan Wu-Linhares

Station: NYC

Proposer: Scott Kraft

Michael grew up in Honolulu in a cruising family. His first blue water passage was at age 11 from San Pedro CA to Hawaii aboard his family’s 62’ schooner Manuiwa . In his teens Michael began crewing on deliveries between Hawaii and California which continued as he pursued his own adventurous sailing. In 1978 he bought a 42’ Ketch Nelly Bly and sailed her from Samoa to Honolulu without an engine, including navigating the tricky entrances to various atolls. Ten years later he did a month-long circumnavigation of the State of Hawaii in his 36’ sloop Ruffian. Michael crewed in his first TransPacific Race from Los Angeles to Hawaii at age 15 and over the next 30 years crewed in 10 more Trans Pacs, often as Watch Captain or Navigator. One of the most exciting was in 1969 aboard the 79’ Ketch Mir. They were dismasted in sight of the finish line and sailed across the line backwards using the mizzen spinnaker. After moving to San Francisco and becoming members of the Richmond Yacht Club, he and Vera bought a Beneteau First 40 Vera Cruz for sailing local races and the Pacific Cup. He captained and navigated her to Hawaii in the Pac Cup, then sailed her back to San Francisco. That trip was quite exciting with winds

Mike grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and became involved in youth racing at an early age. In his teens, he competed in Lasers, Finns and Stars in the lead up to the 1988 Olympic Trials. These experiences led to crewing positions in SF Bay and distance races on a variety of larger boats. After he moved to Connecticut in 1994, he continued to pursue his passion for sailing, crewing in Fisher’s Island Sound Races and Block Island Race Weeks. After meeting Michael Wiseman (NYS), Mike became a regular crew aboard Michael’s Alden 54 Legacy V. He has been Watch Captain and in charge of foredeck on Legacy V for the last three Newport to Bermuda races and a Marblehead to Halifax Race, among others. He and his wife Dan have also been aboard Legacy V for several cruises to Maine. A great boat chef, Mike is usually responsible for provisioning and

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cooking. He and Dan are longtime members of the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club. Mike is currently Rear Commodore and has been active in safety at sea demonstrations and discussions. He and Dan have been racing in the Ideal 18 fleet on a national and club level for many years. They have been teachers and mentors to others in the fleet and have had good results representing, SHYC in Interclub Championships. Now that their two daughters are out of the nest, Mike and Dan are looking for their own cruising boat. Mike also plans to continue racing and hopes to compete the Bermuda 1-2 and Fastnet Races.

Affiliations: Stonington Harbor Yacht Club

MICHAEL P. PAOLUCCI

Washington, CT

Spouse: Eliza

Yacht: Hinkley 52 Sou’wester Marlow

Station: ESS

Proposer: James Hunt

the Mediterranean from Italy to Tunisia, from Spain to the Canary Islands, and most recently from Key West to Panama and on to the Galapagos and La Paz. On many occasions Eliza and one or other of their 3 daughters were on board. One daughter has just graduated and is employed by City Year/Americorp teaching in Harlem, one is in college, and the other is still in high school, so Marlow has, and will continue to be, a focal point for family voyages. Michael continues to be interested in all things technological, and in bringing knowledge to children of all ages. His latest endeavor is SLOOH, an educational portal to the stars, which is placing and operating automatic telescopes around the world. A voyage on Marlow also provides the opportunity to enjoy Michael’s excellent culinary skills!

RANDALL SCOTT PEFFER

Marion, MA

Spouse: Jackie

Yacht: Sarah Abbot – 53’ Novi schooner Station: BOS

Proposer: R J Rubadeau

first boat, a Wianno Senior Absynthe. When he had a young family, they owned a Van der Stadt 36’ wooden yawl Innisfree and cruised extensively from Maine to the Chesapeake. In 1984 Randy purchased the 53’ Stevens wooden schooner Sarah Abbot which he still owns. At the time Randy was a professor of English at the Phillips Academy (Andover) and had obtained his USCG 100 Ton Masters license (still active). In conjunction with the school, he developed a program to use his schooner for a summer program at sea for students interested in marine science. For the next 14 seasons Captain Peffer sailed with crews of six students, a scientist, and a mate (sometimes his son Noah-BOS) from Cape Cod to the edge of the Gulf Stream collecting scientific data on whale feeding habits, pelagic fish, marine organisms, and water quality. Randy has written over 120 magazine articles on maritime topics and published 21 books, both fiction and non-fiction, with nautical themes, including the Southern Seahawk fiction trilogy about a Civil War ship and Where Divers Dare, a nonfiction account of the hunt for a sunken WWII U-Boat. Now retired, Randy and his wife spend the summers in Marion, MA, sailing Sarah Abbot and Skeeter, a Seasprite 23 daysailor. They sometimes sail Sarah to their winter

