Dave Racine: Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association's mainstay
Dave Racine was instantly attracted to the Lightning Class of boat racing when he took up sailing in 1967.
“They're the finest boats in the water,” he said from the Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association’s back deck in late August. “I had been into power boats my whole life, but I just got hooked immediately.”
For the better part of 50 years, Racine has been a member of the association, joining with his wife Kitty the same summer he took up sailing. The non-profit sailing club opening its doors in 1963.
“I've been here almost as long as anybody. I'm mighty close to one of the originals,” he said with a big smile on his face. “I'm certainly the most active of the older ones.”
Racine has been a fixture of the club since joining. On most days during the summer, and nearly as often through the fall and winter, Racine can be found on the grounds of the association's bayside home just south of Dewey Beach.
“This club has been my second home every since we joined,” he said.
Walking the premises with the man is like being with the local wise man. On the day of the interview he was answering the phone because most of the summer staff had gone back to school; gave a quick tutorial to some people who were rented a Hobie catamaran; logged in visitors; and was generally moving for the entire hour and 15 minutes.
“I'm here an awful lot,” he said without hint irony in his voice. “Probably more than most of the people who work here.”
Racine has three boats at the club – a Sunfish, a Lightning and a Catalina. The week prior to the interview his son was in town from Cleveland with his family and they spent everyday sailing. Racine was proud to point out that his Catalina was the one with its blue sail uncovered. It was a badge of honor.
Sailing and racing sailboats has always been a way for the Racine family to connect. The couple took the kids racing in the Lighting Class winter circuit down in Georgia and Florida every spring.
The kids would get taken out of school for two weeks in March, Racine said, and we'd race all over the southern circuit.
“It's something we'd get in trouble for now, but it was something good that the whole family could do together,” he said. “Those are truly the best sailors. It's people who are in the industry – boat builders, instructors.”
Ask Racine the meaning behind the name of his 25-foot Catalina sailboat, Recall, and he smiles.
It's his wife's nickname, he said, explaining that Kitty didn't like racing, but she was always involved with the racing committees of the different events the family would enter. As part of her duties, Kitty would be in the boat at the starting line making sure that nobody got ahead of where they were supposed to be.
“She wouldn't single out one boat, she'd recall the whole fleet,” he said. “She was known for it.”
Racine's wife died in 2004, but the couple enjoyed nearly four decades of sailing together.
“My wife was not a racer, but she sure was a sailor,” he said.
Much of Racine's energy has been put into the sailing club since then. He said knows the club's amenities aren't as nice as other clubs' (there's no pool and the tennis courts, which are now storing boats and trailers, are cracked with grass growing), but he's proud that his club's focus is still on sailing.
Other clubs in the area have lost that focus, he said, and a lot their members don't even sail..
There's this big beautiful building with nice hardwood floors that are kept well varnished, Racine said of the Rehoboth Bay's clubhouse, but if a person comes in with their bathing suit on it doesn't matter.
“We just get the squeegee out,” he said laughing. “I think we've got the best deal going if you're interested in sailing. I think we're doing pretty well, but it's definitely for people who are interested in sailing.”
Racine said one of the club's biggest advantages is the Rehoboth Bay. It's one of the deepest bays on the East Coast, there's almost always a wind and there are no real waves.
“It's really a very nice place to sail,” he said.
