Volunteer Fleet Captain Skippers

Profiles of Fleet Captain Skippers

A who's who among the skippers who volunteer to take you sailing.

	Neil Kelliher Although I've lived around the water all my life, I didn't begin sailing until 1999 when I moved to Battery Park City, where I now work out of my apartment, as little as possible, I should add. I rode my bike past the clubhouse many times before stopping in, signing up for Basic Sailing and then joining the club. Now, I'm blessed with being able to take a fifteen-minute walk along the esplanade to the docks and take out a boat most any time the sailing looks good. After I joined the club, I crewed for about four years, trying to sail with a range of skippers so that I could learn as much as possible. I also took courses in navigation and racing and became a skipper a couple of years ago. I've raced on Tuesday nights and a few Saturdays. I encourage everyone to try it out on Saturdays if they enjoy some friendly competition. My wife Mona just started sailing two years ago and we try to sail as much as we can. I have crewed and navigated twice in the Isle of Wight race in England and did an overnight crossing of the English Channel on a friend's 32 foot Rival. It was a beautiful experience that I'll never forget. My philosophy about sailing is simple: Be safe and have fun. That's my goal whenever I go out. I firmly believe that no matter how good a sailor you are, you can always learn something whether it be from the most experienced skipper, a first season newbie, or just by observing what's going on around you. I learn something every time I go out and would feel cheated if I didn't. Other people have shared their knowledge with me and I enjoy passing what I know on to others. Nobody should expect to know it all. If they think they do, I'd suggest not sailing with them. As a Fleet Captain, I'm always looking to go out with people who want to participate in the sail, learn more about sailing, and enjoy the water, the rest of the crew and the club. (Jan 2007)
	Peter Wechter Recipient of the 2006 Fleet Captain & Mentor of the Year I love to sail and be on boats, but I didn't find this out about myself until a few years ago when I moved to an apartment at the southern tip of Manhattan which had views of the New York Harbor all the way to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge . I walked pass the Manhattan Sailing School on the way to work and nearly every day, I saw boats sailing in the harbor . While I had sailed for a couple of years with a friend some years back, I really never learned anything about sailing as I followed orders to trim the sails and wasn't offered the helm. This all changed when I decided to sign up for the Basic Keelboat Sailing class. Over a beautiful, breezy weekend in June, I learned what it was like to really sail a boat. I joined the Manhattan Sailing Club three days after I completed the class. I quickly got on the water by going on Fleet Captain sails with James Sinclair, Rich Turrin, Ted Wallace, Jon Schultz and many others. I don't think I was a "natural" as it took a while for me to get the feel for sailing, but I thoroughly enjoyed being on the water. Midway though my second year in the club, I was fortunate enough to start sailing with several mentors, especially Kinya Tago, Ted Wallace and Rich Turrin. I was on the water a couple of times a day every weekend and a few evenings during the week practicing my sailing and motoring sails. At the end of the 2005 season, on a cool, rainy, breezy day, I passed the skipper certification test. Stephen Yip said that I now had "a license to learn", something that I took very seriously. When the next season started, I found that not only did I want to learn, but that I learned better by sailing with others and helping them learn more about sailing. When I became a Fleet Captain, people often asked me to help them prepare for their skipper tests, so I started helping them until one day Ted Wallace asked me if I wanted to be an official mentor and, of course, I said yes. Additionally, I started sailing in the Saturday afternoon race series which gave me the opportunity to learn more about the winds and currents of harbor. For 2007, I would like to combine Fleet Captain sails with mentoring by having a future skipper on the boat as much as possible. Since I have learned so much by helping and teaching others, I feel sure this will be a benefit to future skippers. I do want to clear up one thing up before ending this little bio. While I did sail a lot last year and I seemed to be at the club nearly every day, there is no truth to the rumor that I don't have a job. I have a full time job managing software development projects so you won't see me down at the docks much between 9 AM to 5 PM, but I will often be there by 5:45 PM. Hope to see you there. (Jan 2007)
	Ted Wallace I started sailing when I was twelve years old and I remember it clearly. I had gone to Boy Scouts of America Camp (BSAC) and located the lake where we would be training for our Swimming Merit Badge. Also on the lake, by the dingy docks, were a handful of Sunfishes and Lasers. I asked the Scout minding the docks how to gain access to the boats and he replied that they were reserved for the Scouts trying to become sailors. By the end of camp, I was a sailor and have continued these past forty years. In 1968, my parents moved us to Savannah, GA, where I learned to sail in tides, river currents and salt water conditions. Tybee Island was good for all the Hobie Cat sailing I could wish to do. We formed a Cat Surfing competition by using the tidal return of the back river from behind the island to get us beyond the breakers. You sink your pontoons in ahead of the swell, watch carefully as to where the break starts, and then tack outside for another ride. Smart sailors took few risks; dumb ones had to remove the debris of their boats off the beach. Local sailing began when I moved to New York City in 1980. Inside the North Fork of Long Island was the initial exposure. The area between Riverhead and Nassau Point, just off New Suffolk and Robbins Island, were the best waters for the Hobie I had purchased. In the late 80s, I helped start the New York City Community Sailing Association (NYCCSA), and quickly outgrew this grass roots organization. I was a charter member of the Chelsea Sailing Center and, after three years, transferred my membership to the Manhattan Yacht Club; which I saw as a superior organization and a step up to the best sailing grounds in the area, the New York Harbor. Currently, I spend my free time as a single parent of an incredible son, Martin. I am Head of the Mentor Program at the Manhattan Sailing Club as well as an active Fleet Captain Skipper. I sometimes race in the fundraising regattas and otherwise love cruising the playgrounds between the Verrazano, Brooklyn, and George Washington Bridges. (July 2005)
	Clifton Yen Clifton began sailing with the club in 2009, has been a skipper since 2010, and also skippered a boat in the 2011 De Caribbean Regatta. He is grateful for all of the great mentors he has had in the club and believes that Fleet Captain program is a wonderful way to give back to the club and its members. Every sail is an opportunity to share knowledge and build experience. Crew positions are rotated frequently during a sail, but feel free to ask for a specific aspect to practice.
	Richard Jesaitis Sailing is one of those truly great experiences that makes you feel like an enthusiastic child each time you go out. It’s a never ending education in trim, tactics, strategy, teamsmanship, and just plain fun. By the time you return from one trip, you’re already trying to plan your next. I love to share the sailing my experience with others and this is probably why I became a certified American Sailing Association Instructor at all levels from Basic Keel Boat through Advanced Coastal Cruising, including Navigation. Recently, after noting I sailed 549 days in the last five years, including 99 days offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, I tested and became a USCG Licensed Captain: Master 50 Inland with Aux Sailing Endorsement and OUPV Near Coastal. Sailing is one of those things in life where the better you become the more fun you can have. My personal philosophy is to seek a good balance between sailing education and sailing experience. Study, study, study, practice, practice, practice: I believe this in an intelligent way to go to have fun, fun, fun!
	David Bacon I fell in love with sailing the first time I went out among the islands of Maine, and have been actively sailing for over 20 years now. It's amazing how many different ways there are to enjoy sailing -- cruising, racing, solo, team, inshore, offshore (http://www.myc.org/Blue%20Water%20Society/david%20bacon.htm), bareboat, and more. You are always learning when you sail: about the boat, the wind, the equipment, but also about teamwork, your abilities, and your own limits. As a fleet captain, I enjoy meeting new people and sharing my passion for sailing, whether it's teaching specific skills, or just letting everyone relax and enjoy a cruise around the harbor.

