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Growing up at FWYC!
S
ailing is in their blood and the Fort Walton Yacht Club has been
their second home for over 60 years. Looking at the Brown
family Growing up at FWYC.
Shelby, Naomi and Jeff Brown at the Fort
Walton Yacht Club recently
Jeff Brown was one of the younger siblings of a family of seven kids.
His parents, P/C Marshall and Virginia Brown, were some of the
early members of the Club and raised all of their children to love the
water, and especially sailing. "We just hung out. It was a great place
to be," Jeff commented. To Jeff and his brothers and sister, the
yacht club was their home away from home. They had the run of
the place, but respected it as well. Swimming and sailing were the
prime activities for the Brown family. "We were always in or on the
water all summer long," says Jeff. They often made their own fun,
like the time they made a sailboat out of the Garners' surf boards,
using a towel for a sail.
Jeff remembered taking sailing lessons, "back in the day," with his mother, Virginia, Betty Borthwick and Leotta
Fiebelkorn as the instructors. He even taught sailing with Virginia for a year or so when he was in high school.
The lessons were taught in prams which were painted all different colors and owned by the Rice family who loaned
them to the club for use. From the prams, students graduated to the Fish Class and the Flying Juniors.
Jeff crewed on several 30 - 33 foot boats for club races while in high school and began sailing the Flying Scot when
it replaced the Fish Class as the GYA interclub competition boat around 1968. Jeff says, "My brother, Chris, was
the real GYA competitor back then, but I sailed in Flying Scot regattas, including the mid-winters and nationals, and
in the GYA Junior Lipton." Jeff met his wife, Naomi, sailing in the North Ferry Road Sail Boat Drivers Association
series (now the Zevin Memorial Regatta). Naomi came to sail with someone who didn't show up, so Jeff invited her
to sail with them. They dated on and off the water, were married, and had their wedding reception at FWYC. After
the reception, they sailed away from the Club on Marshall and Virginia's Ocean Lady. Jeff and Naomi have a daughter,
Shelby, who is a third-generation yacht club member.
Shelby's first sailing adventure came when she was 2 - 3 weeks old in
a Wednesday Night Fun Race. FWYC was a huge part of her early
life, and it continues to be today. She remembers the great core of
kids growing up which included, Justin Mitchell, Matthew and
Phoebe Anders, Seth and Ian Cooke, Ashley Capps, Zack Grant
and many others. "We were down here every day. I think I was here
more than at my house," Shelby said. There were tons of kids around
at Easter and other holidays. Her parents, grandparents, many aunts,
uncles, and cousins were always at the Club for Easter, too.
The Brown family at the Easter Brunch
around 1998
Shelby shared many of her
favorite things growing up
Shelby and Jeff Brown cleaning
Amigo in 1995
at FWYC.
First, was
teaching sailing lessons.
Yes, Shelby followed in her grandmother's and her dad's footsteps as sailing
instructors at FWYC, becoming a third generation instructor. Opti races
and parties in the Junior Room on Friday nights were also some of her
favorites. "We watched movies and ate pizza. Our parents liked it, too,
because they could just leave us and have a fun night without us. Everyone
watched over us, it was like a huge family," Shelby added. They also
enjoyed family raft-ups over night, sometimes anchoring just away from
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~ Fort Walton Yacht Club, Established in 1951 ~