It’s August and hard to believe September is just around the corner. Nevertheless, the Yacht Club is still in full swing and will continue to be for a few more weeks yet. Though our Junior Sailing Program is wrapping up and our young yachtsmen and yachtswomen look toward the start of the school year, the Fall High-School Sailing Program, open to any high-school youth in the region, is just beginning to come into view and will start up again in September. In the meantime, the summer program held its annual awards banquet on Friday, Aug. 8. Commodore Charlie Cochrane greeted over 120 students, parents and instructors who gathered to share in a meal, receive awards, and view a photo program of the past season.  

Selen Yasanliel received the Past Commodore James Bowden Award for outstanding performance in sailing. Bowen Gray was the recipient of the Meagan McLaughlin Tennis Award while the Head Instructor Award was presented to Alec Fairfield. Annie Morningstar was awarded the Patsy Stevens Award for the most helpful junior and Lily Howe received the Past Commodore Byron T. Atwood Sportsmanship Award. Pearl Jane Hall was awarded the Margo Atwood Tactician Award. The Past Commodore John West award for best crew was also awarded to Selen Yasanliel, and the Past Commodore Rudolph Geiger Award for best Skipper went to Hollis Harding. Rath Schoenthal, head of the Tennis Program, presented awards to his players and Capt. Caleb Gray of the Junior Sailing program presented the Sailing Awards. At the end of the evening, a video with highlights of summer was enjoyed by all. 

On July 25, over 60 local wine lovers attended a successful wine dinner at the Club. The club chef prepared a meal pairing of a lobster appetizer, a pea shoot salad and an elegant two part surf-and-turf main course of pan-seared halibut and filet mignon. The four wines poured were from Merriam Vineyards in Healdsburg, California and included a rose, a pinot noir, a sauvignon blanc and a cabernet. Peter Merriam, the vineyard’s founder, talked about his vineyard and the various varieties of grapes and timing of harvests. Given the enthusiastic feedback, planning is underway for another wine dinner in early September so please watch your notices and sign up early as space is limited. 

Our recent speaker series event was also one for the books, appealing to a healthy gathering of members and non-members who came to hear about the Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership. The Center’s Executive Director, Bo Hoppin, and Aquaculture Farm Manager Madison Maier introduced the Center’s practice of catching, raising and studying sea scallops in Maine waters.  Hurricane Island manages a 3.2 acre Experimental Research Lease Aquaculture Farm in Penobscot Bay, where 6th-12th grade students join staff scientists, undergrads, and professional researchers in understanding this charismatic shellfish. Bo and Madison explained the scientific research, gear practices and educational opportunities Hurricane Island's scallop farm provides and they emphasized the need for maintaining the health of our salt water fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The Center has just opened up a new research station on the island which is the first offshore research station of its kind and is named for Peter O. Willauer. Peter is the founder of the Hurricane Island Outward School which preceded the Center and paved the way for the transformative programs of the Hurricane Center for Science and Leadership.  

Stay tuned for more information on upcoming events at BHYC. The weather in these next few weeks tends to be the finest kind for those of us lucky enough to enjoy all that the Harbor waters have to offer.