Alberg Fellows

In 2008 the CDSOA, Inc. established the "Alberg Fellows" as a method to recognize members for their extraordinary contributions in support of the CDSOA and its mission. The initial inductees were Walt Bilofsky, Al Lawton, David Stump and John Dunn in 2009. Read more about the Alberg Fellows.....

2009 Inductees:

Al Lawton

Al Lawton took to the water early in life. At fourteen he had saved enough "lawn mowing money" to purchase his first water craft, a gently used thirteen foot Grumman aluminum canoe. An only child, Al was encouraged to explore the rivers and creeks of central and western Kentucky. His paddling took him from the limpid water of Harrods Creek, to the muddy wastes of the Green River, then to the white water of the Red River Gorge.

As fate would have it young Al found a plan in Boy’s Life for a lanteen sail rig for a canoe and the fascination with wind and water began. Al carefully collected the materials and set about to build the rig. His mother sewed the sail made from an extra bed sheet. (Remember, this was Kentucky and sailcloth was scarce, if not unheard of.) After some last minute tweaking the “Owl” was launched in the Ohio River midst the skeptical looks of a collection of river bank fisherman at Cox’s Park. Al once remarked that the Owl sailed better down river than up but by hook or by crook he was able to get back to the park for haul out.

Al and his wife Ruth lived in several different locations within Kentucky but eventually settled in Lexington. Within a few months of their arrival Al heard about a new flood control dam, which had been completed on the Licking River, creating a small but well positioned lake on the edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Soon Al joined the local sailing association and purchased his first “real” sailboat, a 16’ Celebrity class open daysailer, “Zephyr”. The sailing association offered a series of competitive races and Al and Ruth joined in. One spring the association offered a bare boat charter cruise on Chesapeake Bay. Al and Ruth signed up. Ruth recalls she was not sure Al would get in the van when it was time to return home. Within one year of that cruise Al located and purchased his first Cape Dory, a 28’ sloop. After a couple of years spent gunkholing on the Chesapeake and a circumnavigation of the Delmarva Peninsula, Al came to two realizations: one, the CD 28, a worthy vessel indeed, lacked the fuel and water capacity he felt he wanted for the next phase of his sailing career, and two, there was no one to talk to about Cape Dorys -- no company, no owners association. The solution to the first realization came quite unexpectedly at the end of the sailing season when a buyer approached him with an offer too good to refuse. Al spent the winter searching for a replacement boat. By summer SarahGay a 33’ Cape Dory had been acquired and documented and the big adventures were to begin.

The second realization was less easy to resolve. It took another year or two of complaining until Ruth had had enough and challenged Al by saying “If it’s that important why don’t you organize one”? The gauntlet was down. Al had to act or stop complaining. He purchased a list of registered CD owners, mailed postcards inviting them to a raft-up on the St. Marys River and the rest is history.

SarahGay has taken Al on numerous passages south via the Intracoastal Waterway to Florida and the Keys, the Bahamas and once as far as the Dominican Republic. To the north there have been passages to Maine and cruises of the New England coast and most recently a passage to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The love affair continues.

After founding our organization, Al served two terms as CDSOA Commodore, and like George Washington, Al believed two terms were enough. He remains a member enjoys keeping in touch through the “MASTHEAD” and is particularly pleased as new fleets are added. Al always felt that the leaders who succeeded him would accomplish the most in the name of CDSOA. He has not been disappointed.

Walt Bilofsky

Walt created the first Cape Dory owners' web site in 1996. He is the owner/skipper of Golden Phoenix, a Cape Dory 30 flybridge cruiser -- a powerboat -- berthed near his home in Tiburon, California, on San Francisco Bay. Walt, along with Sandy Smith and Mike Fahy, were the founders of the California Cape Dory Owners Assn. (CCDOA) in 1994.

Walt wrote his first computer program in 1960 at the age of 14. He founded The Software Toolworks in 1980, initially to publish software for Heath/Zenith personal computers. Early products included MYCHESS, The Original Adventure, and the C/80 C compiler for CP/M. He was one of the three programmers who created the first versions of The Chessmaster (1986) and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (1987), two programs which are still best sellers.

