Tell Tales
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[email protected]GLENN MILLEROn 12 December one of America’s most
prestigious yacht clubs was gutted when it
caught fi re during preparations for holiday
parties. Black plumes of smoke and
cinders rose high into the sky from the
Annapolis Yacht Club through the
afternoon as the three-storey steel and
concrete building smouldered, reportedly
ignited by a lighted, plastic Christmas tree,
although the offi cial cause remains
unknown, writes Chris Museler.
The club, home to one of the largest
collections of yachting trophies and
ephemera on the East Coast, was closed
and all staff were evacuated safely. Models,
trophies and some original artwork were
recovered in various states of damage from
the fi rst fl oor, but according to members,
the entire collection of signifi cant member
half models and burgees was lost.
Though “piles of melted silver” were
found where famed trophies of the 19th and
20th centuries once stood, club History and
Artefact Committee member Mark Kiefaber
says some were saved and that the club is
documenting the damage and planning
trophy and model replacements and
restorations of the items.
“The biggest relief is that no one was
hurt,” said Kiefaber. “We have extraordinary
leadership at this club. We were
already dealing with contingencies
before the fl ames were put out.”
Within hours of the blaze, members of
prominent clubs across the countrycontacted the 130-year-old club, set on a
creek along Chesapeake Bay, across from
the US Naval Academy, to off er their
experience. Most notably, Southern YC in
New Orleans burned for days during
Hurricane Katrina, losing many trophies,
many of which have since been replaced.
“We have about 100 trophies,” said
Kiefaber, who added that all the club’s
paper historic records were saved since
they had been moved to research fi rm
History Associates to be digitised for
archiving. “We don’t know the extent of the
losses. Some were found as piles of melted
silver. Some were just sooty with dents.”
Signifi cant models that are presumed to
be lost include two legendary Sparkman &
Stephens designs: Running Tide and the
three-times Bermuda Race winner Finisterre.
A scale model of the yacht America, the
original ship having spent the end of her
years across the river from the club, is also
believed to have burned.
Kiefaber said that even though all of the
half models in the club were burned
completely, his committee has images of
each and a record of their location. “We willprobably be able to restore or replace most
of them,” he said. “The important thing is
that we will have what we need to represent
our club and its history.”
All of the members and visiting club
burgees were lost to the fl ames along with
nearly all of the original artwork depicting
more than a century of yacht racing
heritage on Chesapeake Bay. The most
used trophies, however, were out for
engraving after the end-of-season awards,
leaving them safely off site.
The local community has already off ered
support with a newly opened restaurant
off ering up their business as a temporary
Annapolis YC venue, according to Mary
Ewenson, editor of the local sailing
magazine Spinsheet. Staff ers were
preparing for a busy holiday party season.
Much of the club’s eff orts since 2012 to
archive and document its artefacts were
inspired by fi re stories from other clubs.
“When I became the historian, I saw that all
the history write-ups on other clubs’
websites were about fi res and how the
clubs were rebuilt bigger and better,”
Kiefaber said. “At the time I remember
thinking that we had never had a club fi re.”
The original clubhouse from the late
1800s was replaced in the 1960s then
further renovated in the 1990s. But
although Kiefaber said that the club has
lost many artefacts, “the staff we have
is our biggest treasure. The club has
never been stronger.”ANNAPOLIS YACHT CLUB
Fire destroys yacht club's history
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“Piles of melted
silver were found
where famed
trophies once
stood”