We welcome in the New Year with a new Commodore at the helm of New Orleans Yacht Club.  Steve Klyce will be the man in charge of NOYC for 2002.  Commodore Klyce has been very active with our club and members since he brought his big Tartan to the lake in 1993.  Steve is a great leader and plans to build on all of the good things that the past leaderships have accomplished.  I recently had time for a one-on-one with the commodore and here is how it went:

NOYC.org: How did you get started sailing?

Commodore: My Dad had a love of sailing—as an orphan he never had any money, but he rigged leeboards and a sail on an old cargo canoe and sailed all over Portsmouth (NH) harbor to fulfill his needs. When he had kids, he and I built a wooden “Turnabout” skiff for lake sailing in Massachusetts. We managed to sink it on its maiden voyage when the bow submarined in a gust. I guess that’s how it got its name. But we managed to salvage it, and campaigned it for a year with some success against the huge fleet of maybe 8 other Turnabouts on the lake. Sensing my enthusiasm, the following year he bought me a Sunfish, which at that time sold new for $200. I was hooked. Eight years old (and considerably lighter than I am now), I don’t remember losing a race with that boat. And I sold it a few years later for $225, the only time in my life when I ever made a profit on anything.

NOYC.org: When did you join NOYC and what attracted you to the club?

Commodore: I joined NOYC in 1993 when we delivered our Tartan 4600, Dom Perignon in from Palm Beach. Prior to that time (I moved to New Orleans in 1979) I crewed on a number of local boats, almost always ending up at NOYC after races. NOYC seems like an extended family, and the shared depth of knowledge and love of sailing is everywhere.

NOYC.org: You have just been elected as commodore of the finest sailing organization in the world, how do you feel?

Commodore: Surprised!  I heard that unopposed guy was running pretty well in the polls…but I trumped him with a few open bar tabs at happy hour prior to the election.

NOYC.org: What is your vision for NOYC?

Commodore: I think there is opportunity for growth, for providing more services to the members, and I would encourage all members to provide input on our future. I think our greatest strength is our core sailing talent and our ability for teamwork. We have quite a few really dedicated members who selflessly donate their time to Race Committee and other essentials of the club, like Mike Howell‘s program last year to rebuild the entire collection of fixed NOYC racing buoys; we need to be sure these people receive the proper support from the rest of us. At the same time, we need to limit boundless enthusiasm to be sure the resources necessary can be provided. I would like to challenge the board to identify areas of weakness and being proactive in finding solutions to correct these. I would like to see more interclub activities and we have already made some progress in this area. We will see this next year some new races sponsored by 3 or more of the local clubs. One of the outgrowths of this cooperative effort will be a 3 event skipperette of the year series with one regatta each hosted by NOYC, CSA, and SYC counting toward the overall score. We’ve got some talented skipperettes, and it’s time they were given such a challenge and opportunity at the local level. We want to communicate with the members more efficiently, often, and yet unobtrusively, so they will know what events are going on to encourage more participation and to open up any “club within the club.” I would like all members to feel they have the equal opportunity to represent the club in interclub racing events, and with the generous help of Richard Sackett, the Flying Scots have been all commissioned and are ready to be signed out by any member to improve their skills. I have a very positive outlook for the future of NOYC and look forward to sharing this excitement with the board and the membership.

NOYC.org: Do you have a two year or five year master plan to get us there and what are some of the goals that this plan and vision include?

Commodore: I’ve been working very hard on the 500 year plan for NOYC; I delegate the small stuff to others.

NOYC.org: You have a long history at NOYC and have made some incredible friendships, tell us about your favorites?

Commodore: This is tough to answer as there isn’t enough space here to list all the special folks who have helped me over the years, but I will mention a few who have passed. We all will miss [former NOYC Commodore] Ben Fontaine immensely. He epitomizes in my mind the ultimate sportsman and the ultimate gentleman. He gave far more to us and to society than he ever expected to receive. Also, there will always be a special place in my heart for Pee Wee Sheldon. Cantankerous, gentle, warm, gleeful, stubborn, generous, selfless, heart of gold. His shepherding of NOYC1 on race days was nothing short of remarkable.