He retired in 1996 but continued to program. The following year he released the freeware program Tide Tool which computes tides and currents, as well as providing sun and moon data, for the original Palm Pilot and all subsequent Palm devices. Jeff Hawkins, creator of the Palm, sails on San Francisco Bay and has cited Tide Tool as his favorite Palm application.

Walt holds a Coast Guard Master's license, and amateur and commercial FCC radio operator licenses, including one that qualifies him to be a ship radiotelegraph operator.

So, with Walt's expertise in boating and computer programming, it's no wonder that in 1996 he created the CCDOA's web site which included the message board and the registry of boats and their owners, and became their webmaster. Shortly afterwards they also hosted a single web page for the CDSOA, which was founded in 1996 by Al Lawton. Walt also created and initially hosted www.tyc.org, the web site for the Tiburon Yacht Club, of which he is a past Commodore and Board member.

In 2002 the CDSOA took over control of the message board and most of the CCDOA's online resources with Cathy Monaghan becoming webmaster and Walt becoming her assistant. Without Walt, we wouldn't have the single most-used Cape Dory resource on the web today -- the Cape Dory Board -- which has been THE meeting place for all things Cape Dory since 1996.

John Dunn

John Dunn, known to the Cape Dory world as the one and only “Oswego John” or simply “OJ” was born in the late 1920’s on the north shore of Long Island. His family owned a small boatyard in Hempstead Harbour and as a kid OJ was in his element in and on the water. The boatyard afforded OJ exposure to all sorts of boats in various stages of repair.

A water-rat from the beginning, OJ was introduced to the nuances of living in and on the water by his dear Aunt Nellie. She taught him many life lessons over the years. Growing up in the depression years, everything was scarce and nothing was wasted.

Early on he was exposed to an extensive world of wooden boats and it wasn’t long before his Aunt Nellie had taught him not only to row but to scull about the harbour in all sorts of small wooden craft. This was a vital tool for a young seaman with no access to a powerboat.

From the “ole-timers” that passed through the boatyard of his youth, OJ learned a building and working knowledge of vessels from skiffs to large masted schooners. Recognizing his keen intelligence they would take the time to tutor him in the use of hand tools and other marine gear. These important associations helped to mold young John into the skilled craftsman he would become.

A few years into his unofficial apprenticeship he was given a decrepit old Snipe that was cast off for junk. Soon he had her bones bared and was well into her restoration. Helped along by those ole salts, doling out their knowledge like a wee tot of rum, OJ soon had the boat shipshape and ready to sail. However there was one major problem, no one knew how to rig the Snipe. On cue, Aunt Nellie enters to show the boys how to rig the Snipe and soon they were plowing Long Island Sound, all sails flying, rooster tails spewing from the stern with their grins as wide as her beam.

Early on, in his son’s life, Mike was given an old Lyman motorboat that was in very sad shape. OJ tackled the rebuild and using some unconventional means, soon had the boat on its way back to a serviceable life. During the reconstruction the old masters would stop by and, while puffing on their pipes, would affectionately make jokes about OJ’s methods. OJ had the last laugh when the beautifully restored Lyman once again graced the waters of Long Island Sound. Over the years OJ has restored over 70 boats and built quite a few more. His restorative skills are without peer. Many an old wooden or fiberglass boat, given up for lost, is once again motoring or sailing across the waves.

The years passed quickly and in the early 1980’s OJ began to get involved in trailerable sailboats which soon led him to the Cape Dory and the nautical equivalent of the love of his life - the Cape Dory Typhoon. It wasn’t long after discovering Carl Alberg that he bought his first Typhoon and, finding a small flaw, soon had it modified to his perfection. Over the next few years OJ applied his knowledge to more and more Typhoons until he literally became the expert in their maintenance, reconstruction and repair. There are many sailors who are indebted to OJ’s generosity in expending his time and energy to solve their problem and get their baby back on the water.

