Mutineer Class Association
Timeline

1974

At the 1974 Mutineer National Championship held in Wamplers Lake, MI, Al Smith was elected Commodore of the MCA.  Vern Umstead was elected Secretary.  This is the first MCA board that we have evidence of and probably is the first.


1976

Rules Committee Chairman – Jerry Meach


1977

Commodore – Bob Levin, St. Louis, MO

Vice-Commodore – Ron Miller, Charlotte, NC

Secretary/Treasurer – Phil Holland, St. Louis, MO

Rules Committee Chairman – Al Smith, Livonia, MI

Rules Committee Member – Stacy Eagle, Ann Arbor, MI

Rules Committee Member – Jeff Gerwitz, Auburn Heights, MI


1978

Commodore – Phil Holland, St Louis, MO

Vice-Commodore – Ernie French, Kearney, NE

Secretary/Treasurer – Terry Berner, St. Louis, MO

Rules Committee Chairman – Al Smith, Livonia, MI

Rules Committee Member – Stacy Eagle, Ann Arbor, MI

Rules Committee Member – Jeff Gerwitz, Auburn Heights, MI

The CannonBall was selected as a temporary name for the class newsletter.  Ideas for a permanant name were to be sent to Ernie French. 

The cost for a Fleet to join the MCA in 1978 - $2.00.


1979

Commodore – Ernie French, Ord, NE

Vice-Commodore – Doane Baily, Sharpsville, PA

Secretary/Treasurer –

Rules Committee Chairman – Bill French, Ord, NE


1980

Commodore – Doane Baily, Sharpsville, PA

Vice-Commodore – Ed Lamb, Kearnney, NE

Secretary/Treasurer – Ernie French, Ord, NE

Rules Committee Chairman – Bill French, Ord, NE


1981

MCA Constitution section pertaining to Class Officers – 1981:

A. The affairs of the Association shall be mandated by a National Committee of up to five Full Members of the Association. The Committee shall have power to co-opt additional members as required. The Committee shall have power to fill vacancies occurring among officers until the next General Meeting.

B. Officers of the Committee are to be elected at a General Meeting of the Association and take office immediately upon election. The term of office is two years except for Racing Captain, which is for one year.

1. Commodore and Secretary are to be elected in odd-numbered years.
2. Vice-Commodore and Treasurer to be elected in even-numbered years.
3. The Vice-Commodore and Treasurer elected in 1980 will have their terms extended to 1983.

C. The Committee shall consist of the following officers:

1. Commodore to act as chairperson during the ensuing two years.
2. Vice-Commodore and Publicity Director, who will substitute for the Commodore and be responsible for all Class publicity.
3. Secretary, who will keep minutes etc. of all Committee and General Meetings, communicate the decisions of the Committee to membership and others, keep an accurate roster of Members, and perform other duties of Secretary as prescribed by the Committee.
4. Treasurer, who shall have charge of any funds which may be existent, make disbursements of such funds as required hy the Committee, and present an annual financial statement.
5. Racing Captain, who will organize Class Races and Activities.
6. At meetings of the Committee, three shall form a quorum.

D. The Committee shall have the power to make recommendations to the Members in General Meetings for alterations of, or additions to, the Rules of the Class or the interpretations of such rules.

 

1982

The MCA expired.  May have been related to Chrysler divesting its Marine Group. 


1989

Bob Olson, North Platte, Nebraska attempted to reconstitute the Class.


1992

Jack Mayer, Windermere, Florida attempted to reconstitute the Class.


1993

Kevin Kirkpatrick, York, Pennsylvania attempted to reconstitute the Class.


1994

Al Whitener, Chesapeake, Virginia attempted to reconstitute the Class.

 

1999

The Yahoo Group for Mutineer owners was initiated in April 1999.  As of July 2011 it has 1167 members in constant communication.  Gib Charles’ first post was in July of 2000.  He asked about tuning specs: mast rake and rig tensions.  Gib went on to suggest a National Championship each year.   Both subjects were seeds for future events, the Tuning Guide and MNC’s.  Bob DeRoeck’s first post was in September 2000, asking technical questions about rigging and line choices.  Rey Garza’s first post was asking advice about his first (of many!) Mutineers in June 2001.


2002

The Buccaneer Class Association invited any Mutineers to join them in Highland Park, Illinois during their Buccaneer North American Championship.   With the same race committee and race course on Lake Michigan but separate starts, the first Mutineer National Championship in 20 years was held.  Five Mutineers took part including Rey Garza and Gib Charles, who met in person for the first time.

