The Early Days 

Miramar was founded in 1932 when an ardent group of young men began what they called the Miramar Boat and Canoe Club on the north shore of Sheepshead Bay. In 1944, Miramar was incorporated and reorganized as a cooperative yacht club, taking the name Miramar Yacht Club. By then, the club had day sailors, cruising boats (Division 1), power boats and, of course, canoes. Come 1969, Miramar acquired and moved into its current facility, 3050 Emmons Avenue, and today has a fleet comprised of Ensigns (the largest class of full keel sailboats in North America), Division 1, and Ready Boats (Miramar’s Ready Boat program is an opportunity for non-boat-owning members who are certified by the club to take club-owned sailboats for day sails by themselves, thus giving the member a taste of what it would be like to own and take care of one).

Diversity 

One of the more unique attributes about Miramar, according to Commodore Nasim Shamailov, and what makes the club stand out from its counterparts is its diversity. 

In the early days, the membership of boating clubs in the area, like the membership of many voluntary associations, was relatively homogenous. People of various ethnic and religious groups formed associations for themselves. 

Miramar’s founders were Jewish and thus excluded from membership in non-Jewish boating clubs. While that kind of segregation has eased in the years since the club’s inception back in 1932, Miramar was, from the beginning, a haven for sailors of every ethnicity and race.

“We welcome everyone that has the same passion for the water and sailing as we do,” said David Shin, past commodore, adding, “We promote sailing to our community without discrimination.”

Shamailov pointed out that Miramar was also the first club to have a female commodore back in 1992 — and an African American commodore 10 years prior. 

Connecting with a Younger Demographic  

Currently, the club has approximately 110 members, which Shamailov said is a good number and sustainable, though it is gradually trending upward, he noted.

Demographically, 60 percent of Miramar’s members are male, and the mean age, which was around 60 some four years ago, Shamailov said, today, is in the mid-40s.

“The average age is trending downward simply because more people are interested in sailing these days,” he explained. “Our youngest member is actually 23.”

Barbara Banchik, who has been with Miramar since 1959 and was the club’s first female commodore more than 30 years ago, said that the influx of younger people wanting to join has been happening more as of late — “and it’s been wonderful.”

“After Covid, people wanted to get out and do something, and this is just a great place to go and relax and get away from it all,” Banchik noted. 

“We are also getting a lot of younger people with children as members,” Shin explained, “and we have been talking to parents about teaching their kids — the next generation — about the joys and the excitement of sailing.” 

Miramar recently partnered with Brooklyn Boatworks, a nonprofit organization based in DUMBO that provides hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education for children via the construction of wooden sailboats.

The end game, according to Shin, is to instruct and excite them about sailing and the maritime industry. Students work from blueprints, using marine tools and materials. They were also responsible for every aspect of the boat-building process.

“We are in talks with colleges as well — specifically Kingsborough and Brooklyn College — to try and open up sailing in Brooklyn for those in school,” Shin said. “And that would bring the demographic down even more.” 

Benjamin Stern, 38, one of the club’s newer and younger members, grew up sailing in Southeastern Connecticut — “a pretty enthusiastic sailing community,” he said. 

Today, he resides in Brooklyn and has been a member of Miramar since 2021.

“I’ve always enjoyed sailing ever since I can remember,” Stern explained, who described Brooklyn as “a gem, with ideal wind conditions.”  

He also noted that he is seeing more young people interested in joining boat/yacht clubs these days.

“I believe Covid was responsible for a spike in applicants — especially younger applicants,” Stern said.  

The Brooklyn Waterfront

George Farkas, a Miramar member and attorney who joined the club in 1995 but has been sailing since 1982, pointed out that the Brooklyn waterfront — especially Sheepshead Bay — is unique because “it’s located in an absolutely perfect and ideal point of embarkation.”

Banchik added that “it’s a beautiful place to sail, as there is always wind. You don’t even need a motor.” 

Shamailov said that the Brooklyn waterfront is special due to its proximity.

“Sheepshead Bay is a great location and is unique because it’s so close to everything,” he noted. “If you need access to the city, it’s right here; you want restaurants? They are right here as well.”

“We can also sail over to Staten Island and to New Jersey in just a few hours,” Shin said. “Where we are is a great hub.” 

Why sail?

“The world is going crazy today, but when you are sailing, the only thing you care about is the boat and being on the water,” Shamailov said. “And that’s beautiful.” 

He added that sailing also keeps you sharp physically and mentally — “and I truly believe that being an active sailor and active club member makes you feel younger.” 

“The appeal of sailing is a visceral thing as well as physical — there really is nothing like it,” Farkas said. “It provides a setting for the relief of all pressures.”   

Leon Paley, who has been a Miramar member since 1992, explained that the beauty of sailing and getting someone out on the water is “infectious.”

“It’s a peaceful, quiet environment,” he said.

When asked if sailing has changed at all in the last 30 or more years, Farkas reflected on a time when anyone calling himself a commodore had his nose up in the air.

“The ‘stuffiness’ associated traditionally with ‘yacht clubs’ is very passé now,” Farkas said.  “And no one is associating our club with, kind of, this elitist image … we’re down to earth about sailing.”

Shin added that there was once a preconception about yacht clubs and sailing as being something that only rich and “snooty” people do. 

“But I believe Miramar and numerous other clubs in Brooklyn have changed that idea,” he said. “Boat technology has made more vessels available, and the Brooklyn waterfront is rich with boating opportunities.”