On May 3, Sagamore Yacht Club celebrated the 71st Commissioning Day at its opening day festivities. This yearly ritual took place on the clubhouse lawn overlooking beautiful Oyster Bay Harbor on a picture perfect day.
Past Commodore Mike Gehrling was the Master of Ceremonies. He first invited the Reverend Jean Butler, a long-time member of club, to the podium for the invocation .
He then thanked First Lady Kris Lalonde, Captain Billy Friedman and his crew and Chef Rosario and his staff, who were responsible for arranging this event.
Gehrling then introduced the Past Commodores of SYC who were in attendance: Len Hecht, Richard Benson, Greg Bradley, David Roach, Rob Casale and Darren Martin. He thanked them for the enormous amount of time they successfully devoted for the benefit of the club.
Next, the trustees of the club were invited to the podium. They are the men and women who, behind the scenes and with the experience in their special field, assist the officers with the many difficult decisions that have to be made. They include David Roach, Raymond Wulff, William Peterson, Alan Schaub, Tony Miraglia, Jeanne Lafiteau, Bill Mullan, Lindsay Thornton, Kate Zucconi, Les Gillen and Mike Gehrling.
The current officers were then introduced. They represent “the past, present and future” of the club: Treasurer Rich Denby; Secretary Alan Schaub; Rear Commodore Deanna Flanagan; Vice Commodore Constantine Baris and Commodore Jerry Lalonde.
The ceremonies continued with the traditional raising of the flags—the Union Jack, flags of the officers, the club burgee and the final flag being the National Ensign. The Girl Scouts with troop leader Kelly Gallo and the Sea Scouts with their skipper Rich Corso assisted with the flag raising.
Special guest Ian McCurdy, Past Commodore of Seawanhaka Yacht Club, and his wife Jane Bryd McCurdy started the flag raising ceremony by raising the Union Jack.
The next flag raised was the Past Commodore’s flag, which was raised by Gherling’s wife, Georgia, and his father, Fred Gherling. Next, the Rear Commodore’s flag was raised by Ryan and Patrick Brosky and Charlie Secker. This was followed by the Vice Commodore’s flag, which was raised by Connie Baris’s nephew, Sean Sattler.
The Commodore’s flag was raised by First Lady Kris Lalonde, daughter Susie Lalonde and Matt Strube. Dock Master Billy Friedman had the honor of raising the Club Burgee.
The Sea Scouts raised the National Ensign. The assembly was asked to be at attention with a breast salute as the flag reached the top of the flag pole and the cannon is sounded.
This was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
After this very impressive nautical ceremony, a bouquet of flowers was presented to First Lady Kris Lalonde.
Lalonde was then introduced to address the membership. The Lalondes have been members of SYC for 12 years and the new commodore has served on the board of trustees for more than eight years. He spoke about the renovations to the club house, the successful food service and the restarting of a junior sailing program, which is now entering its third year.
The facilities were hard hit by Hurricane Sandy, but with the help of volunteers, the club has been able to convert a former shipping container into a storage building and workshop, to replace the canvas covered patio with a permanent roof, to undertake a major rehabilitation of the main pier and to replace pilings for the floating docks.
“Each of the major undertakings I have just mentioned would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of many members over the years, several of whom are here today,” said Lalonde. “The transformation of Sagamore Yacht Club is nowhere near complete. We want to respect the past, and honor the great traditions of yacht clubs in the United States of America. We want to encourage all members to enjoy boating on the waters here in Oyster Bay and elsewhere. And we want to create an atmosphere here at Sagamore that fosters connections between members, connections that lead to familiarity, and ultimately to friendships that last a lifetime. I am honored and humbled to be your commodore for two short years and pledge to work with all of you to continue the transformation of our club into one we are all proud of.”
