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A New Blackaller Buoy!
On Sunday, December 5, Lisa Blackaller Williams cracked a bottle of champagne on the side of a new, and much larger, YRA buoy #16, named after her father Tom Blackaller, two-time Star Class World Champion, three-time America’s Cup competitor and world-renowned sailor. The ceremony on the StFYC guest docks was kicked off by Commodore Bill Dana, followed by a series of toasts and roasts by former crewmates, including Ron Young, Ken & Kerry Keefe, S/C Sean Svendsen, Ted Eden, Robin Moseley O’Connell, Fred Krauss, S/C Bruce & Lynne Munro, Tom Ducharme, Russ Silvestri, Tad Lacey, Tony Chargin and Scott Easom. Scott also donated his time to paint and equip the new buoy with heavy ground tackle, repaint and repurpose the old buoy as the Anita Rock offset, and re-anchor both buoys. Under the guidance of the St. Francis Sailing Foundation, The Thomas D. Blackaller Jr. Buoy Fund purchased the original 1989 buoy and this super-sized replacement. Event Toastmaster Ron Young announced that the ceremony, and a Zoom call featuring many of Tom’s famous competitors, will be edited into a special Wednesday Yachting Luncheon in early 2022. The buoy restoration project was the brainchild of two-time StFYC Sailor of the Year Bruce Stone, who commented: “Especially with our aging eyes, we hope to make it a little easier to spot the Bay’s most famous weather mark and hopefully not overstand it.”
