Fall 2011.indd - Annapolis Yacht Club

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Junior Sailing Raising the Bar: Sportsmanship at AYC Arthur Libby Our junior sailors have sailed the Chesapeake Bay and beyond winning countless trophies in the last few years. The truest form of victory lies in gaining the respect of your competitors. These are tough words to live by when you are trying to beat them, but it seems that our junior sailors get the point. Here are some of the awards they have won. 2009 Balboa Yacht Club’s Inaugural Youth Match Racing Regatta. Mike Carr, Brady Stagg, and Jack Ortel finished fifth in this competition and were recognized with the Nick Scandone Sportsmanship/Leadership Memorial for their generous, cooperative, Corinthian attitude throughout the event. Named in honor of the late 2008 Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone, the award was presented by his wife, Mary Kate, who proudly congratulated each of the young men not just once but twice when Mike Carr, Jack Ortel, and Austin Ortel won again in 2010. No one else has won this trophy more than once. 2009 USODA Team Trials – Houston Yacht Club. Kyle Comerford was picked out of 211 competitors for the prestigious Sportsmanship Award. “Kyle always said thank you after every race,” reports the PRO. 2011 California International Sailing Association Advanced Racing Clinic. In April of this year, Patrick Floyd and Harrison Hawk were given the Sportsmanship Award as voted on by 110 of their peers. Their good nature and attention to detail won the respect of the other competitors. 2011 Mallory Cup. In May of 2011, the AYC-coached Annapolis High School won the Sportsmanship Award at the High School Nationals (Mallory Cup) held at Austin Yacht Club in Austin, TX. During the practice day, there was a collision between an AHS boat and another boat. Seeing that there was significant damage, the AHS skipper and crew reported to the PRO the extent of the damage and offered to pay to fix it. The PRO was impressed with the team's honesty and awarded them the Sportsmanship award at the end of the regatta. Sailing for AHS were Jack Ortel, Lilli Salvesen, Haines Whitaker, Charlie Lomax, Harrison Hawk, and Austin Ortel. 24 AYC BEACON VOLUME 3, NO. 2 Boo Devanny and Amanda Wagner graciously accept their award at the 2011 Ida Lewis Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship. 2011 Richmond Yacht Club Point. This June at Richmond Yacht Club Point in Richmond, CA, the Sportsmanship Award, chosen by ballots cast by the girls themselves was a close call, but Kaylee Schwitzer of AYC won it. Frank Ustach described her as “a great sailor, not having the best regatta. She cares about being a leader and befriending all the girls.” 2011 Ida Lewis Junior Women’s Doublehanded Championship. This July, Boo Devanny and Amanda Wagner won the C. Thomas Clagett Sportsmanship award for helping another team right their capsized boat in jellyfish-infested waters. “Amanda dove in the water to assist two younger girls who couldn’t right their boat by themselves.” At the same regatta, Elena VandenBerg and Lilli Salvesen won the Ida Lewis Trophy for Most Improved. 2011 US Optimist Dinghy Association’s Team Race Nationals. This July, Emma White and her team were recognized by Robin Kuebel, USODA Class President during the awards ceremony. Specifically, Emma and 4 fellow sailors are the first time “team recipients” of the USODA Sportsmanship award, a New York Yacht Club perpetual trophy awarded since 1993. That’s quite a list. Our juniors are certainly making an impression on the sailing community at home and abroad. We should all be proud to see them waving our burgee, I sure am. We hope to see more in coming events.
Membership Development Understanding the Junior Associate Members Lauren Koppelman Joined at the hip off the water, two of our Opti Race team sailors Aidan Morgan and Nick Salvesen enjoy each other's company at the end of summer race team banquet. Photo courtesy of Larry Martin, Martin Image Photography During the Annual Membership Meeting held in November of 2010, the membership voted to create the Junior Associate Membership: a new membership class that includes “any person between the ages of seven and twenty-one of good character and reputation who has expressed interest in participating in AYC's Junior Fleet Program.” Following the first summer program serving this new class, we received a lot of valuable feedback and from it, one common question resounded: why JAM? The answer lays in two key benefits of Junior Associate Membership: the opportunity to officially represent the Annapolis Yacht Club by flying our burgee in regattas, and the chance to contribute to their initiation fee should they decide to join the Club. This year, for relatives of members, the JAM fee was $75. For children not related to a member, their fee was $175. In both JAM fees' cases, $75 will be invested towards an initiation fee. It is the Membership Development Committee's focus to attract a greater amount of younger members to the Club. By offering a valuable investment plan to young individuals who show an interest in sailing and pride in our community, it will increase the chance that they will continue their relationship with our Club. AYC's membership includes 501 members who joined between the age of 16 and 35. Essentially, one in four of our members were previously Junior/Intermediate members. Ten years ago, there were 156 Junior/Intermediate members of our Club. Today, there are just 53. Happily, AYC saw 284 Junior Associate Members ( JAM) last summer of which 53% were related to an AYC member. These children are used to casually boating under their parents' or grandparents' burgees; however, they and the other 47% of JAMs who aren't related to a member now have the opportunity to fly one of their own. The best way to build allegiance to our community is to make our Junior Sailors officially a part of it. As members of the Annapolis Yacht Club, our new JAMs have similar benefits as full-fledged members: they receive their own copy of our monthly newsletter so they can stay connected and read coverage that might include their own accomplishments; they can store their racing boats at the Club; they can host their families on a limited basis for dinner in the Clubhouse; they have access to the auxiliary parking lots when they are using the Clubhouse and its facilities. Our Junior Sailors have never before had this level of exposure to the Club. Suddenly, these sailors transition from attending a two-week sailing instruction course or a month-long race team to being incorporated into an elite sailing community. Many of our JAMs took a taste of AYC life by using dining facilities, and one family was so charmed by our community that a membership application is in process for them to join. We continue to work together with our members to answer any questions and concerns and to fine tune the JAM program to eliminate confusion. Before the summer started, Waterfront Director Jay Kehoe wrote, “In the short term, we hope to see more juniors and their families involved at AYC. In the long term, we would like to see more members earning their 40 year pin!” The potential to retain some of these talented and wellrounded sailors is promising. VOLUME 3, NO. 2 AYC BEACON 25
Page 1 and 2: THE ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB BEACON VOL
Page 3 and 4: Contents RACING CRUISING JUNIORS 11
Page 5 and 6: Celebrating Annapolis Yacht Club |
Page 7 and 8: Introducing our Newest One Design F
Page 9 and 10: The Tides Inn and Bay Creek resorts
Page 11 and 12: Tenacious racing in the AYC Fall Se
Page 13 and 14: Expanding Horizons Cruising the Bri
Page 15 and 16: Connection to the Community The Ann
Page 17 and 18: The much coveted America's Cup has
Page 19 and 20: Connection to the Yachting World Th
Page 21 and 22: “This committee is really about m
Page 23: eventually becoming a force at the
Page 27 and 28: I was asked to be on the Board so I

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