Execs, Sailors Share Mindset

Sailboat races start into the wind.

It’s the mark of a sport that demands a certain resolve, the desire to press into uncertainty and adapt to what ever may come. All a sailboat skipper really has is experience, guts and hopefully, a good crew.

They’re like CEOs in funny hats.

It’s natural then that so many high-achievement professionals are drawn to sailboats, whether for the reward of competitive sailing or the release of recreational cruising. Either way, said Fayetteville skipper Michael Green, most eventually find their mindset becomes less about “getting somewhere.”

“If you want to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B,’ then you want a powerboat,” Green said. “Sailing is about the journey.”

Green, who sold Green Anderson Engineers Inc. in 2004 and semi-retired at age 59, is a former Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce chairman (1998) and city director (1988-1992). He’s a 27-year veteran of inland and ocean sailing, and although tallying sailboats in landlocked Arkansas is like counting chickens in Boca Raton, Green said there are more sailors in the Midwest than some might think.

Beaver Lake Sailing Club south of Garfield boasts about 100 members. It has a private marina with five docks on Beaver Lake and a new 1,800-SF clubhouse on 15 acres in Molder Hollow.

The 86 docked vessels in the BLSC fleet range from 12-foot catamarans to big cruisers like “Footprints,” Green’s Catalina 38 (38-footer).

The boats can cost from $3,500 to more than $200,000 each, although Green said the average sailboat on Beaver Lake is probably in the 27- to 30-foot range. Those typically sell from $10,000 to $25,000 used, or $30,000 to $50,000 new, he said.

The Grande Maumelle Sailing Club in Little Rock is the state’s oldest and largest sailing club at roughly twice BLSC’s size (see PDF chart). Including the most organized and serious sailing clubs in a 250-mile radius of Northwest Arkansas, it’s easy to identify more than 1,000 sailing enthusiasts. But that doesn’t even begin to count the smatterings of independent sailboats clumped at public marinas across the region.

Most clubs in the region were either founded, or saw their greatest growth, during the 1970s and early 1980s. Sally Helme, publisher of Cruising World and Sailing World magazines in Middletown, R.I., said that’s no coincidence.

“There was a big sailing boom in the 1970s because of the gas crisis in America,” Helme said. “The gas crunch was significant as fuel prices went through the roof. Consumers got freaked out. About the same time, sailboat manufacturers became able to mass-market high volumes of sailboats thanks to fiberglass, which brought costs down.

“Boaters started looking at sailing as a different option, and companies like O’Day Corp., Pearson Yachts and Cal Sailboats came out with a lot of very attractive cruising sailboat models in the 25- to 30-foot ranges.”

Green had an O’Day 30 back in the day. He got hooked on sailing in 1979 after a Florida excursion and has owned, bought and sold nine various boats since then.

Sales of Sails

Tracking sailing-related commerce locally or even regionally is virtually impossible. None of the large boat dealers in Northwest Arkansas even carry sailboat parts, much less new or used vessels.

BLSC members said they usually travel to Stockton, Mo., or Grand Lake in Oklahoma, to buy new boats.

There are often several used sailboats for sale at area marinas, but apparently the only place in all of Arkansas to buy new sailboats is through Claas Sailing Center in Little Rock.

Claas is a certified J/Boats Inc. sailboat dealer, used boat broker, and parts and servicing shop. Nicole Claas, the firm’s owner, said her father, Jon Claas, used to sell as many as 20 units per year in decades past. Those numbers have slowed down, but there’s surging interest in certain types of sailing craft.

Claas said J/Boats in particular has targeted Baby Boomers with models that are “easier to handle with one sailor.”

“That way a grandparent, for instance, can sail with grandkids and manage the boat by his or herself and not have to expect the grandkids to do much,” Claas said.

Most of her clients are interested in the 30- to 38-foot range, Claas said. J/Boats models range from $30,000 for the J22 to more than $1.5 million for the maker’s J65 flagship.

Regardless of where big-ticket boats are purchased, or even whether they’re sail or motorboats, there are some tax considerations.

