JAYC 100: The 1970s

JAYC House, 1970

This is the fourth installment of posts about the history of JAYC as we lead up to the JAYC100 Celebration at AYC in June.

The 1970s were a great decade for AYC and a great decade for JAYC. JAYCers continued to shine in big boats, as AYC won the Dorade in 1970 on Alala and in 1975 on Endurance. David Barton and Peter Becker skippered Alala to victory in the Beach Point Overnight in 1973. AYC won the McIntyre Trophy for the JYRA (now JSA) Team Racing Championship for the first time in 1977.

JAYCers, who usually numbered between 80-90 sailors, also started sailing new boats in the 1970s. The Blue Jay continued to be sailed, but JAYC also adopted Dyer Dhows as a singlehanded beginner’s boat (beginning in 1970) as well as Lasers as an advanced singlehanded boat (beginning in 1973). The Fireball, a high performance doublehanded boat that has a trapeze, was adopted in 1973 and would be sailed in JAYC until 1981.

JAYCers also shone on the race course! Peter Becker and Hope Hild won the JYRA Blue Jay Championship in 1972 and Bill Lynn and Liz Bomann won it in 1977. Future commodore Libby Connolly Alexander and Robin Conklin won the Girls Championship in 1978. JAYC had a strong finish to the decade; in 1979, Bill Lynn and Tom Mundinger won the JYRA Junior Championship and, along with Bobby Capita, went on to go from third to first on the final day of racing to win the Sears Cup, the US Junior Sailing National Championship.

All of that said, as Rear Commodore George “Dooie” Isdale noted in the July 1974 AYC News, “The most important thing this program has taught in the past and I am sure will continue to instill in its members is respect for all things that make yachting the great sport it is and one of the few that can be continued for a lifetime.” Similarly, 1977 JAYC Commodore Lisa Jack said at JAYC Commissioning, “Our major goal, as always, is to be Number One on the Sound. If we are not Number One in terms of sailing performance, I know that we will be Number One in terms of Sportsmanship.”

As JAYC turned fifty, its mission and values remained steady and strong!

Next week: JAYC in the 1980s

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JAYC 100: The 1960s and JAYC Boat Classes Over the Years

JAYC 100: The 1940s and 1950s

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