OJ’s gifted spirit and extensive knowledge of all things nautical prepared him for his next mission as a founding member of the Oswego Maritime Foundation. OMF was started to help young and old experience the joy of sailing and preserve the unique maritime heritage that resides in Oswego, New York. During his tenure, the members have constructed the “85’ OMF Ontario” from scratch. Recently christened, the OMF Ontario is the premier sail-training vessel on Lake Ontario.

In the late 1990’s OJ became a member of the Cape Dory Sailboat Owners Association and with his first computer he became a valued contributor to the CDSOA message board. OJ has become the “dean” of the board and there is certainly none better qualified to advise current and prospective Typhoon owners on the minute details of their beloved little sailing ship.

John’s unflagging loyalty to his fellow mariners is legendary. The knowledge he shares with us and the humor and grace he brings to our board is truly an inspiration. The Alberg Fellows committee is proud to honor our friend and fellow Cape Dorian with his election to the highest honor the CDSOA can bestow upon its membership - The Alberg Fellowship.

John's favorite life lesson is “if I rest, I rust.” We say OJ "long may you run".

David Stump

Dave learned to sail on Long Lake while growing up in Michigan. At 17 he enlisted in the US Navy under the "Kiddy Cruise" Program. After Boot Camp and Hospital Corpsman School he was assigned to a Marine "Recon" unit in Vietnam. Upon discharge from the Navy, Dave’s career was in Health Physics/Radiation Protection. When assignments took him to California, he would rent/live aboard sailboats.

Fast forward to 1985 when his brother Don purchased a CD30B; Dave would participate and enjoy many cruises and "delivery" sails (each spring the boat was moved from Southport, CT to Westbrook, CT - more wind). During this period Dave came to appreciate the construction and design of our CDs, vowing one day to own ("command") one himself. And around this time Dave discovered the Patrick O’Brien nautical adventure series of novels with their 18th century verbiage.

By January 1998 Dave and Carol were looking for their own Cape Dory. By March they found a well-maintained CD30C owned by Gordon Swift (aka Swifty – a wooden boat builder) in a field in Exeter, NH. The price was a bit high (~$28K), but, as mentioned, she was in very good shape. As they discussed it over lunch, Carol eventually said “I think you just bought yourself a boat.” They returned to the owner, made the deal and shipped her to CT.

The soon to be re-christened S/V Hanalei became part of their family (although the Renaming Ceremony was to include "virgin urine", Dave was unable to locate any on the docks in Noank, so he settled on champagne) and a part of Cape Dory history. Dave and Carol, with Hanalei, sailed Long Island, Fishers Island, Block Island and Rhode Island Sounds as well as the forks of Long Island and associated bays and coves.

From 1998 on, Dave (and Hanalei) was a most notable presence on the Cape Dory Board, occasionally asking questions, often offering advice and almost always speaking with a traditional nautical tongue, to the enjoyment of all! Entries ranged from the building of a dink to maintaining seacocks, from stove black on props to the making of "Hard Tack" and much more.

In July 2000 Dave, Carol and Hanalei attended the rendezvous at Millstone Harbor/Niantic Bay, CT -- the first event of the newly formed Northeast Fleet of the CDSOA. That fall, after dinner and wine at the Lonesome Dove, and a little arm twisting, Dave joined the CDSOA and the Northeast Fleet (with a pointed notification that he was just a "member". OK, Dave.

Dave’s next contribution to the CDSOA and Cape Dory history came at the first Northeast Fleet Annual Meeting in January 2001. He and Cathy Monaghan, unbeknownst to the Fleet Captain, conspired to give the appropriate nautical/naval “signals” for summoning the ship’s captains to the Fleet Captain’s quarters -- to the delight of those assembled. As a direct result, Dave was spontaneously elected "Nautical Traditions Officer". At this meeting we planned a CD race for the summer 2001 activities. As it turned out, Dave won by a wide margin -- hence forth, added after his name on the CD Board, “CDSOA Number One".

Dave was the Chairman of the Northeast Fleet’s 2002 rendezvous committee, with Watch Hill/Napatree, RI as the port of call. He also had new sails made for the anticipated 2002 Cape Dory Race. But before the event, Dave experienced a debilitating stroke and was unable to attend his perfectly planned rendezvous dinner and celebration, the CD race or any further CDSOA activities.

