
7 minute read
Taking command of love, career and retirement
and they both have led Bird Key Yacht Club as commodores.
Leading a yacht club, like navigating the open waters, is not without its challenges.
But just like a captain has its crew, Martha and Curtiss have each other. And yet, they’re not boaters, they said.
Since birth, Curtiss has been surrounded by the Navy. His father was in the Navy for almost 40 years.
Sidra Wali Contributor
Martha Schantz wanted to put distance between herself and the Navy after growing up in a Navy family. The last thing she saw herself doing was marrying a naval officer. Her husband, Curtiss, is a Navy veteran. They’ve been married for 53 years,
“When my father left the Navy, he was the assistant surgeon general and he was also an admiral,” said Curtiss.
Curtiss was born in San Diego, California, in 1944 but spent most of his life in Washington, D.C. His brother attended the United States Naval Academy in 1963. His sister also served.
Curtiss played football for the
University of Maryland in 1961 when his freshman team went undefeated.
“I was recruited to play football by Lee Corso, (sports broadcaster and football analyst for ESPN), and he sold me the story of ‘local boy makes good,’ and I took that offer,” said Curtiss.
Wanting more, Curtiss decided to attend the Naval Academy afterward. He was a midshipman majoring in engineering with a minor in Russian history.
After he graduated from the academy in 1968, he served as a fighter pilot flying various planes.
As fate would have it, he met Martha in the summer of 1965.
“I grew up in the Navy, and I said I don’t want to be in this life because my father was gone for most of my life. I wasn’t into that,” said Martha.
She was born into a second-
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Martha went to Vassar College in New York thinking she would be far away from that life.
“There is no naval person anywhere near campus in New York. But, I forgot about coming home in the summer in Newport,” said Martha. “My mother and Curt’s sisterin-law had met each other. They conspired.”
Curtiss was running a cruise in the Navy on the other side of the bay close to Newport, Martha explained.
“His sister-in-law asked me if her brother could call me. Well, he called and called until finally my mother said that she’d meet Curtiss and tell him that I was just a younger version of her,” said Martha.
Shortly after, Martha and Curtiss went on a blind date.
Although the initial meeting didn’t go as planned, the second date was a different story.
Martha reminisced about Curtiss’ voice and presence in his uniform khakis.
They hit it off the second time around.
After graduating Vassar College, Martha earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University.
She then switched careers, moving into real estate sales.
From there, she became the director of sales and marketing for major local and national condominium developers in Virginia Beach while Curtiss was deployed for six to eight months a year.
Curtiss moved up the ranks in the Navy until his last position, which was deputy head of naval aviation plans and requirements in the Chief of Naval Operations office.

After 34 years, he retired from the Navy in 1995 and flew as a pilot for FedEx for almost 15 years.
Martha retired in 2005, and Curtiss
in 2009.
retired
Martha and Curtiss became fulltime residents of the area in 2009.
They joined the Bird Key Yacht Club in 2013, and three months later, Martha became rear commodore.
In 2015, Martha was sworn in as the 48th commodore, making her the third woman to hold the post at BKYC.
“I went into it with the idea that we had found such a life there and even after a few months that it was a way to give back to the club because it had already given us so much,” said Martha.
She had a background in construction and product development, which helped in her role.

“I had the qualifications all of a sudden. I knew construction. I built a number of houses, not myself, but many houses, high-rise buildings and condominiums. I knew condominiums, and I knew about reserve studies. We actually built a new marina,” said Martha. “So that happened. Then the next year they came to Curt.”
Curtiss initially turned down the offer due to helping Martha while she held her various roles for three years.
“It’s a two-person job. He had run all the lecture series that we do as commodores. We run a lecture series every month, and he was the first male to take it over. He was fabulous, of course, fabulous,” said Martha.
Curtiss was sworn in as 52nd commodore of BKYC in 2019.
Both Martha and Curtiss were the first couple in BKYC’s history to have been commodores.
Now, they both enjoy their time cooking, pursuing personal passions and savoring their leisure.
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JAMES PETER MANAGING EDITOR
The two most expensive residential real estate sales recorded on Bird Key sold on a single day, June 1.

A waterfront estate at 626 S. Owl Drive sold for $11.25 million, confirmed Susan Fox, the Compass Florida LLC Realtor who represented the sellers, Henry and Dawn Duques. It was listed in March at $12 million.




Roger Pettingell, a Coldwell Banker Realty agent and broker, represented the buyers, H. Lee Scott Jr. and Linda Scott, trustees of the Linda G. Scott Revocable Trust.


The two-story home was built in 2021. It has five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and more than 6,500 square feet of living space. It also boasts a pool, wine room and two Tesla car chargers in the garage.
“We’re seeing things in that $10 million range come to market and the market be really accepting of it,” said Pettingell. “It kind of checks every box that we think buyers are looking for. Buyers are valuing time as much as money, to not have to go through the process of building.”
Earlier that same day, the neighboring house, 622 S. Owl Drive, sold for $9.75 million, briefly making it the highest residential sale recorded on Bird Key before slipping to second place, said Bruce Myer, who represented the sellers, Stephen and Julie McGue, of the waterfront estate.
Myer is a global luxury specialist affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty.
“I think I had the record for maybe a second. Ours closed in the morning and theirs closed in the afternoon,” said Myer.

The home at 622 S. Owl has four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. According to county property records, it was purchased by The Richard M. Stumler Tennessee Family Dynasty Trust.
Its waterfront position on the bay offers views of Big Pass, Lido and Siesta keys and the Gulf of Mexico.

“We didn’t have the frenzy as you might imagine last year,” said Myer. “We had it on the market for about three weeks, and I’d guess we had eight to 10 showings. About half the people who looked at it already owned on Bird Key and were looking to update from their garden or canal home.”
Myer has a long history with both properties on Owl Drive. In 2002, Myer represented the buyers of 622 S. Owl Drive and the neighboring lot, 626 S. Owl Drive. In 2021, 622 S. Owl Drive was offered for sale, and Myer represented the McGues, who purchased the home for $6 million at that time.
Julie McGue is the award-winning author of the book “Twice a Daughter.” Her memoir about searching for her birth family struck a chord with adoptees who yearn for answers and connection with biological relatives. She has written two additional books, “Belonging Matters” scheduled for publication in November of 2023 and another to be published in 2024.
“It’s a great house and a great location. If it’s renovated and people can walk right in — that’s what gets the most attention,” said Myer. “There are only so many waterfront properties on Bird Key that enjoy this positioning. It’s that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live the ultimate Sarasota lifestyle.”
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