September 30, 1999

With the fall winds here and weekday evenings getting shorter, the sailing season is slowly coming to an end. But is has been an excellent year and there is still a lot to do.

On Saturday, October 16, the second Bruce Hagan Memorial Regatta will be held. This event will consist of up to three races around windward leeward courses in the harbor. In lieu of an entry fee, teams are asked to make donations to the Alexandra Hagan Trust Fund which is a college education fund for Bruce’s daughter. If you wish to enter a team, please call the office or email mike@myc.org. A listing of teams entered and boats still available is on the website (www.myc.org) under Notice to Members.

If you wish to participate in a way other than racing, we need help with race management. You can ride on one of the powerboats and help set marks, raise flags, take pictures, eat hors d’oeuvres, sip drinks and do all of the other things which make race committee so enjoyable.

That Saturday evening, beginning at 6 p.m., the Decommissioning Ceremony will be held at the club docks. If you can’t get to the Bruce Hagan Memorial Regatta, at least come for the ceremony. This is the annual rite when the club burgee is lowered, the cannon fired and the season officially declared over. I promise that the Flag Officers will wear their penguin suits and that drinks and socializing will continue at the clubhouse until the last member leaves.

Then it is time to prepare our boats for winter storage. On Sunday, October 17, all members are invited and encouraged to come down to the docks beginning at 10 a.m. to begin decommissioning the fleet. The work usually continues until 4 p.m. Last year, so many members showed up that the entire fleet was completed in one day! Items on the schedule include cleaning the cabins, folding the sails, running the halyards, washing the sheets and dropping the masts.

If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I might not have believed it. But on September 9, at the welcoming party for the Austrian and Italian teams who were visiting as part of the International Sandbagger Series organized by the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, an Austrian crew member put a Strauss Waltz CD into the music system of our clubhouse. Within moments, the entire clubhouse was waltzing. Then the dancers spilled outside onto the floating docks. It was a very memorable sight and again, if I didn’t see it with my own eyes…..

Our flagship Miss Manhattan has continued her extensive upgrades under the direction of Pablo Opazo who will be one the club members sailing her to the British Virgin Islands as part of the West Marine Caribbean 1500 Rally. Other members scheduled to participate are Michael Hanna, Dudley Ryan and Alex Valencia. The skipper will be Jack Boye who has extensive blue water experience and has raced around the world single-handed on a 50-foot boat. Our crew will depart from Hampton, VA on October 31 with about 60 other boats. They should make landfall in Virgin Gorda by November 12.

During the past few weeks, Miss Manhattan has gone through a top to bottom inspection at Lockwood Boat Works. Among the items completed were new bearings on the steering wheel, repair of the refrigeration, installation of a new alternator, upgrade of the aft head and new holding tank hoses. The mast was also pulled and all new wiring run inside for the electronics and radio antenna. New halyard sheaves were installed and the backstay insulated in preparation for the new single-sideband radio. Next week a new bimini and dodger will be installed. And one of the most exciting upgrades is a new Harken roller furling system for the genoa. It looks and works beautifully.

All of the upgrades which we have done on Miss Manhattan over the past few years have been in preparation for her return to the Caribbean. This will be the year and if you would like to charter her for a week of sailing this winter, please log on to our website and the Miss Manhattan page soon. There are only a few weeks left so reserve your spot soon. To make it very attractive, the cost of a week of bareboat charter will only be $900 for club members.

When the sailing season ends, our social season begins. We will get started on Monday, October 18, with a free Remy Martin Congac tasting at the Downtown Association. This is being organized in cooperation with the New York Harbor Sailing Foundation and the Manhattan Sailing School. The invitation should have just arrived in your mailbox. Spots are limited so please rsvp to the number on the invitation right away.

Those of you following club activities knew that a group of members organized by Edward de Sa Periera, had chartered the classic wooden yawl Petrel for the Annual Mayors Cup race. Unfortunately, Hurricane Floyd interrupted race preparations and the race had to be canceled. Now we have to wait until next year to see how our gallant team of club members will fare and whether they can bring home a victory to our club.

 Sincerely, Michael W. Fortenbaugh, Commodore