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IN THE BEGINNING

The Fairfield Harbour Yacht Club was formed to promote cruising and racing, the science of seamanship, safety on the waterways and fellowship among its members. Interest in founding a Yacht Club first occurred during a men’s cookout in January of l984. Bob Doran, George Schnupp, Dick Nehring and Joe Szmyd held an informational meeting in February and the first FHYC meeting was held on March 8. The burgee design decided upon was a white field with a blue sunburst containing a white anchor and some waves bordered in blue. During the early years, all Club burgees were sewed by Dot Smith. In April, the first issue of The Semaphore came out under the editorship of Barbara Redmond. She was also editor of the first yearbook which was published in l985.

The 36 Charter Memberships of the Club consisted of Tom and Laura Babington, Dave and Nancy Bechtold, Pat and Jo Colburn, Bob and Lois Crandall, Bill and Ginny Crow, Charles and Ruth Dettor, Jerry and Ruth Ditola, Bud and Liz Dixon, Bob and Carol Doran, Tom and Norma Drenan, Bob and Shirley Ford, Jim and Alice Frank, Frank and Alberta Hagan, Frank and Joyce Hall, Bob and Mabel Hankerson, Bob and Priscilla Hawkins, John and Billie Holecek, Rex and Glenna Inman, Frank and Alta Krieger, Bob and Marge Johansen, Art Lancaster, Dick and Jinie Nehring, Pat and Dee Patteson, Hank and Edith Pattison, Jim and Elsie Pollock, Jim and Barbara Redmond, Bob and Katherine Reid, John and Mabel Rochon, George and Evelyn Schnupp, Les and Dot Smith, Lee and Clare Snyder, Bob and Gretchen Snyder, Joe and Helen Szmyd, Dirk and Tini Van Zyverden, John and Lois Walsh and Jake and Sally Wheeler. In 2008, the Charter Members were recognized and honored with lifetime memberships.
 

CRUISING

An adventurous cruise to Manteo by six boats in July l984, to participate in the 400^th Anniversary of the founding of the first colony, initiated the Club’s cruising experience and established the tradition of an Ocracoke cruise. Other cruises to nearby points such as Cape Lookout and the Shakedown cruise to Clubfoot Creek became part of the schedule. Beginning in 2001, a yearly three- to four-week cruise was added alternating between north to the Chesapeake or points south including Charleston and Savannah. One- to two-week cruises in the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, plus Mystery, Gunkholer’s, Local Waters and Hurricane Dodger cruises have been popular additions. Raft-ups, day cruises, expeditions to Harker’s Island for fishermen, “rambles” to Swansboro for small boaters and the ever popular Shrimparoo in Oriental have all contributed to extensive cruising seasons.
 

RACING

The first Oar Race was held in l984 with six boats participating. Conceived by John Walsh, it was called the “Oriental Oar Race” because it ran from Fairfield Harbour to Oriental as a “feeder race” on the day before the Michelob Cup Race which started in Oriental. The race was renamed “Oar Race” l989 when the course of the Michelob Race was changed. A trophy “The Dunkirk Oar” was awarded to the overall winner. The original oar was presented to John in l971 in Brightlingsea, England, where his boat was built. The owner of a local hotel held a going-away party for him and invited people who had assisted in the evacuation of Dunkirk. Oars had been used along with sails during the evacuation. Some of these oars survived and were displayed on the walls of the restaurant of the hotel. The owner took an oar which had been used on board the yacht Clara in the evacuation and presented it to John. Initially used as a perpetual trophy, the original oar has since been retired and is displayed at the Community Center. Smaller replicas are now awarded to race winners. In memory of John, the Club has renamed the race “The  John Walsh Memorial Oar Race.”

Memberships in Boat/US and the North Carolina Yacht Racing Association (NCYRA) were taken in 1985. A new Club Performance Handicap System (CPHS) was begun in 1990. In 1992 FHYC received a VHF license from the Federal Communications Commission, call letters WRV 338, and the Club purchased a VHF radio (no longer used) to be installed at the Main Gate for emergency use. Presently, marine assistance can be requested by calling (1) the Main Gate, 636-5566, and the Community Patrol will call the Marine Assistance Committee or (2) Northwest Creek Marina on Channel 16 and they will contact the Committee.