Gib Charles and Rey Garza began discussing the potential for reviving the Mutineer Class Association.


2003

Rebirth of the MCA!!!

President – Gib Charles

Secretary/Treasurer – Rey Garza

Click here to read the original announcement letter by Rey Garza.

 

2004

Co-Commodore – Gib Charles,

Co-Commodore – Rey Garza

Class measurer – Bob DeRoeck

 

Gib Charles, an introduction -

My name is Gib Charles. I live in northern Colorado, and sail on a pond in our neighborhood, aptly named Long Pond. It’s only 1/4 mile wide and 1 mile long. I keep 3 sailboats on the pond: a Laser and a Hobie 14 for the kids to play and learn on, and for me to sail on very windy solo days. My favorite, naturally, is my Mutineer. There are 2 other Mutineers on the pond, and we have some good informal racing a few times each summer. For me, the Mutineer is a racing boat. I sail in regional regattas, mostly in Denver in a Portsmouth fleet, and have sailed in the Mutineer North American Championship the past two summers.

Like most Mutineer owners, I got my first Mutineer, a 1974 Chrysler, almost for free, in 1994. I fixed it up, learned what I could about the boat, and continued to make improvements on it. In 1997 I saw a 1983 Wellcraft Mutineer for sale with many of the features I had become interested in that my ’74 didn’t have, like a spinnaker launching snout, a wire-luff furling jib, a stiff mast step, and a stiff hull that hadn’t been poorly painted (like my ’74). I bought it, swapped the parts between the boats to keep the new items I had bought for the ’74, then sold the older boat for about what the ’83 had cost me. Aren’t these boats great values!

I joined the Mutineer and Buccaneer Yahoo groups in June of 2000 and tried to learn everything I could about this great little boat. I continued to make improvements to my Mutineer, and entered my first regional regatta in 2001. In 2002 I was jazzed to attend the first Mutineer Nationals in 20 years in Highland Park, IL. It was a fabulous experience, and I started looking forward to MNAC 2003 as soon as I got back home. That was a high point for me in my sailing season last year, and I’m already making plans for MNAC 2004 at the Fort Walton Beach Yacht Club on the Florida Panhandle.

2007

Commodore – Rey Garza

Secretary – Vince Jones

Treasurer – Gordon Brookfield

Publicity Chairman– Jerry Thompson

Class Measurer – Bob DeRoeck

Past Commodore – Gib Charles

 

The MCA updated the Class Constitution in 2007

The Executive Committee shall consist of a Commodore, Vice Commodore, Secretary, Treasurer, Publicity Chairman, and Racing Chairman.

The Commodore, Vice Commodore, Secretary, Treasurer, and Publicity Chairman, of the Committee are to be elected at a General Meeting of the Association to serve a two (2) year term, taking office upon election.

The Commodore and Vice Commodore will be elected in the same year. On alternate years the Secretary, Treasurer, and Publicity Chairman will be elected.

The Racing Chairman will be appointed by the Committee.


2008

Commodore – Rey Garza

Vice Commodore – Ernie French

Secretary – Vince Jones

Treasurer – Gordon Brookfield

Publicity Chairman– Jerry Thompson

Class Measurer – Bob DeRoeck

Past Commodore – Gib Charles


2009

Commodore – Ernie French

Vice Commodore – Bob DeRoeck

Secretary – Rey Garza

Treasurer – Gordon Brookfield

Publicity Chairman– Rich Tenze

Class Measurer – Bob DeRoeck

Racing Chairman – Gib Charles


2010

Commodore – Ernie French

Vice Commodore – Bob DeRoeck

Secretary – Rey Garza

Treasurer – Gordon Brookfield

Publicity Chairman– Rich Tenze

Class Measurer – Bob DeRoeck

Racing Chairman – Gib Charles


2011

Commodore – Bob DeRoeck

Vice Commodore – Jim Davis

Secretary – Rey Garza

Treasurer – Ginette Hughes

Publicity Chairman – Jerry Thompson

Class Measurer – Bob DeRoeck

Racing Chairman – Gib Charles

 

As of July 2011 the MCA had 53 active members.  A very successful Mutineer
National Championship was held in Grapevine, Texas.  This special MNC
marked the 40th Anniversary of the Mutineer.  The theme for the event was “Bring em’ Home to Texas” in recognition of the many years of Mutineer production by Chrysler and later Texas Marine Industries in Plano, Texas.