	Jason Delisky "There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." --Ratty On the fringe of New York City's Battery Park lays the North Cove Marina and in it the Manhattan Sailing Club. Not a yacht club but a sailing club that brings together many of us that share a common interest, often a common passion. The club's inclusive nature offers a simple escape, a retreat right at our doorstep, for being on the water proves a soothing therapy. Even amidst the traffic within New York's very busy harbor the sound of the water lapping along the hull with the metropolis as a backdrop proves surreal, especially at sunset when the western sky often ignites into a brilliant display of color. Sharing this is a rewarding experience, and what better way to do so than with other club members. The Fleet Captain program gives everyone the opportunity to get out, to enjoy, to relax. It is something I very much value being a part of because it allows me to share in my relaxation and my passion simultaneously. Aside from being a fleet captain skipper I'm an avid racer, an ASA sailing instructor, a USCG Master Mariner, and a mentor to aspiring club skippers. I look forward to seeing you on the water. Fair winds.
	Eric Scott "Eric learned to sail by racing 16' Hobies in a small puddle in the foothills of Colorado. Mono-hull boats were clearly too slow to have fun on. Eventually he learned to sail mono-hulls anyway and learned to appreciate not having to strap sailing gear on in water proof bags and a boat that doesn't need to be flipped right side up after every poorly timed puff. Since then, he's taken ASA classes all over the country and is currently certified through Advanced Coastal Cruising. He loves to cruise and has bareboat charted in San Diego, Greece, and the BVI's. He's even learning to race J24's but still misses harnessing up and flying down the racecourse at over 12 knots with just his toes touching the boat."