Photo by Martha Blanchfield / Renegade Sailing

The Encinal Yacht Club is one of the Sailing Science Center’s top partners, so holding our 2023 Gala at their club seemed a natural fit. Founded in 1890, the Encinal Yacht Club is the third oldest yacht club in the Bay Area. Encinal is a Spanish word meaning “oak grove,” referring to the oak trees that covered the East Bay in the late 19th century. The club encouraged family participation and a volunteer ethic from the outset–things that have kept it thriving for over 130 years.

Club members initially met in a Victorian-style house at the end of a 1,000-foot pier on Alameda’s south shore. They moved to their current clubhouse on the Oakland Estuary in 1960. Mike Gorman joined the club just three years later, in 1963. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike and the current president, Matthew Dean, for this spotlight. Mike joined as a “proprietary” member at a time when the number of memberships was fixed. That meant he had to buy someone out to acquire a membership. Today, the club has nine membership classes, including Business Memberships, which bring in members from the nearby business park.

One of the club’s great features is its 25-yard pool. Long enough for competition and serious lap swimming, the pool is a big draw for families and other clubs seeking a destination for their cruise-outs. Other amenities include a full kitchen and a dining room with a spectacular view across the Oakland Estuary. The club’s activities include parties, the annual Lighted Boat Parade, awards banquets, monthly Live Music and Poker Nights, Trivia Nights, and Family Game nights. There is a Mothers’ Day event, a Fathers’ Day event... something nearly every week.

Of course, there is sailing. The club has a race program, regular cruise-outs, and a recently started women’s program, including coaching. But perhaps most noteworthy is their Juniors Program, one of the strongest in the Bay Area. The Juniors sail Optis, FJs, and 420s, with team racing all year. They are also the host club for a whopping 15 high school teams, providing the boats and coaches for those schools’ sailing programs. It is common for graduates of the EYC Juniors program to return as instructors or to find leadership positions elsewhere, as was the case with Krysha Pohl, who went on to captain the sailing team for the Coast Guard Academy, or the SSC’s Natalie Corkhill, who also came through the EYC Juniors. Yet another connection between EYC and the SSC is Chris Davis. Chris is this year’s commodore and one of the SSC’s earliest volunteers.

At the end of our interview, Mike told me the story of Pete Palmer. Pete was being considered for an honorary membership. Pete had served as Commodore and President, but the committee wanted to know what else he had done for the club. The answer came back: Pete had painted the outside of the club singlehanded–three times! Now, that’s volunteerism. Pete got the membership.

The Sailing Science Center's most notable activity, both for November and for 2023, was the November 11^th Play It Forward Gala, in which we introduced three new major exhibits plus three smaller exhibits, in a collection titled "What does this have to do with sailing?" The week after the gala we had a smaller appearance at the San Francisco Yacht Club as part of the club's lecture series. The pictures below tell most of the story.

This year's silent and live auctions were "right-sized," providing encouraging fun and vigorous bidding for the well-curated set of offerings, thanks to Natalie's hard work beforehand.

The evening was used to introduce a total of six new exhibits (not all shown here). Two new exhibits were introduced on ocean plastics, a set of three exhibits formed a group, collectively titled "What does this have to do with sailing?", and the pista resistance, the new Flow Loop, built by students at UC Berkeley.

High school senior, Ashley Ragon, debuted her exhibit on ocean plastics, earning her the Girl Scout Gold Award, their highest honor. Together with the Flow Loop that was built at UC Berkeley, this begins to realize the SSC's vision of getting students involved at the creation stage of the Sailing Science Center.

A highlight of the evening was the dramatic reveal of the new Flow Loop exhibit, funded by the SSC and built by students at UC Berkeley. Clockwise from upper left: Building the Drama. The Dramatic Reveal. Switching it on. See the video here (3:48).

– James Clear, Author

The Sailing Science Center is pleased to announce that we will be supporting NOAA's Ocean Education Day at the Exploratorium, this Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. We will have the Flow Loop there and SSC volunteers to answer questions. This is your chance to see the Flow Loop in action if you missed the gala.

The SSC needs volunteers! We especially need volunteers who can staff one-day exhibitions as docents. Training, lunch, and SSC logo polo shirts are provided.

Direct your inquiries to info@sailingscience.org.

The tyranny of the urgent has captured the world. Your cellphone beeps, reminding you of your next appointment. What a Godsend that you have this technology to help you stay on track in today’s competitive environment. But wait, isn’t it that same technology that made things so competitive?