September 2026 Papoose Article

Submitted by Constance Gill

My Snipe sailboat at the Lake Mohawk Yacht Club is called Minuet. I chose this name because it was the one that my paternal grandfather called his sailboat. I never met him. He died a couple of years after my parents were married.

When I was growing up, I had a small plastic boat that I called Tiny Tiki, after celebrated explorer Thor Heyerdahl's craft, the Kon-Tiki.

During the summers, I paddled about in my Tiny Tiki, but I kept wanting to sail.

I even attached a clothes hanger to a broomstick and then a plastic bag to become the sail. I used my paddle as a rudder. I didn't understand how sailing worked, but I still had a great time! I still have the Tiny Tiki. It sits in the garage at my lake cottage. About 12 years ago, my grandnephew and grandniece explored the Sleepy Lagoon in Tiny Tiki.

We had family friends, at the Jersey Shore, who owned sailboats. Once two of our families spent a day on the Bay near Barnegat Light and at day's end I was allowed to steer the other family's sloop back to Normandy Beach. I loved it! 

The next time I remember sailing was much later at an architectural firm picnic that took place at a home on one of the Mountain Lakes in NJ. They had a Sunfish for guests to use. It was all rigged, so, even though I'd never sailed a Sunfish, I took it out. The wind was light, so I couldn't get into much trouble.

This experience reminded me of how much I enjoyed the freedom of being able to use the wind to move around, so I went looking for a place to sail.

I looked at a map and found Lake Mohawk. I pulled up to the Yacht Club one day and met Jack Robertson, a yacht club old salt who told me all about Lake Mohawk as a private lake and that, to be a member, I'd have to own property. He explained about Club Lots (generally small, unbuildable pieces of land) which I would have to pay taxes on, and I'd have to pay dues to the lake association and buy a boat. At that time there were only three classes Lightnings, Snipes, and Sunfish sailed at the Yacht Club. I chose a Snipe because it was possible to single hand it, if I didn't have crew, but was a two-person boat for competition.

Early in my sailing career at Lake Mohawk, I invited the son of a childhood friend to crew for me. As we were getting lined up for the start, I got caught by a wind shift and over we went! The boat had turtled – upside down in the water with the top of the mast stirring the silt at the bottom of the Lake. We got it righted with help from the Race Committee, but it freaked me a bit. To overcome my fear,  I enrolled in a sailing course in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on a very stable keel boat. It did the trick. I have turtled since then, but it doesn't freak me out. But now I do try not to go out single-handed in shifty Lake Mohawk wind even a little over my ability to keep the boat righted!

Over the years, I had the great pleasure of knowing the folks of the Lake Mohawk Yacht Club. My fondest time sailing on Lake Mohawk was with Angela Hopkins as my crew. We had a lot of fun together! We even achieved a 3rd Place finish in The Gabor Cup Regatta one year (2016) for a trophy.

Since I'm single, I didn't have a live-in crew like the couples in the Club who sailed together did. I stopped sailing during COVID, and subsequently. However, with the help and encouragement of Club Member Mara Marussich, Minuet had her maiden voyage for the season a couple of months ago. Now I'd like to find crew who can join me regularly.

If you are interested in learning more, visit our website www.lakemohawksailing.org or contact lakemohawksailing@gmail.com.

SMOOTH SAILING and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Commodore John Trela