Photo courtesy of Nancy Rosenthal - Start of
the Mumm 30 class. Our club entered 2 boats in this class and 1 boat in
the Smeralda class.
Report from the 2007 Primo Cup
Day 1 - Thursday, Arriving in Monaco
Day 2 - Friday, Racing & Karament
Day 3 - Saturday, Smeralda Christening, Jimmy'z
Day 4 - Sunday, Racing, Prize Giving, Sass Bar
Official Yacht Club de Monaco Primo
Cup Press Release
Smeralda Class Final Results
Letter from H.S.H. Prince
Albert to Commodore Fortenbaugh
Article in Riviera Times
Manhattan Sailing Club was very privileged to be invited to participate in the 2007 Primo Cup organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco. It was held February 9-11, 2007. Thirty-five members traveled to Monaco for this event.
We were greeted with great hospitality by Bernard d'Alessandri, Secretary General of YCM and his staff. Our members had lots of fun, stayed out late and created memories of a lifetime.
Photo: Most of the team gathered at the yacht club bar for an impromptu team picture with Bernard d'Alessandri in the center. Pictured are (l to r standing) David Yu, Whitney Ames, Janice Payne, Nancy Rosenthal, Pablo Opazo, Kelly Wilson, Nicholas Meer, John Fryer, Amy Elliott, Bernard d'Alessandri, Mary Ann Eddy, Karun Philip, Kent Covington, Michael Trese, John Elliott, Monica Connelly, TJ Dalton, Christophe Fresson, Debra Valenti, Doug Rhiel; (l to r sitting or kneeling) Jessica Jamieson, Laura Migliozzi, Sharon Fortenbaugh, James Sinclair, Margot de France, Frank Jouvin, Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh, Susan Schindehette, Jean Yves Noblet. Missing from the picture were: Matthew Shafer, Mary Liken Shafer, Lina Liken, Sarah Alford, Jim Walsh, Ron La Neve, Craig Kayaian & Alie Shaper.
How our club came to be invited to this prestigious regatta is a story which stretches over almost 2 decades. And the proposal to race in the regatta was just a side light which blossomed into a grand expedition.
Our tale will start in spring 2007 when a Yacht Club de Monaco yearbook arrived by mail at the Manhattan Sailing Club office. Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh had the privilege of opening the package. He leafed through this luxurious book filled with beautiful pictures and stories and came upon a page which listed the "twinned clubs" of Yacht Club de Monaco. There, among some of the greatest clubs in the world, Manhattan Yacht Club* was listed.
(*As members of long-standing will remember, our club used to be known as the "Manhattan Yacht Club." This is how Yacht Club de Monaco knew us from many years ago. In 2003, our club changed its name to "Manhattan Sailing Club" to project our more egalitarian philosophy. "Yacht clubs" by tradition have been exclusive organizations which have rules to "keep people out." Our club is an in inclusive organization which is trying to share the love of sailing with more New Yorkers. Our goal is to "bring people in." For this reason, it was decided we should change our name to "Sailing Club" in order to present a more friendly image to the public. Our club still owns the rights to use both names. When traveling to Yacht Club de Monaco, we thought it polite to adopt a "when in Rome" attitude and revert to the more formal "Manhattan Yacht Club" name. We will continue this tradition in our report.)
The privilege of being listed as a twinned clubs caused some excitement in the office. And the excitement grew when, a few pages later, we read the history of Yacht Club de Monaco. Under the year 1991, the main event was their co-organizing the "International Yacht Club Challenge" along with Manhattan Yacht Club. Two mentions in the year book!
About a month later, a letter arrive from Bernard d'Alessandri. It stated that he wished to invite representatives from all the Twinned Clubs to attend their "Annual Members Cocktail" in June which was hosted by Prince Albert. A very nice invitation.
Spring 2006 had been very busy for the club and North Cove. The marina was being dredged in April to prepare for the arrival of the Volvo Ocean Race. New docks were also being constructed for the club. Everything had to be rebuilt within a 7 day period. Adding a trip in June would be ambitious.
And so Commodore Fortenbaugh placed a telephone call to Dennis Conner, patron of North Cove. Should we go was the question. "Yes," replied Dennis. "You should go and also, stay in my villa nearby."
