1969 & 1971 TRANSATLANTICS

I crossed the atlantic twice on “Carina” which was launched in the spring of 1969. A year which was famous for Woodstock and the Moon walk. We huddled around the radio at sea to listen to the Moonwalk broadcast. We races the Fastnet and the US team won the Admiral’s Cup that year; finishing second in 1971.

CARINA
ADMIRAL’S CUP

MY LIFE IN BOATS

I assembled this a few years ago because even I forget some of the boats and events I sailed. Still fond memories; and still making more.

CARINA MODEL AND SAFETY AT SEA

The safety at sea seminar, another step in preparation for the upcoming transatlantic race. one more thing checked off the list.

I managed to catch the presentation of the as built model of “Carina” by robert and Jonathan Nye to the New York Yacht Club. A memory of the legacy of “Carina” and the Nye family.

MARION-BERMUDA 2015
MARION-BERMUDA 2015

INFLATED RAFT
INFLATED RAFT

CARINA AS SHE WAS
CARINA AS SHE WAS

JONATHAN NYE AT HARBOR COURT
JONATHAN NYE AT HARBOR COURT

WHERE WERE YOU JULY 20 1969?

 

I was aboard “Carina” having finished the trans-atlantic race to Ireland, we were headed to Cowes for the Admiral’s Cup and Fastnet races. ( The US team won the Admiral’s Cup that year). I remember it being cold and foggy as we huddled around the radio at the nav station to listen the the BBC which stayed on beyond their usual sign-off time of mid-night to carry the news of the moon landing.

I will add that when I returned to the US at the end of the season; my college roommate was coming to pick me up at the airport, when another college friend passed me and asked: “how was Woodstock?”. I replied: “what was Woodstock? I was probably the only one of my generation not to have gone, much less not to be aware of the event.fastnet log 1969 2384 fastnet log 1969 3385

FASTNET ROCK, RICHARD S NYE, STEPHEN LIRAKIS
FASTNET ROCK, RICHARD S NYE, STEPHEN LIRAKIS

THE WAY WE WERE

1971 STEPHEN LIRAKIS, JACK CUMMISKEY, MARTHA SMITH, RICHARD S NYE, CHRIS WICK
1971 STEPHEN LIRAKIS, JACK CUMMISKEY, MARTHA SMITH, RICHARD B. NYE, CHRIS WICK

 

This photo remains one of my favorites. A memory, a happy one; taken with a polaroid camera. I do not remember who took it.

We were in Harwichport at David Steere’s house. He was the owner of “Yankee Girl”, which along with “American Eagle” and our boat “Carina” were leaving the following day to sail to Cowes for the Admiral’s Cup and Fastnet Race. It was 1971. My good friend Mickey Spillaine was the pro on “Yankee Girl” and Joe Kennedy was his mate along with John Scott, a classmate from St. George’s.

We crossed the atlantic in 14 days, as I remember, we beat “Yankee Girl” and American Eagle” boat for boat by a day. They sailed a more southerly and warmer route.

This was before GPS. We navigated by sextant and dead reckoning. Crossing the Grand Banks in the cold and fog we had not had a fix in days. Dead reckoning put us about 20 miles south of  Sable Island. I was off watch when I felt something strange, we were running with a spinnaker at about 8 knots. My immediate thought was that we were going ashore on Sable Island. I leapt out of my bunk and headed on deck when there was a second bump.  I arrived on deck in time to see a whale pop up astern.

 

 

RICHARD B. NYE

Richard B. Nye, International Yachtsman and Wall Street Executive, Dies at 81

Richard Barre Nye, a long-time resident of Greenwich CT and recently, Ludlow Vermont, a former Wall Street businessman and avid yachtsman, died peacefully on March 14, 2013 in Norwalk CT at the age of 81.

Richard was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York to Richard S. Nye and Florence Evelyn Nye. After the family moved to Greenwich CT, Richard grew up there and attended the Brunswick School before going to Dartmouth College where he received his BA in 1952 and his MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business in 1953.

After graduating from business school, Richard went to work with his father at Georgeson & Company in New York. Together, they made Georgeson one of the nation’s largest and most well regarded proxy solicitation and investor relations firms. Under their leadership, the firm played a key role in many of the nation’s largest corporate takeover battles. Known for its successful communication strategies and its ability to influence shareholders, Georgeson proved adept at both helping clients ward off unwanted “hostile” takeover attempts and acquire companies in “friendly” transactions.

Father and son’s involvement with Georgeson led to their introduction to sailing when on a whim, Richard’s father bought the yacht Vanward from Lloyd Georgeson’s estate. Father and son, with no prior experience, and despite nearly putting Vanward on the rocks their first time out, developed what would become a lifelong love for the sea. Together, they became keen yachtsmen and competitors. In 1947 the Nyes purchased the first of three yachts they would name Carina, the last two custom built to their specifications. For nearly fifty years, they made a formidable team and enjoyed numerous triumphs, including transatlantic races to England, Ireland, Sweden, Germany and Spain , the Newport to Bermuda Race, Admirals Cup team competitions off the Isle of Wight and Fastnet Races along with a myriad of regional and local successes. When not racing, Richard’s passion for being at sea was met while cruising off the coasts of Maine, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Ultimately Richard’s love of open water shifted to power boating aboard his beloved Cap’t Ezra Nye.

Richard was proud of his racing successes but he was especially proud of doing so while sailing with family and fellow amateur sailors, especially into the 70s and 80s when professional crews became prevalent. He also delighted in mentoring junior or younger sailors and gave many their first taste of “big boat” sailing. And he was also proud to represent his home club, Indian Harbor Yacht Club, particularly when competing overseas.

In addition to Indian Harbor where he was Commodore from 1992 to 1993, Richard was a member of New York Yacht Club, the Cruising Club of American, Storm Trysail Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and US Sailing. Notably, as a US Sailing member, Richard served as chairman of the rules committee for yacht racing in the United States. Richard wrote and published a memoir of his sailing exploits, Home is the Sailor, in 2012.

Richard retired to Vermont in 1995 where he became active in local affairs. He served on the board of Green Mountain College and the Black River Academy Museum, and supported, among others, Vermont Public Radio, the Vermont Historical Society and the Dartmouth Sailing Team.

Richard is survived by his children, Jonathan H. Nye and his wife Karin, Melinda H. Nye, Robert C. Nye and his wife Andrea, William H. Nye and his wife Amber, step-daughter Jennifer Leigh Taylor and her husband Todd, nine grandchildren, his two sisters, Edith Jones and Carolyn Hawe and his first wife Joyce Roper Nye.

Richard was preceded in death by his second wife, Patricia Ann Nye.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Association, Vermont Chapter, PO Box 2191, South Burlington, VT 05407 (or online at www.parkinsonsvt.org/donations.php) or the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Development Office, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1050 (or online at www.whoi.edu).

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