From the Historian (and Librarian?) .
Jere Dennison
Progress toward the realization of the Daniel Austin Memorial Library in the main clubhouse took a major step in November with the installation of an African mahogany bookcase in the vacant office on the second floor. Created by Mike Karn and Doug Magargee, the bookcase will house books on sailing and other marine subjects donated by members. The core collection will consist of approximately one hundred volumes originally owned by Dan Austin and donated by the Family of Dan Austin in his memory. Other members are encouraged to contribute books as well.
The library is being entirely funded by Friends of Dan Austin that include both members and non-members. Carpet on the floor, furniture, new lighting, and a plaque on the door are also being planned with completion projected later this winter or early spring. When the library is fully operational, it will remain unlocked and be open to both visitors and members alike on an honor system basis. However, books may only be removed from the premises by members who must sign them out and return them within a reasonable time. Juniors will be required to have an adult member co-sign for them.
For individuals who wish to donate books, please contact me or leave them in the library. Write your name inside the cover of each book as we will affix a sticker inside of each identifying it as the property of FBYC and designating the donors name. Books that will be acceptable for the library are limited to those with subjects of sailing, yacht design, cruising, racing, voyaging destinations, maritime history, marine ecology, seamanship, navigation, meteorology, boat maintenance, etc. Novels with serious nautical themes are welcome as well.
Books donated by the Family of Dan Austin and three other club members already occupy 20 25% of the available shelving. This leaves substantial space for additional donations. We plan to borrow one of the small square card tables and four chairs from the main area of the second floor until we can obtain the funds necessary to acquire a permanent table for the library. Since the room will continue to be used occasionally as a protest/meeting room for club events, it is important for us to equip it with furniture that will serve this dual purpose.
Some of our members may not have known Dan. He joined the club in 1972 having crewed aboard Andy Sinnicksons Hughes 38 Micheekeemoo and served on the Board in several capacities throughout the years. The sailing bug having bitten hard, he purchased a 505 that he actively campaigned around the region. In 1975, he sold his house in the west end of Richmond, put his furniture in storage, and, with his family of wife and two daughters, moved aboard a Pearson 35 where they spent a glorious winter-free year in the Bahamas. After his return to Richmond, he owned a series of racing boats, a Santana 20 and two J24s, all of which competed on a regular basis at FBYC. In 1985, having become enamored with the type of wooden shallow-draft sailing vessels designed and built by Commodore Ralph Monroe in southern Florida, he purchased a Presto 34 namedPresent Mirth . Dan and I moved his new boat from Kittery, Maine to FBYC in a memorable 17-day journey during the month of November which was made tolerable by a cheery cast iron wood burning stove below and a large stash of rum.
Although he intended to retire from racing and cruise Present Mirth on the shallow tributaries of Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina sounds, the competitive juices still flowed, and he continued to tweak his hull and rig for better performance. Bottom work, new sails, new aluminum mast, and a new air-foil shaped centerboard to replace the old wooden slab section combined to produce greater speed. In 1995, his boat finished second in a large fleet of traditional craft at the Turkey Shoot Regatta at Yankee Point Yacht Club then held over the frigid Thanksgiving weekend. He was later featured prominently on the cover of Chesapeake Bay magazine aboard Present Mirth during this regatta, and a framed reproduction of this cover currently hangs upstairs in our clubhouse.
In 1997, he sold Mirth and purchased a J105 feeling that he had at least one good sailing campaign left in him. Besides club racing, he traveled with Dark Star to the NOOD Regatta in Annapolis and the Screwpile Regatta at Solomons Island. And he made frequent appearances with our cruising group on trips around the Bay. After selling Dark Star, he went kayaking in thin waters, crewed with others, and distinguished himself in club one-design events skippering Flying Scots loaned to him by other members. Tragically, Dan was stricken with pancreatic cancer and died in April, 2003. It is a tribute to his memory that so many sailing friends have so generously donated to the effort to create a library in his name at FBYC.