Members say the Deep Creek Yacht Club is informal and focused on the boating lifestyle.
When the National Park Service threatened six years ago to close the marina at Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, N.Y., local boaters banded together to save it. As a result, they also rekindled a yacht club that had been inactive for several years.
The Deep Creek Yacht Club has no clubhouse to call its own and its officers don't wear blue blazers. Members who come from all walks of life, but are a love of the water - gather regularly for brief meetings, social events and some of the best boating in the metropolitan New York City area.
"This is a marina that reflects the diverse population of the city, especially Brooklyn, says Commodore William Woodroffe, who works in the shipping idustry and owns a 37-foot Endeavour. Former judges to present-day sanitation workers have boats side by side. Wall Street people and teachers. Recent immigrants from Russia. and families that lived in the area for generations. Sailors who love to race, fisherman who love [to] fish, and some who justlove the great sunsets.
"We don't have uniforms and don't like long meetings, Woodroffe continues. "The club is here to keep the boaters informed and to speak with one voice - when possible. We are not looking for blue blazers and white pants, just a decent marina and an honest deal.
The Deep Creek Yacht Club has about 150 members, sailors and power- boaters alike. Meetings take place at the National Park Service's Ryan Visitor Center at Floyd Bennett Field, and social events frequently are held on the docks. From the Gateway Marina, where boats are berthed, members have easy access to Jamaica Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound.
Originally founded in 1959, the club fell into inactivity after the marina it was based at became a concession for the Gateway Recreation Area, a 26,000-acre federally protected waterway and shoreline area that straddles Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island in New York; and Monmouth County, N.J. Local boaters continued to sail or motor through the local waters and many continued to be patrons of the Gateway marina.
Woodroffe, for example, who grew up in the area and learned to fish and swim in these local waters, has been a marina customer for two decades.
"I have always been attracted to the local waters of Riis Park, Coney Island and Long Island Sound, learning to swim and fish from my parents, who still swim and fish the same waters, says Woodroffe.
According to Woodroffe, the trouble at the marina began about seven years ago when a former marina concession operator was accused of defrauding the government. Soon after the case, the NPS also announced it would close the marina, which he says the federal agency deemed unprofitable.
Woodroffe, Harold Hohne and others formed the Barren Island Marina Boaters Association to stop the NPS from closing the marina.
"It made no sense as it is located in the center of the best sailing area in New York City, says Woodroffe. The NYC Olympic committee has even picked the same area for the sailing venue in its bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
Several local politicians, including then-Congressman Charles Schumer (he became a U.S. Senator in 1998) lobbied for the boaters. Woodroffe concedes his group was frustrated by government bureaucracy and conflicting interests. The campaign was relatively successful, however. By taking their cause to then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, the group obtained an agree- ment with the NPS to keep the facility open. But officials initially only offered vendors short-term contracts.
"We prevailed, sort of, says Woodroffe. "They didn't close the marina but we have been waiting since then for a long-term' operator to operate the marina.
Woodroffe says a permanent, long- term commitment was needed to complete a redevelopment plan already under way at the 500-slip marina. JEN Marine is temporarily operating Gateway, according to the yacht club.
In mid-February, the yacht club breathed a collective sigh of relief when it announced that the National Park Service was soliciting bids for vendors to operate the marina, with a 10- year commitment. The news means the marina will be open for at least another decade, and a vendor will be more likely to make costly improvements.
"The whole idea of wanting a long- term contract was to continue the improvements, says Buttner.
Half of the marina's slips are new, according to Hohne, club secretary and owner of a Catalina 25. The rest are slated for replacement beginning this year with a completion date in late 2004, he said. Members would like to see other improvements, including construction of a ship's store, and perhaps a clubhouse.
But keeping the marina open is only part of the story. Through the association, local boaters realized the potential for social gatherings, says Hohne. They changed the name in 1999, resurrecting the name of the yacht club that formerly gathered here: Deep Creek Yacht Club. The club continues to handle business matters and is a collective voice for boaters to speak out on issues affecting boaters in Jamaica Bay. But the club also hosts barbecues, an annual Blessing of the Fleet, dock parties and regattas, often in conjunction with other area yacht cubs and other social events.
"It's a working man's and woman's club, says member James Buttner, who owns a 28-foot Islander. "It's a fun group.
The yacht club also is active in community affairs. The club is instrumental in teaching children and adults how to sail through the NPS program, in collaboration with the Miramar Yacht Club, Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club, Rockaway Point Yacht club and the NPS.
Sailing lessons, taught by yacht club volunteerss, take place at Floyd Bennett Feld. Adult lessons are held Thursday evenings and the children's program is held during the summer, with sessions running from 9 a.m. to noon.
Volunteers also helped NPS renovate its aging fleet of 15-foot Point Jude sail boats, and have continued to help maintain the boats. The park service had the fleet, but few personnel who knew how to sail or fix a boat, according to Buttner. Last year, 600 city children were introduced to sailing, according to Hohne.
"You run out of volunteers before you run out of kids to fill the program, he says. The program will continue this year although specific dates have not been announced. www.deepcreekyachtclub.com