CAZENOVIA — This summer, the Al Marshall Memorial Fund will enable eight aspiring sailors to get out on Cazenovia Lake through the Willow Bank Yacht Club (WBYC) Youth Sailing Program.
Established in honor of avid sailor and two-time WBYC Commodore Alfred Marshall, the new fund will support eight scholarships for one-week sessions of sailing lessons this summer. The same scholarships will be offered again next year, and other funds will be used to update and maintain existing junior fleet boats or to buy additional boats.
The Al Marshall Memorial Fund scholarships are open to WBYC members and non-members ages 8-17. To apply, kids must submit handwritten letters explaining why they want to take sailing lessons. Letters should include the applicant’s contact information and be mailed to Bindy Dain, 57 Chenango St., Cazenovia, NY 13035. The deadline to send letters is April 12.
“Al would love anything that gets more kids sailing,” said Marshall’s wife, Elaine, who administers the memorial fund with his sister, Bindy Dain.
Marshall passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 23, 2023, at the age of 60.
He grew up in Cazenovia and graduated from Cazenovia High School in 1980.
He went on to receive a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984.
For most of his career, Marshall worked in the radar industry, initially at Hughes/Raytheon in California on military aircraft radar and lastly at Saab in Syracuse on airport ground control radar systems.
He started sailing in the mid-1970s at WBYC, first in lessons and then in the junior fleet.
After returning home to Cazenovia as an adult, he sailed in both the WBYC Laser and Finn Fleets. He also crewed for other fleets over the years, and there wasn’t a boat at the club that he could not sail.
According to Elaine, her husband preferred sailing Finns in his later years and Lasers before that.
“He enjoyed being on the water and the camaraderie with the other sailors,” Elaine said. “He really enjoyed helping others improve their sailing knowledge and was generous with his time.”
A memorial featured in the WBYC “Scuttlebutt” following Marshall’s death highlighted the sailor’s innate ability to read the wind, his generosity with his sailing knowledge, and his humility in his victories, including his win at the last race he ever sailed at WBYC, the 2022 Preston Cup.
The memorial thanked Marshall for all the work he did to maintain the club and keep it running efficiently, and it commended him for guiding WBYC through two summers of the COVID-19 pandemic as commodore in 2020 and 2021.
“His quiet and focused leadership was a much-needed contrast to the many challenges and stresses of those years,” the memorial said.
Also acknowledged were the ten-plus years that Marshall was part of the WBYC charter of the 1932 schooner Brilliant out of Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport.
Aboard Brilliant, he and the rest of the WBYC crew won the schooner division of the Pat West Gaff Rig and Schooner Race in Martha’s Vineyard in both 2019 and 2022.
“Al was a mainstay on any Brilliant voyage and could often be found at his favorite position — the helm,” the memorial said. “He was a keen sailing tactician who effectively communicated with a gesture, nod, or a quick remark. In calm seas or the foulest of foul weather, Al was always the first to be found in the most challenging areas of the Brilliant’s formidable deck and could always be relied upon to provide helpful technical knowledge to both new and seasoned WBYC schooner sailors. He was the first crew member to assist with daily meal preparation and last one to be found in the galley cleaning up. Al’s wit and presence on the Brilliant always made everyone’s voyage brighter and he will be sorely missed in the years to come.”
Founded in 1948, WBYC is a private, family yacht club that promotes sailboat racing, sailing in general, and other water-based activities, such as swimming, kayaking, and power boating, in an active volunteer atmosphere. The club, which is located at 27 Forman St., also maintains a full calendar of organized social events.
To learn more about the WBYC 2024 sailing programs, visit willowbankyc.com/sailing-programs.