Dave now occasionally sails as part of the "Sail Connecticut Access Program", which is dedicated to providing sailors with disabilities quality time on the water.

Dave’s enthusiasm for all things Cape Dory, and subsequently the CDSOA, is extraordinary. His spirit is ever present in the Northeast Fleet.

Sharon Kairis and Cathy Monaghan became the newest Alberg Fellows honorees at the annual membership meeting in Solomons, Maryland in November 2013.

2013 Inductees:

Sharon Kairis

Sharon and Mike Kairis purchased a boat in 1998, but didn’t know a thing about sailing and wondered – now what? Then CDSOA found us when a good looking guy by the name of Bob Ohler happened by our CD28 the very day we purchased her, the “For Sale” sign still attached. As fate would have it Bob stopped and asked “How much for your boat?” “Oh we just bought her.” Then without missing a beat Bob, with hands on hips and a frown, quipped “You just bought my boat.” Apologetically we offered to let him sail it anytime he wanted if he’d just give us a sailing lesson or two. Better than that, in CDSOA fashion, he invited us to join the CDSOA family. Our sailing adventures had begun!!

The first time out on ‘Dream Catcher’ (later renamed ‘The Splendid Splinter’ by Mike, after baseball great Ted Williams) was awesome! Sharon still talks about the first time she took the tiller in hand, felt the wind catch the sails and the boat coming alive! She finally understood her grand dad's love of sailing!

They attended our first CDSOA, Inc. Annual Meeting that November in Solomons, MD!

Sharon accepted the call to act as CDSOA Secretary in 2001 thinking it was a way to pay back everyone that assisted in educating her and Mike about sailing and maintaining their boat. Never thinking she would serve more than 2 years… Little did the Kairises know she was beginning a long tenure of devotion to CDSOA, Inc’s membership and the Board. Working with Commodore John Sill, Vice Commodore Bob Ohler and the Board for the next 2 years, she attended and recorded the Board meeting minutes, embraced the commitment to expand membership and mail out new members’ welcome packets, maintained and updated the membership database and readied the Membership Directory for print. True to form, she reached out to the Board, Fleet Captains, and membership when they didn’t send in an article to the Masthead or missed renewing their membership. She seized the opportunity to encourage members to volunteer and serve their fleets or accept a nomination on the Board. It was also the first year she had an opportunity to be involved with the planning and promotion of the annual meeting and what has turned out to be an annual trek to the Annapolis Sailboat Show and numerous phone calls to vendors and friends of CDSOA to secure donations for ‘Captain’s Welcome Bag’ ‘give-a-ways’ and items for door-prizes from friends and businesses that have supported CDSOA over the years.

It also presented the opportunity to travel with the Board to meet with Ed Haley and potential members to discuss the formation of the Great Lakes Fleet!

Sharon was elected Vice Commodore for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. There were many others with longer tenure and service to CDSOA and far more experienced sailors for sure! Sharon couldn’t have anticipated a jump from Secretary to Vice Commodore...but fate and circumstances cleared a path leaving her the next in line. She enjoyed working with the Board and membership so once again, when approached about the nomination she agreed to serve if elected. The previous 2 years as Secretary turned out to be a solid footing for working with the Commodore, transferring and monitoring the Secretary’s functions, and working with all Board members, Masthead Editor, Chandlery Officer and Fleet Captains to continue expansion of fleets and increasing membership. The Gulf Fleet was added and CDSOA continued to grow under Commodore Ohler’s watch finishing with an increase in membership, the addition of a 5th Fleet and a greatly expanded physical area of coverage.

Sharon was then elected as Commodore for 2005. Success of previous Commodores, their tutelage along with close associations with Fleet Captains, committee chairs and membership enabled Sharon to hit the ground running with ‘to-do’ and ‘wish lists’ in hand and a solid foundation of support. So with a willing spirit and a multitude of ideas to address the increasing volunteer workloads of Board Members, Treasurer, Secretary, Fleet Captains, Webmasters, Masthead Editor, Chandlery Chair, and membership database, along with the looming needs to update/upgrade technologies to manage tasks and growth over an ever increasing territory were going to be at the forefront of any Board discussions and decisions.

