The First Hundred Years: Clearwater Yacht Club, 1911-2011

his own Snipe Honey —a boat built specifically for Francis by Clark Mills. In 1951, he took first place in the Snipe Nationals and, thereafter, won the Districts seven times, the Snipe Midwinters eight times, and the Florida State Championship eight times. Seavy was the recipient of both the Reichner and the Minneford Perpetual Trophies and held both the S.C.I.R.A. United States and International High Point Championships. In addition to Snipes, Seavy also excelled in Thistle, Flying Dutchman, and Windmill Class competitions (taking first place in the Flying Dutchman Midwinters and the Thistle Districts with Bruce Cochran and Mike Walbolt as crew, and second in the Windmill Nationals) as well as in SORC big boat racing with Charlie Morgan.

Today

CYC members continue to excel in both big boat and small boat racing. While the club has many, many talented sailors, as in the past, several names stand out for their stellar performance.

Michael Carroll is carrying on the tradition of outstanding competitive sailing in the “big boat” category. Mike says he caught “the bug” when he moved to Florida in 1984. Competitive sailboat racing has been a big part of his life for over a quarter of a century. Starting out as crew on local boats and moving to offshore international regattas, most recently Mike has campaigned his Melges 32, New Wave, in some of the most competitive one-design regattas in the country. At a recent Melges 32 regatta, no less than four America’s Cup crew participated among the international teams. New Wave ’s remarkable record under the CYC burgee includes: • First place—SORC • Two first places—Key West Race Week • Two consecutive first place overall—Acura Grand Prix Championships • Unmatched thirteen first place finishes in the Sailing World National Offshore One Design Regattas

Mike Carroll. Courtesy of Mike Carroll.

124 The First Hundred Years: Clearwater Yacht Club, 1911-2011