(From here on, a major source of information is the 1984 "History of Chelsea Yacht Club" written by Nancy Pfirman in 1971 and amended by Norman A. Tardiff in 1983. It was edited by Barry Meehan and typed by Donna Berger and Sue Welch, and Kathy Howell arranged the cover.)
The enthusiasm for racing ice boats had been waning and was essentially gone by 1922 when the Chelsea Yacht Club made the last challenge to the New Hamburg Yacht Club. The bitter competition and ill feeling that had grown up contributed to the decline. In addition, ice breakers were now making a channel in the river right through the winter.
For many summers, the Club had held numerous sailing races and regattas. Competition was keen, and seamanship exacting. Typical of this era was the "Challenge for the Little America's Cup." Captain Moses Collyer, a legend on the river, held this trophy for twenty-six years with his gaff-rigged sloop, "Rival."
According to Norman Tardiff, in 1938 at the age of twelve, Carver Dumke was so skilled in sailing his small, lap-strake Maine Coaster that he routinely beat Dr. D.A. Astone in Club races. The accompanying photograph shows Carver in a sailor's hat. (93F10) Dr. Astone could not put up with that so he purchased one of the new, fast Lightnings. Now, he was winning. Carver and his father, the Beacon dentist, Dr. Albert C. Dumke, went to Skaneateles to buy a Lightning too. After extensive study, Dr. Dumke decided that the Lightning would be a good class boat for the Club. He arranged a dealership with Skaneateles and sold Lightnings to club members at the dealer's cost, $450. The initial fleet consisted of twelve Lightnings and led to the chartering of Fleet #39 in 1940. John Thorn, Carver C. Dumke, Edward H. Lasell, and Dr. D.A. Astone were charter members.
The following list of trophy winners shows that Carver had competition:
| Trophy Winners |
|---|
| Windjammer Class | Mariners Class |
|---|
| Year | Boat | Skipper | Boat | Skipper |
|
| 1941 | Hope III | Carver Dumke | Betty | Dr. D.A. Astone |
| 1942 | Hope III | Carver Dumke | Rambler | William Thorn |
| 1943 | Hope III | Carver Dumke | Jackie | Bruce Hegeman |
| 1944 | Candy Kid | Idda Jova | Garbo | Bill Menzler |
| 1945 | PDQ | Dr. Tom Proctor | Candy Kid | Joe Jova |
| 1946 | Candy Kid | Joe Jova | Garbo | Bill Menzler |
| 1947 | Candy Kid | Joe Jova | Dutchess | Carver Dumke |
| 1948 | Candy Kid | Joe Jova | Gypsy | Bill Grimm |
| 1949 | Fiesta II | Henry Abreu | Dutchess | Carver Dumke |
The boat was popular, and, at one time, there were as many as twenty-five Lightnings moored south of the Club. At that time they were not dry-sailed. Fleet races were held on Thursday evenings at 1900. A typical Sunday race day would start with lunch served at 1200, and the races would start at 1330 for sailboat classes, followed by a race for speedboats.
The Mid-Hudson Lightning Championship was won by Carver Dumke in 1948 and by Idda Jova in 1949. Because Henry J. Abreu won the Atlantic Coast Lightning Championship in 1949, the Atlantic Coast Lightning Regatta was held at Chelsea in the following year. This was a very proud and busy year for the fleet members. They received special recognition from LIGHTNING NATIONAL for a "perfect regatta."
One of the Lightning sailors went on to become the designer of J Boats. He was Rod Johnstone who was a teacher in the Millbrook School in 1961. During that year he sailed about six times in someone else's Lightning at Chelsea. He had competed earlier in Stonington, Connecticut as a junior sailor in Lightning #3310 which he, his brother Bob, and their father had built from a kit in 1947. (March 3, 1984 letter from Robert A. Johnstone, President, J Boats, 24 Mill Street, Box 90, Newport, RI 82840.)
The Lightning fleet dropped off to only a few Lightnings in the early fifties, and there was no sailboat racing during this period. The Chelsea fleet consisted of mostly powerboats, and nearly fifty of them were moored off the Club. This number declined as marinas began to open in the area.
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