HISTORY

as Written by Vic Sencindiver in 1990s

The Long Beach Island Yacht Racing Association was formed in 1983 by the five charter member LBI sailing clubs (BLYC, BBYC, LEHYC, SBYC & SCYC) The formation of the LBIYRA came about as a result of the concerns of a group of Past Commodores from the island clubs as expressed at a "Blue Gavel" meeting in September of 1982 Their concerns were that the clubs were not promoting sailing and racing and that, in their opinion, sailing programs and racing and sailing at the individual clubs and inter club sailing between the clubs was declining to an unacceptable level The Past Commodores, by unanimous vote, agreed to return to their clubs and strongly suggest to their Commodores and Directors that a committee of representatives from each club be formed to look into this problem and come up with ways to make improvements. Those original delegates were:   

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• Barnegat Light Yacht Club, Bill Clarke

• Brant Beach Yacht Club, Norm Daly & Bill Donehower

• Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club, Vic Sencindiver

• Spray Beach Yacht Club, Faye Bennet

• Surf City Yacht Club, Jack Elfman

The first meeting of this group was in the early spring of 1983 at the Sencindiver's (the best lunch in Beach Haven). Other delegates were added by the clubs during 1983 & 1984. Under the leadership of Vic Sencindiver, of LEHYC, and the interest and hard work of these delegates the Long Beach Island Yacht Racing Association was formed Each charter club authorized and accepted, by Board Action, the Constitution, the By-Laws and the stated goals of LBIYRA Since then the Haven Beach Club and Brigantine Yacht Club have become members of the Associ 
The "PURPOSE" of the organization as stated in the By-Laws is as follows;

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1. To encourage and promote competition among sailors of member clubs. 

2.  To encourage and promote the entry of crews from member clubs in Championship events sponsored by U S. SAILING. 

3. To coordinate the organizing and scheduling of inter-club regattas and inter-fleet events." 

LBIYRA organizes and manages the Junior Inter-club racing.

The major areas of LBIYRA focus are the LBIYRA Race Week (held annually the first week of August and rotating between member clubs), the weekly Junior Inter-Club Regattas and the annual Junior Championship Regatta, hosted by the previous year's winner.

LBIYRA meets once or twice in the winter and monthly from April through October. Each member club gets one vote on any motion or issue brought before the Association. Each member club is entitled to have three delegates to the Association although any officer, director and member of a member club is welcome to attend the meetings, as the club, not the delegate, is the member of the Association.

During the organizational period one of the areas of main concern, by the delegates, was how to create a system that might insure continuity within the association and to enable us to form a group of experienced delegates from which to draw the associations officers. Their solution to this question was to ask the clubs to either have three delegates from each club that are allowed to serve for as long a period as possible and that all the delegates not be changed in one year or to appoint one delegate each year for a three year term The clubs that have followed either of these practices have had the most active participation in the LBIYRA and the most interested and involved delegates. It is also a good idea to have the Junior Sailing Program Chairperson attend at least the spring LBIYRA meetings There is no reason why Past LRIYRA Commodores can not serve as Delegates Many of the past commodores have remained active participants of LBIYRA and all are copied with meeting minutes and are encouraged, by the association, to attend all meetings. It is suggested that club delegates be members who are interested in sailing, junior sailing and who are interested enough to commit to putting in the time required to work on furthering the goals of LBIYRA. 
  
At some member clubs when a club delegate becomes an officer of LBIYRA, a replacement delegate is appointed and at other member clubs the delegate count stays at three. (Officers of LBIYRA are usually someone who has been an active delegate for several years). Clubs should check with their delegates or past LBIYRA Commodores to find out what the tradition at your club has been.

Some matters of interest concerning the history and inner workings of LBIYRA.

THE OPTIMIST ON LONG BEACH ISLAND: In the formative stages of LBIYRA, the decision was made that the first area to look at was junior sailing and junior instruction programs at the member clubs. At that time LEHYC was teaching their junior programs in duck boats and the other four clubs were using Sunfish. After researching the boats being used, successfully, in other parts of the country and throughout the world the decision was made to support the Optimist Dinghy as the basic boat of instruction on Long Beach Island. In 1984, two LBIYRA delegates bought new Vanguard Optimists and allowed them to be used as demonstration boats for the summer. In the winter, 1984-1985, the decision was made to order 17 Winner Optimists for sale to member clubs and individual sailors. Delivery was taken in the spring with some boats pre sold to clubs and the costs of the remaining boats being covered by LBIYRA delegates. By July 1, all the boats had been purchased. In 1986 and 1987, 34 more Optimists were group purchased by LBIYRA and sold to member clubs and individual members. From this beginning, the Optimist class was started on Long Beach Island and the rest is, positive, history.

LONG BEACH ISLAND RACE WEEK: At the same time Norm Daly and Bill Donehower of Brant Reach Yacht Club were putting together plans for the first (in modern times, this event had been held for several years in the 1950's) Long Beach Island Championship. This event was hosted by BBYC and has been held annually since, rotating between the five charter member clubs. The junior events are held during the week, as are the open single handed classes and the women's Blue Jay event. The Multihanded classes are held on Saturday. The host club holds an awards ceremony and reception on Saturday following the racing. The membership of all member clubs is usually invited.

LBIYRA PERPETUAL TROPHIES: Following the formation of LBIYRA and the completion of the Constitution and By-Laws and their ratification by the charter member clubs Vic Sencindiver and Norm Daly took on the task of obtaining Perpetual Trophies for the LBIYRA Championship events. Through their efforts there are now trophies for all class champions and the Junior Club Champion. These trophies are awarded to the individual or club and shall be returned, to the LBIYRA Trophy Committee, no later than July 1 of the following year. The Perpetual Trophies have been donated by Island business, the Order of the Blue Gavel and other interested parties. 

INTERCLUBS: The "Interclubs" predate the formation of LBIYRA and for years were sailed in Sunfish with "A" & "B" divisions between BLYC, BBYC, SBYC & SCYC, with LEHYC using duck boats they did not compete. With the introduction of the Optimist Dinghy at all clubs and the increased interest in the Laser Radial and Blue Jay, the clubs, through LBIYRA, began discussing increasing the overall scope of the Interclubs. This led to LBIYRA becoming the governing body of the weekly Interclubs and the LBIYRA Junior Championship. LBIYRA developed Rules and Regulations for these events, which are upgraded yearly, and sends an LBIYRA representative to all Interclubs to provide guidance to the host club and its Race Committee. LBIYRA provides the weekly Award Flags and the Flags and Trophies for the Junior Championship and for Race Week class championships. Each club is expected to host LBIYRA events in the same manner that a major class championship would be hosted, and that, in the case of race management, the "first team" be called out.

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