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

Top Left: Notice of Race for the 1931 St. Pete to Habana Race. Courtesy of the Fleming/Green family. Top Right: Cuban travel visitation permit for the crew of the Haligonian for the 1930 St. Pete to Habana Race listing CYC’s Ted Kamensky. Courtesy of the Fleming/ Green/Irsch family. Below: Postcard of the crew of the Haligonian in front of Morro Castle in Habana in the 1930s. Courtesy of the Fleming/Green/Irsch family.

St. Petersburg, Florida to Havana, Cuba—The Early Years, 1930–1941 , this record held until 1937 (Martin, Gray and Main, 2004). Kamensky continued to crew on Haligonian for many, many races and through several changes in ownership. Newspaper articles of the time list him as “Captain” or “Sailing Master.” According to local legend, in one particularly memorable race to Cuba, a batten broke in the middle of the Gulf Stream in heavy seas. With the schooner listing at forty-five degrees and with forty to fifty knot winds raging, Kamensky climbed the sail to make repairs. That feat alone would have been enough to seal the fate of Ted Kamensky and Haligonian as legends in the annals of big boat distance racing in Florida. Kamensky and Haligonian went on to win many trophies, three of which grace CYC’s trophy cases . The St. Pete to Habana

races continued until political turmoil after the Cuban revolution made it impossible. CYC sailors continued to participate throughout the years. The end of the St. Pete to Habana Race did not signal the end of big boat racing in the area by any means. Clearwater Yacht Club members continued to participate in big boat races around the state including: the Florida Ocean Racing Association (FORA) regattas, the Windjammers , and the Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) regattas. Robert Word was an avid competitor in these races aboard his boat Ginger . Boats designed and built by area boat builder Charlie Morgan were particular favorites of CYC participants. CYC members, for example, crewed on Morgan’s Paper

Chapter 6: Big Boat Racing: The Legacy of the Haligonian 65