23.04.2012
Get ready to go sailing!
More than 80 members showed up at the Spring Launching
this year despite rainy weather. These hearty sailors stayed until the end and
were immortalized in the annual commemorative picture! Sailing starts in less
than 2 weeks!
Manhattan Sailing Club
April 2012 Newsletter
Greetings from the Commodore!
Dear Members - Dennis Conner will be flying into town this Friday to attend the
16th Annual Sailing Ball. This is a great honor for all NYC sailors. You can join
Dennis by purchasing a ticket for the ball which is this Friday, April 27. The
Sailors Ball supports the NY Harbor Sailing Foundation and programs like "Operation
Optimist." When you attend the ball, you help grow sailing in NY Harbor. Sailors
and sailing enthusiasts come together to celebrate the start of the new sailing
season. Everyone is in a very festive mood. This year's ball will be extra special
because it also marks the start of the Silver Jubilee Season of Manhattan Sailing
Club. I hope to see you there and more information is below.
- Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh
Greatest Black Tie Party of the Year. Don't Miss it!
The 16th Annual Sailor's Ball is this Friday, April 27. You can buy tickets at
The Sailors Ball celebrates the start of the new sailing season. Hundreds of sailors
and sailing enthusiasts gather for an evening of fun. It is always the best black
tie party of the year. The Sailors Ball unique because of is the theme room format.
You can glide from room to room throughout the evening and experience different
sights and sounds.
Many guests begin at the Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka Martini Bar which is serenaded
by Frank Sinatra type music. There is a Caribbean sailor reunion in the Mt Gay
Rum Room at 10 p.m. You can also visit the new Hinckley Yacht Model Room and sample
some Macallan Scotch early in the evening. At 11 p.m., the Moet & Chandon America's
Cup Room will be the place to be with a reunion of all Friends of America II. Then
at midnight, the place to be is the
eineken Beer Boom Boom Room takes over with wild modern dance music. Buy your tickets
today for the best black tie part of the year!
Important Dates for Club Members
The club's Silver Jubilee Celebration means there will be many great events during
the summer. Here are the important dates for the upcoming month. Be sure to mark
your calendar and attend:
Sailors Ball - Friday, April 27
Commissioning Ceremony - Wednesday, May 2
First Day of Sailing - Thursday, May 3
Opening of the Honorable William Wall - Wednesday, May 9
Spring Racing Series Begins - Mon, Tues, Wed & Thur, May 14-17
16 Teams Now Confirmed for Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge
Sixteen teams have already entered the 5th Dennis Conner International Yacht Club
Challenge will take place August 17, 18 & 19. Now the question will be - which
club will end up "Top of the World!" No club has ever won the Challenge twice.
Be sure to keep your schedule clear and be in NYC during this event. you can participate
as a Race Committee volunteer, as a Club Ambassador or as a member of the Pit Crew.
There will be lots of opportunities to have fun, meet the foreign sailors and celebrate
the sport of sailing.
Scot Surbeck doing photo show
Scot Surbeck, who for many years has been shooting and documenting the Manhattan
Sailing Club, is having a show of his NYC street photography at Lunasa, 126 First
Ave from April 24 to July 24. For an invite, email scotsurbeck@me.com [mailto:scotsurbeck@me.com].
Spotlight Member #2 - Joan Lappin
Photo: Joan Lappin and Commodore Fortenbaugh cut the ribbon to officially open the
Honorable William Wall in 2005. What a great milestone in club history!
I joined the Manhattan Yacht Club , as it was then known, in 1987. At that time
I had half ownership of two children and a Bristol 35.5. About that time, I was
embarked on starting my company, Gramercy Capital, at the same time I was starting
down the road to a divorce. In the end, I got the two kids and he got the boat.
I didn't miss him but I really missed the boat!
Just about then, I read an article in the New York Times about these young men who
were starting a new club to bring sailing back to NY harbor. At the time, chunks
of piers were floating around in fairly dirty water. There were work boats but
rarely ever a pleasure boat to be seen. We had just opened our firm at 111 Broadway
so the idea of a lunchtime sail instead of a 3 martini lunch sounded good to me.
I dashed over to the Seaport to submit my application, hoping it would be accepted.
Over the years, the club has had its challenges but moving to North Cove was a great
decision. Our membership exploded. The racing program got bigger and the harbor
got cleaned up. We had a floating clubhouse at the dock so we could buy a beer
and visit together after sailing. The school started.
In 1990 I had bought a 36' boat of my own but always continued on with my MSC membership
for what I call my mid-week sailing fixes. In 25 years, I have never become blasé
about sailing past The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. My single favorite day
was a perfect Sunday many years ago (when we had a larger sailing area) with some
excellent Scandinavian sailors in my crew. We had steady winds and a perfect current.
We put up the spinnaker and reached over to Coney Island. The wind shifted just
enough for us to be able to use the spinnaker on the way back. The whole trip
was maybe 4 or 5 hours despite the distance.
Along the way, Michael bought Lil Toot and wanted captains to driver her in the
harbor. So I took took classes and applied for a 50 ton license, now upgraded
to 100 tons. Then I went to Florida to an ASA Instructors school and got certifications
to teach Bareboat and Coastal Cruising.
Photo: Joan also helped cut the ribbon at the opening of the Club's Champagne Bar
last December.
One challenge Michael put out there was the Blue Water Society. For years, with
all my coastal cruising, I never qualified for having been "out there" long enough
or far enough offshore to satisfy Father Neptune. Finally, three summers ago I
set off from Nantucket with MSC member John Valois and another TransAtlantic sailing
buddy, Margo Taylor, offshore to Maine. John and I won our Blue Water Medals on
that cruise.
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the Caribbean Regattas. It's fun to
put together a boat and sail down there. It's a completely different sailing experience
to expand your skills and to manage your crew. I always wonder why folks can't
be on good behavior for less than a week and considerate of their crew mates.
Because I enjoy sailing as an escape from Wall Street and the world, I am not an
obsessive racer. My ex-husband used to say: "We race all week, so who needs to
race on the weekends?" Even so, I do race now and then to improve my sail trim
and such. Some years ago I won first prize in the First 100 regatta. I was the
member of longest standing in that race. The rules were that the race started
when the member of longest standing's boat crossed the start line. The other rule
was that no boat could pass any other boat with a member aboard of longer standing.
I abided by the rules and won fair and square. It was great fun watching the
boats flying spinnakers trying so hard not to pass us. At the annual dinner when
I received my award I did thank the Commodore for awarding me the trophy for what
I still call The Rigged Gata. It's among my treasured possessions.
Along the way, our club has flourished. We spearheaded 1000 boats sailing with
dignity past North Cove in 2002 to pay tribute to those lost on 9/11 in Sail for
America. We have been joined by clubs and schools on both sides of the Hudson.
We now have a floating clubhouse, The Hon. William Wall, out in the harbor that
is really something special. We host international regattas that attract sailors
from around the world.
I'm proud to tell people I have been a member since the beginning. Of course many
great members like Jon Overton and Antonio Nicoletti have left our midst but their
spirits live on with the great contributions they made to the club and our pursuit
of teaching newcomers to our sport in a safe way.
Please say Hi to me if you see me at the club or on the docks.
Fair winds, Capt. Joan
Photo: Joan standing in the center of a group of members on the Honorable William
Wall.
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