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Michael and Eliza met at Cornell, after which he embarked on a technology project which proved so successful that he was able to commission Marlow and pursue offshore sailing and passage-making at a fairly young age. He first acted as Navigator on Marlow from New York to the USVI in the winter of 2001, then as Navigator on the 2002 Newport to Bermuda race. He has skippered her ever since on subsequent Newport to Bermuda races, an Atlantic crossing from Newport to Mallorca, through

Randall Peffer is a multi-talented person with many abilities and interests, but sailing has been his primary passion since childhood. Although he has an extensive offshore and coastal resume on a number of modern boats of all sizes, his main interest is the restoration and sailing of classic wooden boats. In his 20s Randy carefully restored and raced his

The mission of the Cruising Club of America is to promote cruising and racing by amateurs, to encourage the development of suitable types of cruising craft, to stimulate interest in seamanship, navigation and handling of small vessels, and to gather and keep on file all information which may be of assistance to members in cruising.

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quarters on Great Guana Cay in the Bahamas where they keep Jacqueline, a 23’ Abaco smack sloop. In the spring they transfer to Long Beach CA where Noah lives. Randy sails Cornflake, a quarter-ton midget ocean racer, and is a senior captain aboard the Maritime Preservation Trust’s 70’ schooner Rose of Sharon . His latest literary endeavor is a book on maxi racer Windward

Passage

Affiliations: Beverly Yacht Club

WILLIAM D. REED (BILL)

Fishers Island, NY

Yacht: S’Q’RNK (HBI)

Station: ESS

Proposer: W. Frank Bohlen

raced with him and against him. One of his oldest sailing friends describes Bill’s attitude to the art of racing as a test of the foresight and calculator of the naval architect against the certainty that at some point well past insanity something very expensive is either going to fail or the boat is going to come in first! Bill has been Navigator/Tactician on 14 Newport to Bermuda races since 1986 on a variety of yachts named Mischievous, ranging in size from 40’ to 65’, which generally finished at or near podium level. Bill also enjoys cruising, and in recent years has been Watch Captain with CCA member Phin Sprague (BOS/ GMP) on Lion’s Whelp making passage from St John’s, Newfoundland to Maine, as well as skippering a charter in the Cyclades. Bill is now planning a northern European cruise, including the British Isles and Scandinavia.

Affiliations: Fishers Island Yacht Club, NY, Chair, Race Committee

WILLIAM K ROGERS (WILL)

Warwick, RI

Spouse: Rebecca Schneider

Yacht: Artemis – Sabre 38 Mkii

Station: BOS

Proposer: Ray DeLeo

Bill has been sailing most of his life, beginning on the lakes in Winter Park, FL. He attended Tabor Academy, and was an active sailor on dinghies and aboard Capella, the Academy’s training ship. Those years marked the onset of Bill’s lifelong infatuation with boats and the sea. He is also an accomplished shipwright, a skill he honed when he recovered his Friendship sloop from the bottom of Long Island Sound where she had foundered in a squall, and restored her to sail in OpSail 86. As a longtime resident of Fishers Island, Bill is a Past Commodore of the yacht club, and has actively promoted racing in the IOD class, having just completed a stint as regatta chair of the World Championship held on Fishers. In fact, racing is something Bill knows a lot about, if you ask those who have

When Will was a young child, his father Captain William “Cheever” Rogers was lost off Cape Hatteras with all hands when his charter schooner Windfall sank in a storm. Growing up in the close community of South Freeport ME, the tragedy did not deter Will from choosing a sailing life. He worked for Outward Bound

There are copies available of this 1987 authoritative book by the CCA Technical Committee, edited by CCA member John Rousmaniere, online through Amazon and AbeBooks.