It was no longer possible to conduct a Board meeting and expect officers, Board members and committee chairs to fly in or drive great distances to Board meetings… Fleets were after all locally focused…so without frequent communications between Fleet Officers, National Board, Officers and Chairs team building and consensus for prioritizing, voting and disseminating information would be time consuming and inefficient… her first decision was to set up teleconferencing that enabled all Board members to join and benefit from every Board discussion without cost or traveling and costing CDSOA less than a tank of gas. No need for minutes because calls were recorded and a CD provided; and callers were provided 15 minutes prior to and after calls to visit, catch-up and exchange info and ideas. Invitations between fleets to attend other fleet events were often extended and new friendships formed.

After stepping down as Commodore, Sharon remained committed to CDSOA and was always willing and available to provide information on past activities, or be a confidential sounding-board, and “when asked” share her opinions or offered advice; was only required to cast a tie breaking vote on one occasion; has carried proxy votes into Board Meetings when Board Members were unable to attend; and has never hesitated to go down to the Boat Show to collect Captain Bag’s Vendor give-a-ways and brochures, or door prizes for an Annual Meetings or Chesapeake Fleet meeting. Attending wasn’t a prerequisite…she’d meet up with someone and deliver what she had.

Upon seeing the posting for this year’s (2013) annual meeting, Sharon seized the opportunity to head down to the Annapolis Boat Show to see sailing friends and favorite vendors to collect a few items for Captain Bags… No she wasn’t asked…. Nor did she ask…. It’s just who she is and old habits die hard!!!!!

Mike pointed out… "I never quite understood her dedication and devotion to ‘volunteering’ that started long before becoming a CDSOA member and the length of her tenure and commitment to CDSOA, Inc. I know she’s enjoyed it and it makes her happy to have shared in its successes over the year, as she’s happiest when she’s doing for others."

 

Cathy Monaghan

Catherine Monaghan didn’t sail while growing up in New Jersey. Her father had always wanted a sailboat, as had his father before him. The realization of that dream was not fulfilled though until Cathy and her husband purchased a 32-ft Cape Dory cutter (hull #3) in 1995. With its distinctive tan-bark sails, and its dalmatian boat dog, Realization stood out among all of the other boats on Raritan Bay and at the Northeast Fleet’s Rendezvous. With a berth in Morgan NJ, Cathy and Bruce sailed Realization on her local waters, rarely venturing out of Raritan Bay until 2000, when they sailed through New York Harbor and up Long Island Sound to participate in the first of many summer rendezvous of the Northeast Fleet.

Cathy’s approach to sailing, and to the selection of a Cape Dory, was to do thorough research. She took lessons on a daysailer on Spruce Run Reservoir, read countless sailing magazines and books, watched sailing videos, attended boat shows, and took increasingly challenging sailing courses. Every boat she sailed or looked at elicited the comment that it “didn’t have ........ like a Cape Dory”, so her husband narrowed their search to Cape Dorys until they found one that was perfect for them. And then Cathy improved it. Cathy researched and installed an upgraded navigation system, added GPS and radar, replaced the autohelm (which involved her crawling around under the cockpit sole), took out all of the removable wood from the saloon to varnish it (3 coats on both sides!), cut holes to increase storage and access, and pulled the shaft and installed a dripless stuffing box. During all this, she wrote about her progress (and her sailing adventures) as a frequent contributor to the Masthead.

Cathy and her husband were at the formation meeting for the Northeast Fleet and she volunteered to be its first Fleet Secretary, a post she held for 4 years, and was elected as its third Fleet Captain, serving during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. In the early years of the Fleet’s existence, Cathy organized a large portion of the Northeast Fleet’s summer events around her own sailing itinerary. She would exhaustively research ports of call that she wanted to visit, would send up an itinerary, and would include stops along the route for other CDSOA members, who couldn’t participate in the entire cruise, to ‘float in’, thus enabling them to participate in at least a portion of the cruise. Working on her own or with CDSOA members in the locales, she would also arrange for the final night’s dinner as a get-together in a restaurant or as a potluck ashore or on the largest boat. Cathy would have spent the previous winter and spring arranging for nautically themed sponsors to send her giveaway items, which she would then hand out in Captain’s Bags.

