SHEEPSHEAD BAY — Miramar Yacht Club, one of the oldest and most active boat clubs in all of Brooklyn, held its annual Commodores’ Ball — an end-of-season event acknowledging its members and celebrating its racing champions — the evening of Nov. 9.

Held in Miramar’s spacious ballroom overlooking the water, the soiree accommodated nearly 100 people. Past Commodore David Shin and club member Victoria Tron were honored with service awards. Racing awards went to Andrew Shabalin, winner of the Summer Series, Miramar Trophy Regatta, Kossman Regatta and Fall Series; Rich Lubell, Miramar’s race committee chair, snared the Lobel Regatta; and Felix Pustylnik came away with the Romer Light Regatta. 

Vice Commodore Josh Reder spoke to the Brooklyn Eagle and reflected on this past sailing season. 

“We had a great season this past spring,” Reder said.  “There was a lot of good wind and fantastic races. In addition, several new members have signed up for our Ready Boat Program.” Ready Boats provide an option for non-boat-owning members to sail without having to purchase a boat.

Reder pointed out that goals for next spring include further promotion of Brooklyn Boatworks. Miramar partnered with DUMBO-based nonprofit organization Brooklyn Boatworks that provides hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education for children via the construction of wooden sailboats.

“We also are still on a quest for more younger members,” Reder added. “Without them, clubs like these would fade away. You’d see six- and 12-story apartment houses in their place, and you would lose all the sailing in the bay and these great waterfronts that we have here in Brooklyn.”

Past Commodore David Shin noted that plans for the 2025 sailing season include “a very large race that will include 150 boats.”

“We are talking to all the interbay commodores; in addition to Miramar, clubs in Sheepshead Bay, Rockaway, New Jersey and Staten Island. The date is expected to be sometime in early summer.” Shin said.

Shin also said that Miramar is still targeting younger people, as well: “We want to show the younger population that our club is affordable and accessible.”  

Daniel Wong and Ava Mandeville, both 38, joined Miramar in 2021 because it was so   welcoming and open, Mandeville said. “I just liked the people I met. It’s not your usual yacht club crowd. And that was the selling point for me.” 

Miramar member and attorney Robert Howe has been with the club for close to 20 years.

“There is a lot of wisdom in this club,” Howe said.  “Many folks that have decades of sailing and life experience here, but it’s also the friendship, which is even more significant than the sailing aspect.” 

Miramar was founded in 1932 when an ardent group of young men founded 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 canoes.

In 1969, Miramar acquired and moved into its current facility, 3050 Emmons Avenue, and today has a fleet 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.