The book contains classic chapters on stability and design that are relevant today and should be studied by sailors who race and cruise in the ocean.

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School for 14 years including a trip from Florida to Maine on a 30ft open pulling boat. In his early 20s he began crewing on sailboats offshore and obtained his USCG 100 Ton Masters License. By 1995 Will was skippering a Bermuda Race return on a Hinckley 43. The first boat he owned was the Kathy McKay, an Intrepid 28. In 2014 he moved up to his current boat Artemis, a Sabre Mkii. Will and his wife Rebecca cruise to Maine nearly every year and in 2019 did an extended trip to the Bahamas and back. Meanwhile, when his work for GMT Composites allowed, he began working as a delivery captain in sail and power vessels up to 80’ from Maine/Canada to the Caribbean. In recent years he has captained annual deliveries aboard two Hylas 56s, Blue Thunder and Glass Slipper. He also continued to race offshore, completing a Marblehead to Halifax Race and three additional Bermuda Races. Most recently he was Navigator aboard his proposer Ray DeLeo’s (BOS) Leonessa in the 2022 Bermuda Race. Although not aboard for the return, Will’s advice from ashore was invaluable when the boat lost its rudder. He and his wife will be heading for the Caribbean again in the fall of 2023, with research stops along Gullah Geechee corridor for Rebecca’s Guggenheim Fellowship study for her project “Shoaling in the Sea of History.”

RICHARD W. ROSENE (DICK)

Newport, RI

Partner: Catherine Piccoli

Yacht: Mohegan 38’ Skylark

Station: CHE

Proposer: Roel Hoekstra

Dick’s sailing experiences date back to 8th grade when he took his first Power Squadron course. At age 16, he was allowed to take the family 28’ Chris Craft from Sandusky to the western islands of Lake Erie, as well as solo trips to Pelee Island, Canada. Dick raced Snipes on Lake Altoona in his 20’s, and around that time he and his father and brothers began chartering Hinckleys in Maine, giving him his first taste of cruising. Dick and Cathy ave owned boats of all means and propulsion and sizes for many years, and have cruised extensively both offshore and on coastal passages. In addition to his love of sailing, Dick has a private pilot’s license, and brings the same meticulous planning and safety controls to his air travels. Their first boat was Stormy, a Sou’wester Jr. that they sailed out of Annapolis, and then later used their plane as a means to get to their Cambria 44 on Narragansett Bay. From there they often cruised double-handed to Maine in the summer, with similar trips back and forth to the Chesapeake. Dick’s first Newport to Bermuda race was as Watch Captain in 2004, and his latest was in skippering the return from Bermuda to Newport in June 2022 aboard Sonrisa, an XP44

owned by Jeff McCarron (CHE). Cathy was the Watch Captain, and the rest of the crew consisted of CCA members. All agreed that Dick did an excellent job managing boat and crew, and dealing with the inevitable gear failures and incidents that crop up on such passages with calm aplomb. Dick credits his late stepsister, Virginia Wagner, the most accomplished sailor in the family, with teaching him the value of good seamanship. She skippered the tall ships Galaxy and Clipper City out of Baltimore, and later skippered and taught celestial navigation onboard Ocean Star for Ocean Navigator. Her name is on the Helm Box of the Oliver Hazard Perry (OHP) based in Newport, RI. A scholarship has been set up in Virginia’s name to encourage young people to sail on the OHP.

Affiliations: Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia

JONATHAN D. SAUER

Swedesboro, NJ

Station: CHE

Proposer: Andrew Armstrong

Jon has sailed extensively in the Chesapeake Bay area since he was a boy, becoming an accomplished small boat racer. He was introduced to sailing by his father racing on a wooden Lightning at age 5. Growing up, Jon and his father would spend weekends exploring the Chesapeake sailing together. He put that education to good use on larger, offshore boats, and is now a sought-after crewmate

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on coastal deliveries, to and from the Caribbean and distance races. His chosen profession as an electrical engineer makes Jon an excellent choice to have on board, in addition to his skills as a helmsman. Jon has been Watch Captain for many years on Andrew Armstrong’s (CHE) Samoa 47 Billy Ruff’n on passages to and from the Bahamas and Caribbean, and Watch Captain on David Adams’(CHE) Resolute on the 2017 Annapolis to Newport race (3rd place) and the 2018 Annapolis to Bermuda race (2nd place). Jon actively races J22’s at CYCoP and for several years managed the Learn to Sail program at the Club.

