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News Day Article 2006
Masthead Cove Yacht Club Long Island Sailing Club - The Floating Yacht Club
Paper' yacht clubs, By limiting their holdings to a few moorings, groups keep the dues low andthe fun high
By Bill BleyerOn a sauna-hot Sunday afternoon in July with hardly any of the breeze that sailors crave, more than a dozensailboats - and one conspicuous powerboat - are tied abreast to a single mooring in Lloyd Harbor.There are similar "raftups," as boaters call these gatherings, scattered around the protected harbor. But whatmakes this particular phalanx stand out is that what the boaters are flying from their masts are the red and blueburgee, or triangular flag, of the Masthead Yacht Club, a niche organization of families that sails out of Huntington waters.The annual July raftup is the first official club function of the season. Barbecues mounted on stern rails emitplumes of gray smoke into the still air as hot dogs, burgers and steaks sizzle, and members hop from boat toboat to socialize and pass around beverages. Kayaks, rafts and tubes float off the sterns as children and theirparents splash in the calm waters. And commodore Tom Mazzotta keeps an ear to his portable VHF radio toguide incoming vessels to their proper spot.There are two types of yacht clubs spotted along the 1,100 miles of Long Island coastline. Most people arefamiliar with the traditional yacht club that has its own building, docks and sometimes a pool and tennis courtsand officers who wear blue blazers and military-style hats at formal functions and hold a confusing variety of military-style titles. In nautical parlance, these are called "bricks-and-mortar" yacht clubs.A club only on paperMasthead Cove is an example of the other type - a "paper" yacht club that has no clubhouse or other expensive-to-maintain facilities. In fact, the only assets the club owns are three moorings: in Lloyd Harbor, Sand City byEatons Neck and Port Jefferson Harbor.The idea of a paper club is to keep the expense of membership to a minimum - a plus when owning a largesailboat usually does live up to the cliche that a yacht is a hole in the water into which the owner throws money.With family dues of only $100 a year and no requirement to spend a minimum amount in, for example, a clubrestaurant or bar, Masthead Cove members can concentrate on raftups, group cruises to the Connecticut Riverand other destinations, parties ashore and fundraising for charities.As the club Web site (mast headcoveyachtclub.com) explains, it all began in 1975, when a group of Huntingtonsailors got together to form a sailing club geared to family activities. The founders devised a simple credo:"Enjoy your sailing experiences in the good company of other sailors and have fun doing it."The club history also claims a first: when Tina Van Ghent became commodore in 1986, she was the first womanto head a Long Island yacht club. As chief official of a yacht club, the commodore functions much like a chief executive officer of a company.Small membership"We limit our membership to 100 families," Mazzotta said, "so everybody knows everybody. The criteria is youhave to have a sailboat 23 feet or better in the Huntington Bay area so you can participate in the events." Thecurrent roster includes an elementary school music teacher, engineer, dentist, nurse, professional chef andretired art professor.
Those who move out of the area as well as those who purchase powerboats - "going to the dark side" - becomeassociate members at half dues but maystill participate in all events."Many of our members are also membersof bricks-and-mortar clubs,"saidMazzotta, who estimated there are morepaper clubs around Long Island thantraditional yacht clubs. Some paper clubsare primarily for racing, such as theLloyd Harbor Yacht Club, and others aregeared to cruising. "They all have theircharacter; our club is really gearedtoward new sailors, but we haveprofessional captains who are members."While Masthead Cove's members areprimarily interested in cruising, about 10or 15 percent race, Mazzotta said, and theclub jointly sponsors races with otherlocal clubs.John West of Huntington, owner of aHunter 31 named Legacy, is one of the newest members. He joined last year after sailing for about four years ashis own captain and for about 15 years on other people's boats.Informal atmosphere"I had met some people from those other clubs, and those clubs didn't meet my needs,"he said. "This is morecasual. I didn't want to be more formalized, with a building and uniforms. This club offers the casual sailor thedestination sailing experience and camaraderie and a chance to increase your sailing skills."The uniform - or lack of it - issue comes up frequently at Masthead Cove gatherings. "You're looking at theuniform," Mazzotta said, pointing to his Masthead Cove T-shirt and baseball hat.Hans Bartels of Huntington, owner of Dutch Dream (yes, he's Dutch) was lounging on his Chaparral 300, one of two powerboats in the club. A former commodore, he used to have a Catalina 36 sloop but bought a "stinkpot" -sailors' loving term for a craft powered only by an engine - because "I have a bad back, so I couldn't do all thework.""I've belonged to yacht clubs, but yacht clubs are very cliquey, and we don't have that here at all," Bartels said.He also says Masthead Cove is much more affordable.When he joined more than 20 years ago, "I knew nothing about boating, and when you go cruising as a novice,it's easier to follow somebody." Bartels has since taken Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadroncourses and purchased sophisticated electronic navigation equipment. But he still likes to cruise with the club."It's just the camaraderie. Sometimes, we've had 26 boats on cruises. We've had lobster bakes, picnics,barbecues, cocktail parties all over the East Coast, from here to Block Island and Martha's Vineyard."Safety in numbers
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News Day Article 2006
Masthead Cove Yacht Club Long Island Sailing Club - The Floating Yacht Club
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