Legendary Brothers in the New York Table and Abroad.*
Jungle Jane had introduced us to a new concept: let’s highlight past and present brothers. This is a non exhaustive list. Following this introduction is a list of articles, posts and previous entries. Many Brothers are commemorated in the “Memorials“ menu entry. This leads you to all posts related to passed Brothers.
In October 2024, Tortuga Post was published. It is usually just posted in the Chilean SECOIN website. However, the TTP#121 focused on notable brothers and should be available on the US site. Here it is!
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1. John Pflieger- the founder of the NY Brotherhood Table. He was a Belgian Brother. He owned STELLA MARIS, a 25′ gaff cutter. He sailed off in it to St. Martin but was lost at sea.
After doing a bit more diving into my files I learned more. At the earliest founding moments there were co-founders, John Pflieger and Richard Gordon McCloskey. They were both secretaries of the Slocum Society in New York. McCloskey was the editor of The Rudder magazine. He had been made an Honorary Brother when he was living in Chile where he learned about the Brotherhood. By 1960 he was not shown in the Table lists.
2.Andre Brunn- was building a replica of Slocum’s SPRAY
3. James Munro – a reporter for Rudder magazine, Scribe.
4. Jack Higgins – owner of a skipjack ketch, COASTER
5. Fred Sinon – co–owner of a 110′ schooner, VOYAGEUR, located in St. Lucia.
6. Bruce Robinson- owner of a 34′ gaff sloop
7. Edgar duPrey- ex-champagne salesman now selling dried French soup mix to restaurants.
8. Richard Duran – trans-Atlantic crossing on VERITY, 30’ cutter.
These were the 8 founders of the NY Table.
9. Reinhold Klem – Master of MOONSHINE, 24’ sloop and aspirant of a trans-Atlantic singlehanded race.
10. Hugh Byfield – owner of HALCYON, 39’ Zealand yawl, later GOUDEN DRAAK, 46’ custom Philip Rhodes ketch. Professor at Stevens Institute, NJ. His wife, Barbara, artist, and author and “sometime scribe.” wrote and illustrated the “Eating in Bed Cookbook.” As a friend of Philip Rhodes, we were able to attend a zaf at the towing tank at Stevens.
14. Jean Lacombe – 2 2/3 single-handed Atlantic crossings, HIPPOCAMPE 1956, 1960 race in 21’ GOLIF. He was the NY Table Captain briefly and then retired to France.
51. Rene Fichter – USA National Captain, ARCADIA, 37.5’ Beneteau. Rene was the one responsible for linking us to the Tables in Europe, initially the Portsmouth Table in England with his connection to Jon Eberhardt. He singlehandedly organized the first International Zaf in 1986 concurrent with the anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. He also organized an All America’s Zaf aboard “Star Flyer,” in which we cruised from St. Martin, around Haiti and back to St. Martin.
28. Scott Smith – These are excerpts from the Autumn 1992 issue of First Watch, Volume Three, Number Two.
From Rene Fichter, “Scotty was a true Brother of the Coast. A heart of gold and a dedication to all of us which is hard to equal. A kind and delicate soul, he led the New York Table with all his strength.”
From Jerry Jones, “Scotty lent real substance …and led us to understand that there was real substance and importance to the Brotherhood far beyond our expectations.”
From Il Gran Commodoro di Italia, “ …lost an important model of a Brother.”
29. Neal Small – He and his father built a replica of Joshua Slocum’s SPRAY, while they lived in Panama. He brought it to Brooklyn and it was the venue for many New Years Day Zafs, in “Dead Horse Bay”.
55. Axel Pedersen – Danish single-handed sailor in MARCO POLO, 28’ ketch from New Zealand to Denmark. Later in singlehanded Atlantic race to New York. Lived on City Island and never sailed again.
52. Wright Britton – every summer he and his wife Pat sailed in Northern waters on DELIGHT, a Sparkman & Stephens 40’ yawl. In the April 1969 issue of the National Geographic there is his article about a cruise to Iceland and Scotland. They participated in early NASA diet experiments with Tang. Wright drank it with Rum every evening. Pat did not. She got scurvy.
53. Gordon Gould – He owned WONNY LARUE a 45’ Contessa ketch that he sailed in the Caribbean and Long Island Sound. Scott Smith #28 and Axel Pedersen #55 delivered WONNY LARUE to Antigua one fall with Gordon’s Captain, Hans Hoff. (A friend of Maureen and Joe Horvath, Savannah Table.) Gordon holds the U.S. Patent for lasers 1988 after a long legal battle with Bell Telephone Laboratories. ‘Laser, The Inventor,” by Nick Taylor is the story.
59. Captain K.C. Torrens – SALEM WITCH, 38’ yawl (1939) currently owned and sailed by his daughter, Andrea Torrens #93. Was NY Port Captain for Farrell Lines and ship captain.
64. Marj Quilty – first woman to be a Brother in NY Table. Sailed SMILE, 21’ sloop, 1969.
66/67. Fred and Rosalind Slavic – co-captains of a S&S yawl which they sailed to the Mediterranean every other summer. Owned PANDA PRINTS, a major greeting card company. She was the artist, he, the printer.
87. Wen Chow- WU LING, a 45’ Harbin ketch. Documented on BOCUS.org
90. Andre Galerne – was made a Brother at the July 1986 World Zaf as a thank you and gratitude for offering and delivering his dive ship, TWIN DRILL, to New York Harbor so that Brothers could view the Tall Ships display in the Hudson River. His company International Underwater Contractors supported divers around the world. In 1980 he received the patent for a hyperbaric chamber for injured divers. He himself was a deep sea diver in the crew of Jacques Cousteau. [there’s probably more for here]
98. Olin Stephens, need we say more?
No doubt there are more to include. JJ – July 2024
Check the “Memoriams”. For the official ceremony, check the “Last Voyage” page.
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