In 1899 Moriches Yacht Club began as a sailboat-racing club, meeting in summer months only. The first clubhouse was located in a small building on the shore of one of the club member’s homes. Moriches yacht Club was officially incorporated in 1902, and Dr. William Carr was the first Commodore. Located on the East End Long Island, New York, located on Moriches Bay one hundred and twenty-one years later Moriches Yacht club is a club that is rooted in tradition with Sailing being an integral part of the yacht clubs legacy. Moriches Yacht club is the proud home of fleet #10 that hosts local club races throughout the year with at least eight to ten Flying Scots on the starting line at any given Sunday. This year due to Covid 19 many sailors were scrambling to think of creative ways to continue the excitement of sailing! Giving sailing opportunities to our younger generations is a way to keep the sport of Flying Scot racing alive and teaching the valuable “on the water lessons” to our younger sailors. This year with the help of our club officers Fleet #10 decided to conduct the summer racing season safely in conjunction with the department of health guidelines for all participates by having family members sailing together and calling the teams “Quaran-Teams”. 

    Racing gained so much excitement and momentum over the summer it paved the way for Moriches Yacht Club to host its annual Paul Runyan Memorial Fall series and John Sprague Memorial Regatta (both men were avid Flying Scot Sailors). Long Island is the home of many yacht clubs, Moriches sent out an open invitation to any club that wanted to participate in our five-week fall series, although we were never able to open the club doors. The interest was incredible with 3 different yacht clubs, and 16 boats, the Sundays were full of excitement, especially at the mark roundings! It takes so many different components to run a successful five- week series from the volunteer dedication of the sailing chairmen, race committee, safety boats, awards coordinator, race judges, club member support, official scorer, photographer, and of course the sailors. Conditions ranged from light variable winds to heavy winds, the competition was fierce but the sailors showed the utmost respect to sportsmanship. 

This type of season is an example of how versatile the Flying Scot sailboat can be; from teaching juniors and families how to sail and race, to highly competitive racing. What a privilege it is to be part of the Flying Scot family and a Moriches Yacht Club sailor. Come visit us and join the fun! Moriches Yacht Club would like to keep this momentum going; we need as a sailing family to come together for the future of the fleet!  Moriches is looking toward the future and is planning on hosting more regattas and opening our waters to more sailors. Looking forward to a bright 2021 sailing year!