A
grand expedition was launched. Joining Commodore and Sharon Fortenbaugh on
this first trip to Monaco were Chuck Kerner and Martha Gallo. Chuck has
been a member of the club since the very first year, 1987.
Photo: Martha Gallo & Chuck Kerner smile at the Member's Party at Yacht Club de Monaco.
With Martha & Chuck staying at Hotel de Paris and the Fortenbaugh's in Dennis' villa, the 2 day expedition from New York to Monaco was fast paced and filled with champagne and glamour.
Starting with a black Mercedes 600 chauffeured car, first stop was the Monte Carlo Beach Club for a snack and champagne. Then on to the Member's Cocktails at Yacht Club de Monaco where all the new club members were introduced.
The Commodore got the chance to greet his old friend Bernard d'Alessandri. Bernard in turn introduced the Commodore to Prince Albert. The Prince and Commodore had met many years ago back in 1988 and they discussed this and the future. "We would like to see you more in Monaco," said the Prince.
After
the reception ended at Yacht Club de Monaco, the party continued on one of the
nearby mega-yachts named "Baby Doll." Bernard brought us onboard and the
New York representatives passed away some time nibbling on the exotic foods and
sipping champagne while the harbor was illuminated with many yachts of members.
Photo: Martha Gallo & Sharon Fortenbaugh are seated in the plush banquet on top of the 150 foot mega yacht while Commodore Fortenbaugh smiles for the picture.
Dinner was at Sass Cafe outside the Piano Bar. This completed a whirlwind day of travel, meeting the Prince and other excitement.
Before departing to Monaco, Dennis Conner had sent a message to the Commodore saying, "Be sure to visit Antibes." And so on the next morning, the car drove all 4 to Antibes which is a beautiful seaside town with some of the world's greatest mega yachts tied up in the port. Lunch with rose wine filled with Provence sun set a European tone.
Then it was off to the port to see the thousands of boats. First the mega yachts including several in the 300 foot range.
Off
in the distance, a specific style of boat caught the Commodore's eye. All
traveled around the marina to the other side and were rewarded by seeing three
12-Meters, 1 in the water and 2 out on the hard. From this direction of
Dennis and happenstance of seeing the 12s was to grow the idea of a club
flagship just as Yacht Club de Monaco has Tuiga.
Photo: Sharon & Commodore along with Martha stand in front of a 12-Meter while Chuck snaps the picture. Inspired by this June day in Antibes, our club has acquired 12-Meter "America II" as our flagship.
From Antibes it was on to more fine dining in Monaco for a second glorious night before flying home the following day.
So ended our reintroduction to Monaco after the club's first trip there in 1991.
From these new connections, some email was exchanged. At some point over the next month or two, it was suggested that perhaps Manhattan Sailing Club would like to enter a boat in the 2007 Primo Cup, one of the big annual regattas organized by Yacht Club de Monaco. Commodore Fortenbaugh proposed this idea to club members and the response was very enthusiastic. Over the course of the summer, details of the regatta were posted on our website and we began to list those members interested in the trip. This list quickly grew to more than 30 people.
Yacht Club de Monaco was keeping an eye on our website so they saw the initial interest. Therefore, they proposed to assist our club in finding some race boats. We selected to participate in the Mumm 30 class which was considered the most competitive. Two Mumm 30s were found. Yacht Club de Monaco also proposed that we race their club's newly restored Smeralda class boat.
As Yacht Club de Monaco offered such great assistance over the course of the fall, our club suggested that a representative of Yacht Club de Monaco join us for our Caribbean Regatta. Franck Jouvin of Yacht Club de Monaco was selected. He flew to the British Virgin islands and sailed aboard Rear Commodore John LaGrassa's boat along with Principle Race Officer Jean Yves Noblet. But this is a whole different story which will be told elsewhere.
In the end, 35 members of the Manhattan Sailing Club traveled to Yacht Club de Monaco to participate in the 2007 Primo Cup. It was a great experience and these pages will tell the story through text and images. Enjoy!
Photo: During the Member's Cocktails in June 2006, H.S.H. Prince Albert of Monaco presents Commodore and Sharon Fortenbaugh with a plaque to commemorate their club's twinned status. It was a great honor for Manhattan Sailing club and this event led to our club's participation in the 2007 Primo Cup.