Affiliations: Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia

HENRY B. SHEETS (BEN)

Oxford, MD

Spouse: Millicent

Yacht: Oyster 655 Weatherly

Station: CHE

Proposer: Schuyler Benson

Ben has almost 50 years of cruising experience, which makes him uniquely qualified to handle any situation at sea. His earliest days of sailing took place in the 60’s and 70’s on Lake Ontario, sailing with his family on their Seabreeze 35’ on summer vacations. After college, Ben earned his USCG 100-ton Captain’s license, and purchased the classic Herreshoff yawl Royono. He has since skippered many different boats on the eastern seaboard from the Caribbean to Newfoundland

and Labrador. Following a two-year stint in Thailand as project manager for the building of three 40-meter sloops, which offered opportunities to sail throughout Thailand and the Straits of Malacca, Ben skippered a custom Gulfstar 82’, Ruling Angel, for the next ten years, with a focus on the Canadian Maritimes. During this period Ben met Millicent, and from May 1991 until December 1996 they lived aboard Ruling Angel, making passages in the Caribbean, New England, Canada and Venezuela. After their marriage in 1999, sailing took a back seat as they raised their family, first in Newport, RI, then moving to Oxford, MD in 2003. Ben’s boats are always maintained in meticulous order, in keeping with his knowledge of how a yacht should and can be managed. Ben has made numerous fall deliveries to Bermuda on Schuyler Benson’s Swan 47 Bandana, which Ben’s young family practically grew up on sailing, mostly in the Chesapeake and the BVI. Ben most recently delivered Schuyler’s Oyster 62’, Fetch, from Oxford, MD to Tortola, BVI. Ben and Millicent recently acquired their Oyster 655, which was in sad need of attention. Weatherly has now had an extensive refit in Newport and is berthed in their home port of Oxford. They are fine-tuning her with the idea of an extended period aboard, perhaps a circumnavigation at some future date after their children, Charlotte (22) and Henry (19) complete college. In the meantime, they sail Weatherly as a family, spending six weeks last summer cruising Cape Cod and the Islands, with plans to sail in the BVI this winter.

LANE G. TOBIN

Ridgefield, CT

Station: ESS

Proposer: William Gunther

Lane grew up in a sailing family, in which her late father Briggs (NYS) and grandfather Toby (BOS) were active CCA members. Toby was a major figure in Western Long Island Sound racing, including two America’s Cup campaigns. Briggs inherited Froya, a McCurdy & Rhodes 46, from his father in 2007, and maintained an active cruising and racing schedule on her. From an early age, therefore, Lane and her brother learned more good seamanship habits from just being in the company of their parents and grandparents than many lifelong sailors. In 2013, when Lane was 17, her parents took the family on a year-long cruise on Froya, from Maine to the Caribbean and back (@5,000 nm). During that year Lane developed her navigational and sail handling skills, and is comfortable on the helm or in the engine compartment. Lane has now completed two Newport to Bermuda races on Froya, acting as co-skipper on the downward leg in 2022 with Bill Gunther (ESS). It was fitting that the crew was awarded the Corinthian trophy for the race, which Lane undertook in her father’s memory. Lane independently captained the return leg from Bermuda to Newport. The CCA is delighted to welcome a third-generation member to our Club, and we look forward to following her

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future sailing exploits, which include a planned sabbatical for extended cruising.

WILLIAM L. WRIGHTSON III (WILL)

Oxford, MD

Spouse: Laura

Yacht: 1974 Swan 41 Tigress

Station: CHE

Proposer: Drew Kellogg

in the 2009 Fastnet race and has now acted as Navigator on the Newport to Bermuda race 3 times, the first being on Tom van der Salm’s (BOS/BUZ) Hinkley 48 yawl Whisper in 2008.

