Background
(Written in 2002)
For many years, our club has been growing in size and quality.
In 1996, we acquired our first clubhouse, the 45-foot pontoon boat which serves as our office and headquarters at the North Cove docks. Getting this first clubhouse was a significant step forward in the history of the club. It helped us begin developing as a social organization in addition to just sailing outlet. Many members have spent time in our floating clubhouse at North Cove. This vessel has served us well and we have all benefited as a result.
Photo: Our first clubhouse was the 45-foot pontoon boat
which we keep docked at North Cove. This vessel was acquired by the club in 1996.
When the club acquired this first clubhouse, our membership stood at 200. Today, we have more than 450 members. As enjoyable as the existing clubhouse is, we now need a larger facility for the size of our club. Also, we need a facility which can be used by multiple events at the same time. Our sailing school has grown and on Friday evenings, we have up to 28 students enrolled in the basic sailing class. Squeezing them into our existing clubhouse has been a challenge. And when we do this, members can not use the clubhouse.
It has been clear for some time that if the club wishes to continue growing and making it possible for more people to enjoy the incredible beauty of sailing in New York Harbor, we need to acquire a larger facility.
In 2001, something special happened which propelled this idea forward. In the spring, the club received a commercial mooring permit to put its barge in the cove between Liberty State Park and Ellis Island. Initially, the purpose was to support a Laser sailing program. The club also planned to use the barge to start the J/24 sailboat races. The Laser sailing did not occur because currents around the barge ended up being too strong which would have created risk to dinghy sailors. But using the barge as a race committee platform did work, significantly better than expected.
Photo: On May 15, 2001, the first Race Committee headed
by Stephen Yip (second from right) went to the roof deck of the barge and started the
spring series.
The first time we climbed the stairs to the roof deck and looked out over the fleet to start the first race of the season, we had an epiphany. It was clear this was the future. The view from the roof deck was incredible. You could watch the fleet, see the puffs and current - it was spectacular, enjoyable and uplifting.
Throughout the year, many members served on the race committee. The response from each person as they also climbed the stairs to the roof deck was always the same, "Incredible!" These members have also seen the future.
Now we needed to make it a reality. Reality would be a USCG-certified barge with a full-roof deck which would allow members, family and guests to come out, see the harbor and our boats and watch the races. This cannot be done with the existing barge because it is not certified and the cost to get it certified would be prohibitive. To get USCG certification, we would need a new purpose-built barge.
Our club is lucky to have the prestigious naval architecture firm of Sparkman & Stephens racing in our programs. During the summer, their sailors served as Race Committee on one evening. They had an opportunity to stand on the roof deck and "see the future." Afterwards, the vision of the new clubhouse was shared with them and they quickly recognized it's potential and offered to design this new clubhouse. Throughout the summer, plans for the new clubhouse began to take shape. Because this would be such a major improvement for the club, plans were kept quiet with only the necessary people being involved in the discussions.
Click on the image to see
the plans for the new clubhouse.
Then came September 11 and everything changed. The attack closed the club for several weeks. The fall racing series was postponed, sailing classes were canceled and New York City came to a standstill. Financially, the club was suddenly facing a revenue shortfall of about $100,000.
Photo: Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh inspects the fleet of boats on the
Monday following the attack on the WTC. The boats and dock were covered with debris
and the area was sealed off by the National Guard as part of the frozen zone.
Luckily, our fleet escaped major damage.
As the dust settled, the reality and the enormity of what happened began to sink in. At the same time, an equally strong determination and resolve rose up. We would not be defeated by this act of terrorism. We would fight back and continue on with more vigor and more energy than ever before. Although our club is just a recreational organization, we do matter to the enjoyment and quality of life in this city. We have a vision for New York Harbor as a great recreational resource. We want this vision to come sooner, not later.
And so we drew a line in the sand of where were we on September 11 and said we are not going backwards, we are going forwards. And we are focusing our energy on the most significant project our club has ever undertaken, the building of the new clubhouse.
Building the clubhouse is this new environment required new thinking. First, we knew the plan should be publicized to all members. What we need following September 11 is hope in the future. By spelling out the vision for the clubhouse, we hope to provide some hope and remind members about the fun and enjoyment our city has offered us in the past and will offer again in the future. Second, the fiscal cushion of the club has disappeared so we will have to move forward with as much caution as possible. This means we need to test the waters and broaden the base of involvement to include all members.
In November, Sparkman & Stephens generously offered their offices for a reception to unveil the new clubhouse plans. Many members attended and it was an exciting evening. Out of this enthusiasm came many ideas. Lukas Kolff had one of the more significant, suggesting that rather than the club absorbing all the risk, to spread the risk among a large number of members. This way, if the clubhouse is successful, we all benefit. And if the clubhouse is not successful, it would not mean the end of our core sailing programs. The Flag Officers agreed that this is a sensible and prudent way to proceed. From Lukas' suggestions, we have created the concept of a "Clubhouse Loan." And the Flag Officers and Lukas have set a leadership example by subscribing to the first loans.