Buccaneer Yacht Club

Buccaneer Yacht Club (abbreviated formally as BucYC or in local tradition as BYC) is a member-run sailing club which has operated out of Mobile Bay, Alabama since 1928. It is a member club of the Gulf Yachting Association and the United States Sailing Association. Its members are active competitors in 420, [http://www.navypnsyc.org/fishclass.htm Fish] , Flying Scot, Laser, Optimist, Star, Sunfish, PHRF and Portsmouth class events, many of which it hosts [http://www.gya.org/schedule/2007/2007GYASchedule.htm (see GYA 2007 schedule).] While the Mobile Yacht Club predates it BucYC remains arguably the oldest "continuously operating" sailing club in Alabama.

Races and fleets

As one of four sailing clubs on Mobile Bay, BucYC hosts the Dauphin Island Race once every four years. This is "arguably the largest single day point to point sail race in the U.S.A." with over 300 boats and 1000 crewmembers. [ [http://www.dirace.com/racehistory.html Untitled Document ] ] In 2007 it hosted the 87th annual Sir Thomas Lipton Inter-Club Challenge sailboat race, an Olympic style GYA racing event for sailors of Flying Scot dinghys. [cite news| last = Warner| first = Joey| coauthors = | title = Lipton Challenge sails into Mobile Bay| work = Mobile Press-Register| pages = | language = | publisher = Mobile Press-Register| date = 2007-09-09| url = http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/community/1189330348234080.xml&coll=3| accessdate = 2008-01-23]

BucYC members maintain the largest surviving fleet of [http://www.navypnsyc.org/fishclass.htm Fish Class] sailboats in the world and the club hosts the majority of [http://www.fishclass.org/index.php?&MMN_position=9:9 races-(see index on left)] for this class. Fish boats were designed in 1919 and were the original Gulf Yachting Association inter-club racing boat until they were replaced by Flying Scots in 1969. They "...incorporated features of the New England Sharpie and some of the Biloxi Cat--the straight lines and chine of the Sharpie, the wide beam and low free-board of the Cat..." as well as a vee bottom, lead keel and gaff rigged sail. [Citation| last = De Buys| first = Rathbone| author-link = | last2 = | first2 =
author2-link = | title = The Fish Class...Its Origin and Growth (version1)| date = | year = 1948| url = http://www.fishclass.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=2&MMN_position=2:2
accessdate = 2008-01-23] [Citation| last = De Buys| first = Rathbone| author-link = | last2 = | first2 =
author2-link = | title = The Fish Class...Its Origin and Growth (version2)| date = | year = 1948| url = http://www.schurrsails.com/fish/debuys.htm| accessdate = 2008-01-24]

The club is one of over forty nationwide hosts of the [http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/regatta/all_page?item_id=140458 Leukemia Cup Regatta] , a major fund raising event organized by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to raise donations for medical research into the causes and treatment of leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

Notable members

Its notable members include Sunfish sailer, Karl Kleinschrodt, who won fourth place among international contenders in the 2007 Sunfish North American championship race. [http://www.fairhopeyachtclub.com/RegattaPages/SunfishNAs2007/Sunfish%20NAs-Final.htm] Karl's mother, Amy Champman Kleinschrodt, had won the coveted Adams Cup in 1977, 1980 and 1997. [cite book| last = Smith| first = Lissa| authorlink = | coauthors = Mariah Burton Nelson, Lucy Danziger| title = Nike is a Goddess: The History of Women in Sports| publisher = Atlantic Monthly Press| date = October 1999| location = | pages = 124| url = | doi = | isbn = 978-0871137616] [ [http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/women/uswsc/history.htm Adams Trophy History ] ] Another member, Donnie Brennen, (also a member of New Orleans Yacht Club) has been named as boatwright for the 2008 U. S. Olympic sailing team. [cite news| last = Andrews| first = Casandra| coauthors = | title = From Buccaneer to Beijing| work = Mobile Press-Register| pages = | language = | publisher = Mobile Press-Register| date = 2006-08-17| url = http://www.noyc.org/| accessdate = 2008-01-23]

USA Sailing Club

In the interest of providing sailing education and race training BucYC is the sponsoring club for the University of South Alabama Sailing Club, which competes in intercollegiate races against teams such as those from Oklahoma State University, Texas A&M University and Tulane University. [http://www.southalabama.edu/sailingclub/constitution.htm USA Sailing Club Constitution]

Notes

ee also

* Fish class sloop
* Mobile Yacht Club
* New Orleans Yacht Club
* Sailing
* Sailing at the Summer Olympics
* Southern Yacht Club
* Yacht club

External links

* [http://bucyc.com/joomla1-5/index.php Buccaneer Yacht Club]
* [http://www.fishclass.org/index.php?&MMN_position=1:1 Fish Class Association]
* [http://www.gya.org/ Gulf Yachting Association]
* [http://www.collegesailing.org/ Inter-Collegiate Sailing Organization of North America (ICSA)]
* [http://www.ussailing.org/ US Sailing]