The Commissioning Day Regatta, now called “The Wilkerson Cup Regatta,” begun in l985 and held the day after the Commissioning Day and the Blessing of the Fleet ceremonies, marks the start of the active boating season. Other past races scheduled have included a Predicted Log Event, a Wind’s Day Series, Novice and Start Races, Frostbite and Spring Series (dinghies), a Golden Leaf Fall Series, a Petticoat Regatta, the Summertime Cup Race, the Sundowner Dinghy Race, the Dinghy/Sunfish Series (Interclub) and the Golf Regattas. The year 2001 saw the beginning of the Cruisers’ Regatta Series and in 2002 an Ensign Race Series was added.

EDUCATION

Safety on the water has always been a top priority of the FHYC. The Education Committee has been instrumental in conducting classes with hands-on experiences such as man-overboard drills, communication skills with VHF marine radios and the proper use of GPS equipment. They also conduct classes in chart reading, navigation, knots, docking, rafting-up and fire safety demonstrations which include the proper use of flares. The Maintenance Committee keeps things in good repair and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, which includes some of our Club members, inspects our on board equipment. Recent purchases include a portable automatic external defibrillator unit (AED), kept at the Main Gate and available for Club meetings, cruises and regattas. The Club also arranged with BOAT/US for life jackets which can be borrowed by visitors at the Northwest Creek Marina.
 

SOCIAL

Over the years, the Club’s calendar has been filled with social events both on land and on water. In 1987, the Club joined with the POA to continue the tradition of offering an outing on the water and a shore-side luncheon for their non-boating neighbors. The event known as the “Annual Boat Bash” continued until 2008. The first Commodores’ Ball was held at the Shoreline Country Club in 1993, at which time the original gavel was presented to the first Commodore Dick Nehring. The Club’s 20^th Anniversary celebrations in 2004 were saddened by the announcement of Dick’s passing. Other popular social events are the Awards Luncheon, the Christmas Flotilla in the harbor, which started in 1993 and since 1995 has been followed by a Chili Supper, and the annual Holiday Party. Grandkid’s Week, initiated in 2008, starts with a picnic and the creation of tie-dyed tee shirts. Throughout the week grandkids enjoy sailing and kayaking in the Harbour, swimming at the beach and in the Recreation Center pools and finishing up with an ice cream party.
 

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Club members have performed many services for the community including constructing and installing the flag pole at the Country Club dock, replacing launching ramps and completing a dinghy dock at the Country Club marina. Starting with the installation of Marker #1 at the entrance to Northwest Creek, day markers were installed in the channels leading into Northwest Creek, Spring Creek and the entrances to the marina and boat basin. Also installed was the flashing light at the entrance to Northwest Creek. The Club supported efforts to reclassify Northwest Creek and Upper Broad and Goose Creeks to impose high standards of point-source water treatment discharge on future waste treatment plants. Debris was cleared from Northwest Creek and the Inner Harbour. Stumps were removed from Spring Creek which was traced with depth sounders and the results depicted on an outline map drawn from an aerial photo. In l999, the Club helped the POA with the charting and dredging of Spring Creek.

Members provided committee boats for the Neuse River Yacht Racing Association, sponsored yachting films and participated in the dedication of the new Neuse River Bridge. The Club donated funds to the POA in l990 to be used for chairs in the new Community Center. In l992, office space was secured in the Country Club and a computer was installed. With the advent of storing Yacht Club records on the personal computers of Club members, the office was vacated in 2001. The Club began collecting books related to boating and now shares a library room in the POA Activities Center where copies of all yearbooks, Semaphores and photo albums are available for reading.

Starting in l993, the Club cooperated with TV Channel 12 and McDonald’s Restaurant in an annual Christmas Food Drive for the needy, collecting several thousand pounds of food each year. Since 2001, the Club has donated the food to Religious Community Services (RCS). Beginning in 1993 at their annual Holiday Party, members have supported the Salvation Army Angel Tree program by donating truckloads of gifts to local needy children. In 2009, members raised funds to give a replica of a sailing ship’s step mast flagpole to the City of New Bern in commemoration of the 300^th Anniversary of the founding of the city.

 

THE VOYAGE CONTINUES
FHYC 2010

The Yacht Club set sail in 2010 with its first lady Commodore, Olwen Jarvis, at the helm.  The Commodore’s Ball had a new look with the theme of an English Tea Garden in honor of her heritage.

A major amendment was made in the Constitution and Bylaws.  The office of Fleet Captain was removed from the Bridge and the responsibilities of that position are to be handled by Cruising and Regatta Captains. The Policies and Guidelines were updated to reflect this change.

The Michelob Cup Race was revived and once again held in conjunction with the Oar Race.

We ended the year with 210 memberships which include 13 life memberships for charter members and 1 complimentary membership for the Northwest Creek Marina dock master.