Any boats that contain both a galley (kitchen) and a head (bathroom) can be declared a second residence, per the Internal Revenue Service tax code. Any interest expense on a second residence is deductible, even if it’s on wheels or water.

Also, according to the Arkansas Boating Laws and Responsibilities Handbook, boats may be registered with the U.S. Coast Guard instead of the state. The Coast Guard, which requires a boat length of 27.5 feet for registry, does not have any sales tax. The state of Arkansas does.

Even if an Arkansas boat is Coast Guard registered, however, it’s still subject to personal property tax.

Racing

Jay Havens, BLSC’s commodore, co-owns “Wind Charmer,” a Catalina 30, with longtime girlfriend Lesa McKinnie. He is an area manager for Gap Inc. in Fayetteville. She is an airplane safety attendant for the International Division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville.

Havens grew up in a sailing family and has been a perennial contender for the Arkansas Cup, the BLSC’s three-stage special race series that stretches from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

McKinnie, who said sailing is “just good for your soul,” has learned how to race from Havens but still favors the relaxation of simply cruising. The duo spent every weekend but two last year sailing.

“There is just something about going through the water with no mechanical propulsion, and the only thing you can hear is water, the wind and sails ruffling,” Havens said. “It’s being able to feel every sense telling you what to do next. Even though it’s the most work you’ll ever do to go so slow, it’s a thrill for a sailor to get to 7 to 8 knots (8.1 to 9.2 miles per hour).”

Unlike in the famed America’s Cup, where 15 crewman each handle one specialty on a 60-foot yacht, local racers like Havens and McKinnie will tackle all the sail trimming and tacking themselves or maybe catch a volunteer crewman for the day. They finished fourth Sept. 16 in the 2006 NEBCO Regatta at Beaver Lake (see results, p. 12).

The start of sail races is the most frenetic, with a couple dozen boats jockeying for tight positions at the starting line. The vessels are individually timed, and the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet scoring system is employed to “correct” for their differing sizes and shapes.

“Basically, you’re racing around buoys against yourself,” Havens said. “You’re handicapped to make it fair, and so for instance in our boat we have to give some others 10 to 15 minutes in an hour race.”

Cruising

Greg House, CEO of Houses Inc. in Fayetteville, has one of the most bodacious boats of any kind on Beaver Lake. The real estate developer’s Hunter 38 sailing cruiser would retail new for more than $200,000.

He got a deal on the 1998 model, snagging Hunter’s advertising campaign boat for something in the $170,000-range. “The House Boat” features every amenity from central heat and air, to a generator and a battery inverter, an electric main sail winch, a walk-through transom, a complete galley with refrigeration, microwave, a propane oven and stove, running hot water, and two showers.

“I’m more of a cruiser than a racer,” House said. “I like going slow. It makes you forget the pace of the work week.”

House has 30 years sailing experience. Like both Green and Havens, he has also done plenty of saltwater sailing.

He spent a year right out of high school in Hawaii sailing all over the Pacific Ocean on a Ketch 51. And later honed his skills during a five-year stint sailing around the San Francisco Bay, where House said “currents from tidal shifts, fog and shipping traffic make sailing death defying.”

“If you want to know what it’s like to open ocean-sail,” House said, “put on all your foul weather gear, get in the shower, turn the cold faucet on as hard as it will go and start tearing up $100 bills.”

Green said he frequently enjoys chartering 38-foot bare boats (no crew) in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. That can run $2,000 per week, but for a family of four or six’s lodging and travel, you can take in islands all the way to St. Martin and St. Barts.

Beginners for sure want to stick to fresh water sailing though. House said BLSC members often need crew and don’t mind letting enthusiastic newbies come on board to learn. The best way to get started, he said, is to pick up a beginner’s book and start learning some of the lingo. The BLSC can also be contacted online.

“The sailing community is very welcoming of new people,” House said. “People usually either love sailing, or they hate it, and there’s no substitute for getting out there and trying.”

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