An interview with Gaby Cumbie on the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club's recovery efforts
by David Schmidt 2 Jul 15:00 UTC
July 2, 2024
A November 2023 fire destroys the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club's clubhouse © Image courtesty of the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club
Fire! The word strikes fear into the hearts of everyone from sailors to home and business owners to forest rangers. The destruction that this element of nature can wreck can be tremendous, if not downright devastating, and while the first thought is always the preservation of life, loss of property can also create hard times.
Such, sadly, was the case at the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club (StABYC), in Panama City, Florida, which suffered a fire in mid-November 2023.
Fortunately, no one was inside the clubhouse when the blaze took hold of the building, and thankfully no injuries were reported. And while the Panama City Fire Department reportedly arrived on the scene within minutes of being dispatched, the damage to the club's facility was extensive.
The club is rebuilding, however this can sometimes be a long and involved process that can cost members valuable sailing and racing opportunities, not to mention lost opportunities to connect with friends new and old.
I checked in with Gaby Cumbie, who is a member of the StABYC and chair of the club's annual Candler Regatta, via email, to learn more about the club's post-fire recovery efforts.
Can you please start us off by describing the extent of the fire damage to the StABYC clubhouse during the November 12 fire? Also, do you know what caused this disaster?
On the night of Nov 12, 2023, at 3AM, the fire department was notified that the StABYC clubhouse was completely engulfed in flames. The club hosted the FCYC (Florida Council of Yacht Clubs) semi-annual party earlier that evening and it's believed that [an] electrical overload caused a fire to spark.
Unfortunately, the fire hydrants in front of the club house didn't have water being pumped to them so water had to be trucked in from different locations around the neighborhood.
Did the StABYC also suffer damage to its docks (if applicable), grounds, or other facilities? What about its fleet(s) of boats?
The clubhouse was a total loss. We lost all of our historical trophies, documents, and [the] heartbeat of our club.
Fortunately, due to the direction of the wind, only the clubhouse burnt down. The Sailing Center, fleet, and neighborhood were safe.
What's the StABYC's plans for rebuilding? Also—in an attempt to look on the bright side—is there any opportunity to make the new clubhouse better than the one that was lost? If so, can you please tell us about this?
Plans for a new clubhouse will be presented in an all-member meeting in July. While we mourn the loss of the original building, we are looking forward to one that is more functional, along with a new pool.
Is there a time frame for when the clubhouse will be rebuilt and fully operational again?
It will take about two years to completely rebuild once a design is approved. The building committee is intent on resurrecting the community nautical feel of our old clubhouse while updating its features and capitalizing its new functionality to serve all of its members, especially the robust sailing community.
How has the fire impacted the 2024 sailing season?
The membership of the StABYC is always looking for a silver lining. The Sailing Center escaped the fire unscathed and is now acting as the temporary clubhouse. We're able to involve members who would otherwise not be interested in sailing.
We've worked together before on interviews about the Candler Regatta—how was this event affected by the fire? Or, were you and the other organizers able to still host a solid event?
The 88th Candler regatta looked a little different this year. Unfortunately, while we were able to save part of the original trophy, it was ruined.
We hosted the event under the deck at the Sailing Center and spent most of the weekend outside. Thanks to all the hard work by our volunteers/staff, and the patients by competitors, we were able to host another amazing weekend.
What about junior sailing? Was this affected by the disaster, or will the StABYC still be able to provide junior sailing this summer?
Currently, summer sailing is under way and will run until August 3rd. We are working with other clubs to start an inter-club youth sailing program. We are doing everything we can to ramp-up our youth sailing program.
Looking back on situation now, are there any lessons or words of wisdom (or teachable moments) that can be offered to other clubs or sailing centers that suffer massive losses, be it from fire, storms, etc.? What about any smart steps that flag officers and staff can take—well ahead of any possible future disasters or losses?
There are some take away from our tragedy. A thorough documentation of our trophies would have been helpful with either replacing them or at the very least displaying pictures. Digitalizing old newspaper clippings, and historical documents would have been an advantage so that we could display them.
We have a historical committee in place who are working on tracking down any remaining documents and trophies that were not in the building from members.
Is there anything else that you'd like to add, for the record, about how a YC can recover from a major disaster and still hold successful events, including the 88th Candler Regatta?
While we lost our clubhouse, we did not lose the heartbeat of the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club, its members. It will take more than a fire to dissuade our members from coming together.
We've taken major strides to shore-up our remaining building as a temporary clubhouse. Our board of governors, volunteers, and staff pulled off the impossible to make sure that the hoist was working, race committee was prepared, and offered amazing service to our visitors.
We are looking forward to the 89th Candler Regatta in 2025.