DANIEL C. M. CRABBE (Inducted 2020)
Dan started racing in a Moth boat at the age of eight and has skippered in Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association in Moths, Comets, G Sloops, Lasers, M Scows, E Scows, Sneakboxes, A Cats, and Sandpipers.
Since the middle 1970s he sailed almost every Saturday morning in M Scows and or Sneakboxes with his wife, Nancy, and in the afternoons in E Scows, first with Nancy and then with his kids. He was a three-time Sneakbox BBYRA Champion and has won many races, including the Bilgeboarder Trophy 3 times, Wolstenholm Trophy twice and most of the other BBYRA E Scow and Sneakbox trophies at least once. He and his wife have recently purchased a Sandpiper and are still racing in the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association.
He spent two years working with Gary Jobson writing and researching for the book, Chasing Roosters: A Century of Sailing on Barnegat Bay. He also was the recipient of the O. G. Dale trophy in 2014 in recognition of Outstanding Sportsmanship in the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association.
His offshore cruising experience covers the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Florida to Antigua and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Dan has raced extensively in many off-shore events including 5 Bermuda races, 2 Annapolis to Newport races, Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay race, 2 Block Island to Stanford races, St. Petersburg to Miami race, 3 Miami to Nassau races and once to Block Island Race Week. As a teenager he often cruised with his uncle in both sail and powerboats all along the East Coast. His longest passage was from Gibson Island to Antigua.
He has been a member of the Cruising Club of America since 1982, NCESA Director 1980-1985, Rear Commodore of National E Scow Association in 1985, ECESA treasurer 1987 to 1995, Board of Trustees of Ocean County College Sailing, Barnegat Bay Foundation trustee and treasurer from 2004 to 2012, Barnegat Bay A-Cat Fleet treasurer from 2003 to 2018 and treasurer of the Bilgeboarders from 1984 to the present.
In 1950 he was Junior Moth Champion Mantoloking YC. In 1955 he was second in the Interscholastic Championship at New London, Connecticut. He was a sailing instructor at Beachwood Yacht Club in 1960, (Gary Jobson was in the program), Cornell University Sailing team 1956 to 1960, and captain of that team in 1959 and 1960.
Dan designed and fabricated both the E-Scow Slalom Racecourse and the A-Cat Anchor Start set up system.
He has been a member of Toms River Yacht Club since 1959, a past member of Mantoloking, Island Heights, and Beachwood Yacht Clubs.
Dan has been a trustee of the Toms River Seaport Society since 2004 and president from 2008 to 2017. During that period, he oversaw the construction of a new building to house the 1923 A-Cat Spy, now on display and upgraded the two long sheds. Recently he developed an app to act as a guided tour for the museum which can be downloaded from the app store.
Toms River Yacht Club is proud of Dan’s accomplishments and of his induction into the Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame in 2020.