CYC Burgee
Chelsea
Yacht

Club

Lat.  N 41° 33.190    Lon.  W 073° 58.221
  Box 180 Chelsea New York 12512

       
Junior Sailing


The juniors at Chelsea, eager to emulate their fathers, sailed in what was available, or in any contrivance they could put together. Occasionally, informal sailing instruction was given, and, at one time, formal classes were conducted. In 1962, Dick Armstrong taught Saturday classes. The following year, a fiberglass Penguin was purchased through Club-member contributions for the junior program.

By 1970, the number and enthusiasm of the juniors had increased, and a group of Club members led by Dick Bailey combined their talents and energy to construct and outfit eight fiberglass "Chelsea Dinks." These have been most successfully used for training the novice juniors.

The Sunfish has been preferred by the more advanced juniors due to the nature and availability of the boat. In 1971, there were ten juniors competing for the Sailing Class Championship and twelve for the Junior Championship on Junior Race Day.

CYC Junior Champion
1963Corky Ross1971 Dave Pfirman1979Mark Stewart
1964 Carol Urey1972 Billy Heaney1980Mark Stewart
1965Carol Urey1973 Ben Williams1981Mark Stewart
1966Pete Larson1974 Lois Williams1984Chris Best
1967Carver A. Dumke1975 Ben Williams1986Brad Schwark
1968Dave Pfirman1976 Lois Williams1987Ada Garber
1969 Billy Heaney 1977 Lois Williams1988Brian Tesar
1970 Bill Witkowski1978 Lois Williams1989Brian Tesar
1993 Amanda Thompson



As time went by the Chelsea Dinks were retired from the junior sailing programs. Six of them became the basis the Chelsea Dink National, a yearly race open to all who enjoy the fun of sailing a cranky small boat.

In the early 1970s Frank Newman started an Explorer Post at Chelsea that emphasised seamanship. It operated for several years.

Meanwhile, the junior sailing program grew. Stephen Schwark and Peter Bonk led a popular program that they turned over to Michael Doyle. Moss Calhella joined Michael Doyle. During their time the program grew from three weeks to four. The junior sailors also initiated a money-raising brunch that takes place on Memorial Day morning. Peggy Kraft then took on the progtam and turned it over to Andrea and Neil Pollack in 1999.The 1999 four-week prgram has 42 junior sailors, 24 of whom are present during each session. This number is set by the requirement that there will be no more than six juniors for each counselor. There are five JY Club Trainers for the beginners and four JY15s and three 420s for those learning to race. The program was also given a 470 that is used for the racers.


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Chartered in 1881 as the Carthage Ice Yacht Club
Member Hudson River Yacht Racing Association
Member United States Yacht Racing Union