Sutton Manor New Rochelle Americas Sailing Community

My hometown, Annapolis, has the slogan "Americas Sailing Capital" whereas Newport, Rhode Island, long-time home of the Americas Cup, about 640 km (400 miles) north of Annapolis, goes one better with their slogan "The Sailing Capital of the World". Notwithstanding the competing Chamber of Commerce hype of these two East Coast sailing towns, there is one community that, between the war years of WWI and WWII, could rightly maintain they were Americas Sailing Community.

Sutton Manor, of New Rochelle, New York was a 50 house bedroom community of New York City that began development in 1914. The community butted up to Long Island Sound and the harbor of Echo Bay that included Tank Island, Harrison Island and Echo Island. There were three active yacht clubs, all predating 1900, within several miles of the community; the Huguenot Yacht Club, The New Rochelle Yacht Club (now defunct, located in Echo Bay on Harrison Island) and the Larchmont Yacht Club. The names of some of Americas most distinguished yachtsmen made Sutton Manor home:

• Stan Ogilvy
• Cornelius Shields
• Bob Bavier
• Howard McMichael, winner of championships in the 210 Class, the International One-Design and Hipkins Trophy.
• Walter Coursen, a Commodore of the Larchmont Yacht Club and the New Rochelle Yacht Club.

Also, two prominent sailors featured in the Earwigoagin historical archives; Larry Huntington and Harry Hall, owned houses in Sutton Manor.

To take a stroll through Sutton Manor during the 1920s and 1930s, one could, every couple of hundred steps or so, have a very interesting conversation about boats and sailing.

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