NOYC.org: Steve, you are one of the smartest guys that I know. What is it that you do for a living?

Commodore: I usually tell wise guys like you that I’m head of the janitorial staff at LSU Health Sciences Center. In reality, I’m a closet vision scientist. I told my Mom last year, but I don’t think the rest of the world is ready for the truth yet.

NOYC.org: I see that you still wear glasses; why haven’t you had LASIK surgery performed by [wife] Marguerite yet?

Commodore: Oh, does she do that? Who knew? Actually, I wear power specs. Goes with my  “scientist” image.

NOYC.org: I’ve had the pleasure of sailing with you on a half dozen occasions and some of the things that come to mind that may describe your sailing personality are:  More text book than seat of the pants, very technical quite handy with a GPS, diplomatic, great leader, classy, and considerate.  How would you describe your sailing personality?

Commodore: You’d make a lousy teacher. You’re supposed to ask a question here, not give the answer.

NOYC.org: Is there anyone that comes to mind that helped mentor you along the way to make you a better sailor?

Commodore: I never had the opportunity for organized instruction and I guess it shows, but I learn from every race and from every talent on board. The last decade (I’ve been sailing for 5 decades now), I’ve learned a lot from Robert Brennan and Benz Faget. Robert taught me focus; Benz to use all my senses, to never give up, and to blame anything or anyone else when you’re behind!

NOYC.org: You have quite a boat in that Dom Perignon Tartan 4600 of yours; how and why did you pick it?

Commodore:  My wife thought we should have a boat with at least two heads; my plan was to move up from the Sunfish. DP was the smallest thing I could find with 2 fixed heads.

NOYC.org:  If you had an opportunity to buy a whole new set of sails, what brand would you buy and why?

Commodore:  That’s pretty easy. There are a great bunch of sail makers in our area, but I would go with North Sails. Now that they bought the Sobstad patents on the 3DL technology, no more worries about penalties to the customers. Still the technology for sails is a work in progress, and no one in my crowd likes to buy a new suit of sails every year for buoy races. My latest secret weapon is the North Marathon 3DL mainsail. Liquid crystal polymer fibers for no stretch strength meshed inside high content titanium dioxide film for UV protection. (Yikes this guy is a scientist!…that’s the text book stuff I was talking about) Tested successfully in the longer distance 6,000 or so nm races, so perhaps this one will hold up for a few years of the lake and gulf racing we do on Dom Perignon.

NOYC.org:  Would you ever wear a bikini like Rudy’s?

Commodore:  I was given a codpiece to wear in the Aegean last year. I didn’t wear that either.

NOYC.org: Who will win the America’s cup?

Commodore: I still like New Zealand’s program. A lot of talent that was bought off just made room for even better talent standing in the wings. The U.S. needs to consolidate if they’re ever going to come back.

NOYC.org: Who do you consider the top five sailors at NOYC are and why? 

Commodore: Holly Collins-Casanova for her Sloppy Joe’s, Jeff Hampton for his impeccable hair, Lou Lambou for his patented barbecued oysters, Rudy Brunken for his outerwear, and you for your unbridled and yet to be censored articles on the web!

NOYC.org: What do you consider your biggest sailing accomplishment?

Commodore: Winning the LPRC spinnaker division and not performing an illegal act when the red jacket was given to another boat with far more points. A close second was not falling off Zephyr in the Verve Cup this year.

NOYC.org:  Can you commit to NOYC’s 2002 Challenge Cup team yet?

Commodore:  My agent will definitely make my boat and me eligible for the draft, and will sail if selected.

NOYC.org:  Steve, thanks for making time for noyc.org any closing comments?

Commodore: Yah. Don’t you have anything better to do?

- Steinkamp