May 24, 1999

The 1999 sailing season has begun and it’s time to dust off your boat shoes and windbreakers and come down to the docks for a relaxing sail. Already many members have been out in the harbor and the racing and Fleet Captain programs are underway.

The Fleet Captain program allows any member to make a reservation to go sailing as part of a crew. Fleet Captain sails are on Monday, Thursday and Friday evenings (6 p.m. to dusk) as well as Saturday and Sunday mornings (9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and afternoons (1 to 4:30 p.m.). You can call (212-786-3323) or email (mike@myc.org) the office to reserve a spot. Volunteers skippers and crews are assigned to boats. Then everyone shows up at the docks at the appropriate time, hops on a J/24 and goes for a refreshing sail in the harbor.

As a Regular member, you are allowed to keep one Fleet Captain reservation on the books at any time. After you finish your sail, you can reserve your next spot. For example, at the end of a Fleet Captain sail on Thursday, you can reserve a spot for Saturday. Members can also bring 1 guest on an occasional basis, especially when a family member or old friend visits from out of town. However, please keep in mind that this program has been growing in popularity. We want to make sure that members are not left on the dock because of guests.

More Skippers are also needed to volunteer as Fleet Captains. If you have never volunteered before, please do so now. You will find this to be a time-efficient way to get a boat-load of smiling crew. Rather than making several calls to line up sailors, one quick call to the club office is all you need. Then you just show up at the dock. You will enjoy getting to know your fellow members in addition to sharing their enthusiasm for sailing. To volunteer as a Fleet Captain Skipper, please call the club at (212) 786-3323.

The Commissioning Ceremony on May 5 lived up to tradition with the sky clearing and sun shining just enough to allow us to hoist the burgee, fire the cannon and declare the season started. It was a beautiful Wednesday with a nice turn out of members who celebrated the start of our 12th season of sailing.

At the Commissioning, it was announced that the size of our J/24 fleet would increase at North Cove. After the Hudson River Park Trust decided not to allow our sailing barge at Pier 25, we will no longer keep boats there. Instead, we will add J/24s to North Cove for a total of 17 boats on the floating docks. I think most members will be happy with this consolidation. The sandbaggers will also be coming to North Cove and our docks are being rearranged to accommodate them. It will be very exciting and picturesque.

The sandbaggers should arrive around June 7. They will be used by the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation to stage many international races this summer. The first race is scheduled for June 19 with the Koninklijke Watersport-Vereeniging ’Loosdrecht’ from the Netherlands flying into town to compete against the Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club of New Jersey. On June 26, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda of Italy will race against the Larchmont Yacht Club of New York. Our club will race the Sandbaggers on Thursday and Friday evenings each week. There will be lots of sailing and social events surrounding these sandbagger races. The best place to learn more is at our website (www.myc.org) where the latest schedule is posted. Would any members be interested in helping the Foundation run races on Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons?

If you haven’t been to the club website yet, now is the time to go. If you do not have a computer, you can usually use one at a local library. Our website address is www.myc.org. The site is constantly growing and changing. A new section on "Using Club Boats" has just been started. Skippers and crews should check-in here often. Another page to check frequently is the "Notices to Members" page. You can use this page to post your own sailing relevant notes to other members. If you are a skipper looking for crew, especially at off-peak hours, a posting on this page will help you find other members.

"Miss Manhattan," our club’s 43-foot Beneteau, will be spending the summer in Newport where she will be available for members to charter. Details on how you can charter her are now posted on the website. This summer, members have a choice of chartering her bareboat or with a captain. Reservations are also being accepted for the Chesapeake this fall and for the Caribbean this winter.

Our three safety committees which were formed last fall have all submitted reports which have been posted on our website for all members to review and comment on. After comments are received, we will begin formalizing many of these recommendations into new procedures.

Already, there will be a life-jacket mandatory rule for the racing and Fleet Captain programs as well as the sailing school. This rule will go into effect on June 15. What this means is that anyone wishing to sail in a race or in the Fleet Captain program must wear a life-saving device at all times while on the water. This can consist of a lifejacket, inflatable suspenders, float coat, etc. What device you choose is up to you but you do have to wear something. The standard orange lifejackets will be available on the boats, but for comfort, members should consider acquiring their own lifejackets.

While this rule will be in effect for certain programs, it will not be in effect for general day sailing. However, when the winds are strong, we encourage all members to wear some type of flotation device.

Another idea developed by our safety committees was a mentoring program in which members with more experience would provide instruction to members interested in learning. Jon Overton has agreed to start this program. If you wish to learn and practice some of the skills which would make you a good skipper, please contact Jon at 860-7588. Our sailing school is also offering courses from Basic Sailing through Bareboat Chartering. You can check out the schedule at the school’s website at www.sailmanhattan.com or call the office and we will send you the school brochure.

One Thursday, June 10, our club is hosting a Discover Sailing day for the New York Mercantile Exchange which has sponsored our club for 3 years and is responsible for our new sails. We need members to volunteer as skippers and crew. If you are available anytime after 12 noon through the evening, please call me at (212) 786-3323. It is important that we have a good showing and give back to the New York Mercantile Exchange because they have been so generous with our club these past few years.