Will has spent many leisure hours in boatyards and enjoys boat restoration. He has recently finished restoring Tigress, and is looking forward to participating on her as a family boat on the Newport to Bermuda race in 2024. His 2 children are avid 420 racers. After years of work in other parts of the US, Will is now back in Oxford, is an active participant in several local yacht clubs, and is still a boardman on the Billie P. Hall.

Military service : U.S. Army 1988-2006 Affiliations: Tred Avon YC, Governor for Sailing; Chesapeake Bay YC; Gibson Island Yacht Squadron; New York Yacht Club

Will grew up in Oxford in an eastern shore sailing family. His father and grandfather were both avid racers, so it was inevitable that Will would start sailing at the Tred Avon YC at age 8 on Penguins. Within a few years he was invited to join the crew of the Billie P. Hall, the Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe. Besides being great fun, there was also the accolade of winning the Governor’s Cup.

College intervened, after which Will was commissioned in the US Army where he served as an Artillery Officer and Paratrooper. Despite the demands of his army and subsequent 30-year civilian career on Wall Street as an analyst and portfolio manager, Will has taken part in 10 Newport to Bermuda races, the first of which was with Henry Neff on Prim in 1992, followed by 5 races on Chuck Benson’s Bandana . Will has also sailed in 5 Annapolis to Bermuda races, and in 2002 was helmsman in the SydneyHobart race and division winner aboard the smallest boat in the race. Will was Watch Captain on a Swan 51

JOHN L. YOUNGBLOOD

South Kent, CT

Spouse: Jennifer Yacht: High Cotton – Little Harbor 52 (50% owner)

Station: BOS

Proposer: Mike Hudner

moved to Kent CT in 1995 where they sailed small boats and chartered bareboats for vacations. In his mid-50s John became seriously interested in offshore sailing. In preparation he got his USCG OUPV License, took bluewater and safety at sea courses and crewed on a Little Harbor 54 from BVI to Newport in the 2015 Salty Dawg Rally before purchasing a 50% interest in High Cotton, a Little Harbor 52. His 2017 Marion to Bermuda Race had to be aborted due to gear failure, but the next year a cruise to Bermuda and back was successful. After a second hands-on Safety at Sea course and thorough planning, he was ready to begin an Atlantic Circle Cruise in 2020, but Covid forced its cancellation. Finally on May 31, 2021, John left Bristol RI and skippered High Cotton 2200 miles to the Azores. With his destination nearly in sight he encountered a disabled Najad 57 which he towed the 70 miles to Horta. After passages to Madeira and the Canary Islands, John and crew joined the ARC+ Rally for the sail to Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands, and then the 2200-mile voyage to Grenada. He finished the circuit with a trip from St. Thomas USVI to Bristol RI via Bermuda, arriving on May 30,2022 exactly a year after his departure. He hopes to cross to Northern Europe in 2025 in time for the CCA Western Scotland Cruise.

Affiliations: Salty Dawgs

John started sailing on his father’s boats at age 7. He was promoted to First Mate when he was 10. Later based in Minneapolis, his dad bought a C&C 35 berthed in Bayfield WI. John sailed on Lake Superior each of the next 10 summers learning all aspects of boat handling and coastal navigation. He and his young family

Cruising Club of America

Phil Dickey, Chief Editor

298 Winslow Way W. Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

CCA Calendar of Events

Deadline for Spring Issue is March 15, 2023

2023 March 3- 4 CCA Annual Meeting/Awards Dinner, NYYC

March 11-18 Windward Islands Cruise

September 9-23 Mallorca Cruise

September 29-30 Fall Meeting, Bras d’Or Station, Lunenberg NS

2024 March

CCA Annual Meeting/Awards Dinner, NYYC

April/May Sea of Cortez Cruise

September 7-21 Sicily/Malta Cruise

October 17 Fall Meeting, Chesapeake Station, Annapolis MD

2025 March

CCA Annual Meeting/Awards Dinner, NYYC

June Scotland Cruise TBD Fall Meeting, Southern California Station

Stations & Posts:

Please email your major events dates so members visiting your area can be aware. (Editor’s email: gam@cruisingclub.org) For latest info, please check www.cruisingclub.org.

Monthly Station Luncheons

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