Yachtsmen’s Fund History Highlight – Fall 2018

Dr. Matthew Dubois, Vice President

In keeping with the upcoming 100th Anniversary of the Yachtsman’s Fund, over the next year, I will be
highlighting some of the interesting and important moments in I-LYA from the past 100 years, and some of the interesting characters and achievements that have happened along the way that the Yachtsman’s Fund has been instrumental in making happen.

This month, I was asked by other members of the Fund board to tell the story of what for me personally has been a high point in my own personal life. 13 years ago, my youngest daughter, Ellen, began her junior sailing career as a member of the Grosse Ile Yacht Club junior sailing team. Of course, this also included an annual trek to Put-In-Bay for Junior Bay Week, where she got to meet and sail with and against other junior ailors from all parts of ILYA. Among the other sailors she competed against was a young man from North Cape Yacht Club named Luke Gossman, part of a very active sailing family at NCYC. We heard through the junior sailors grapevine that Ellen and Luke “liked” each other, but we passed it off as just kids being kids.

Well, we couldn’t have been more wrong, as last August, Ellen Dubois and Luke Gossman joined together two prominent I-LYA families, by becoming husband and wife. Both still are sailing, Ellen with mom and dad on their family’s X-3/4 Tonner , Racer X, at Grosse Ile YC, and Luke on the family Henderson 30, Mojito, at NCYC, but I’m sure a boat of their own is not too far off. We will have lost a crew, but have gained an awesome son in law!

And this is not the first time that love has blossomed at Junior Bay Week. In the 90’s another young sailor from NCYC, Skip Dieball, met a young lady from Ford YC named Laurie Synowiec at Junior Bay Week, and Skip and Laurie now have three junior sailors of their own, with oldest daughter Meghan sailing in the US Sailing Junior Nationals the last two years.

These love stories were able to happen thanks to the support of the Inter-Lake Yachtsman’s Fund, who makes Junior Bay Week possible with their financial support, which allows love to blossom! Who’d have known?? These are just two stories, but there may be others. If so, please drop me a note and I’ll include them in an upcoming highlight!