February 2011 Papoose Article

Although racing will not begin until May, we have already set sail for 2011 with a “shake down” meeting of our board members followed by a social gathering at the home of Commodore Rich Miner and his first mate, Gail Miner on Jan. 9^th. There was a terrific turn out for the event which included a pot luck dinner with all types of food—shrimp, chicken, meatballs, barbecued beef, kielbasa, deserts and much more.

We all know that more than anything, the people make the party, and our members lived up to that adage. Sailing and social members alike were there to enjoy the meal and camaradrie. Children of alll ages were also present in abundance signaling the prospect of our club's endurance for years to come. But our doors are always open and we urge those of you who are not members of the LMYC to come aboard and join our club.

Membership in the LMYC will make you part of the great history of sailing on Lake Mohawk. Organized Snipe sailing on our lake goes back to 1933 and on January 23, 1934 our Snipe Fleet was chartered as International Fleet #17 by the Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA). We are now officially listed as Fleet #10 with SCIRA. This makes our Snipe Fleet one of the oldest chartered fleets in the world!

On April 10, 1935 six Snipe Fleet members organized the Lake Mohawk Yacht Club, and made a resolution to lease and eventually purchase land for the location of the club and for the construction of a dock at the facility. Until 1938 the LMYC raced Snipes from June through September and held “novelty events” and “moonlight” or “evening” sailing with boats in tow and decorated with lanterns.

The 1936 New Jersey State Snipe Championship races were held on our lake. We continued to host this event up until some time in the 1990’s. The LMYC was also homeport for the 1938 World Champion Snipe skipper, Charles Gabor, in whose memory we still hold our annual Gabor Cup Regatta.

The LMYC was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in 1938 and we added a Lightning Fleet to our club. The Lightning was designed by Sparkman & Stephens and first built in 1938. We have proudly maintained the status as International Lightning Class Association (ILCA) Fleet #25 out of the hundreds of Lightning fleets, worldwide.

So why not become part of our heritage and join us? For more information abut membership in the LMYC or, if you want to learn to sail, just call us at (973)512-8867, email us at sail@lakemohawksailing.org or write to PO Box 29, Sparta, NJ 07871

Until next month, smooth sailing and God bless America!

Don Okner