Shortly after the purchase of Realization in 1995, Cathy found both the California Cape Dory Owners Association (CCDOA) and the Lake Michigan Cape Dory Owners Association (LMCDOA) via online searches and immediately joined both.

In 1998, Cathy started working with Walt Bilofsky, who had established the CCDOA web site. Walt had added a single web page for the CDSOA and Cathy expanded it. Usage of the web site increased dramatically with the growth and expansion of the CDSOA until the original web site was largely focused on the CDSOA, its members, and their messages. In 2002, the CDSOA inherited much of the information that was originally hosted by the CCDOA and Cathy took over as the webmaster with Walt as her assistant.

Cathy continued to upgrade and update the CDSOA web site throughout the 2000s. With the help of Walt she made improvements to facilitate the message board and the Chandlery and also to provide for greater website security. She was instrumental in an upgrade which switched the old CCDOA-based site over to one totally managed by the CDSOA. When Walt Bilofsky stepped down, Bob Dugan and Ray Garcia stepped up as assistants and when Cathy’s increased sailing time (after she and her husband retired) made it impossible for her to single-handedly oversee the website it is in good hands and she remains as the official webmaster to this date.

Cathy received the Commodore’s Award in 2003 and she and her husband were awarded the Navigators Award by the CDSOA in 2007 for their voyages on Realization and as off-shore crew on other boats.

One sailor’s wife, reflecting on the amount of time her own husband spent on the CDSOA message board every evening, once asked Cathy if she knew how many men nightly went to sleep happy because of her. Given Cathy’s tireless efforts for the CDSOA and its website, many sailors, male and female alike, should be happy for many years to come.

Greg Fuquay became the newest Alberg Fellows honoree at the annual membership meeting in Pensacola, Fl on 31 October 2015.

2015 Inductee:

Greg Fuquay

On Saturday morning, April 25, 2015 one hundred and nineteen boats crossed the starting line of the 57th annual Dauphin Island Race in upper Mobile Bay. The finish line for the eighteen mile course lies just above the Dauphin Island Bridge near the mouth of the bay, and racers traditionally continue on to the anchorage behind the island for an end-of- race party and awards presentation. There would be no party this year.

At about 3 PM, as many of the boats were in the vicinity of the finish line, a violent storm hit the fleet with a force far above the forecast predictions and well above hurricane strength. Multiple “macrobursts” with vertical wind components approaching 100 mph caused numerous knockdowns and capsizes. Forty of the estimated four hundred and seventy five participating sailors ended up in the chilly waters and separated from their boats, tragically, six of them were drowned, their bodies recovered only after a massive search and rescue effort by the Coast Guard and Marine Patrols.

Three Cape Dories from the CDSOA Central Gulf Fleet were entered in the race, including the CD30B “Amazing Grace” under the command of the fleet secretary, Greg Fuquay. While most of the boats were engaged in making efforts to ensure their own survival Greg and his crew were moving beyond their own concerns. Searching for boats in distress and survivors in the water Greg and his crew threw all available life jackets and flotation devices to people he was unable to reach¸ and was able to maneuver in the estimated eight to ten foot seas and hurricane force winds to successfully pull two exhausted sailors out of the water. He is credited with saving their lives.

Greg is a relatively new Cape Dory sailor. Just two years prior to the 2015 race Greg entered the Dauphin Island race in his newly acquired CD25, and finished one boat shy of being presented with the “Perseverance Award”, given for the last boat to cross the finish line. Two years of experience have done wonders in making Greg a competent sailor who understands the oldest tradition of the sea, that no effort may be spared in bringing relief to those who find themselves in peril at sea.

For bringing credit upon himself and upon the Cape Dory Sailboat Owners Association Greg is hereby recognized by our highest honor, that of being named an Alberg Fellow.