2025 Year in Review

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” — Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Most of us joined Sebago because of our love for messing about in boats, but we’ve stayed members because of the camaraderie and community the club offers. For more than 85 years, this all-volunteer club has been sustained by the efforts and dedication of its members.

Once again, this year was no exception. Our members have contributed countless hours — from the mostly behind-the-scenes administrative work that sustains the organization to the maintenance of our grounds, buildings, and fleets, as well as managing and supporting our on-water activities, offering both new and long-term members plenty of opportunity to get out on the water in a variety of human-powered boats. 

Several dozen of our members continue to support our community outreach, both at our monthly open houses and serving as ambassadors each weekend, ready to greet visitors and introduce them to Sebago with its ready access to Jamaica Bay. These efforts are an important part of fulfilling our nonprofit’s mission of expanding public access for human- and sail-powered boaters and to strengthen the connection between members of the surrounding community and the local waters.

In short, our volunteers are our most valuable asset. As our 2025 season winds down and our calendar year ends, we would like to take a moment to recognize all the work that makes it possible for our members — and our visitors — to spend so much enjoyable time simply messing about in boats. Thank you one and all!  

The Year in Review

• Membership: We welcomed about 50 new members in 2025, offering three new member orientation sessions at the beginning of the season, providing all new members access to the water and training from the start of our season. 
• Kayaking: Our teams of trip leaders and assistant trip leaders got almost 500 people out on paddles this season, offered six classes in Brooklyn and at Lake Sebago. The trip leader workshop added two new assistant trip leaders to the roster, and they were able to support an extra-long season, with all-level paddles scheduled through mid-October. 
• Sailing: The sailing calendar was full with racing and/or cruising trips every weekend. The sailing committee hosted the second annual Brooklyn Urban Sunfish Championship and offered their always full-to-capacity sail class.  
• Canoeing: The canoe committee has successfully expanded the number of canoeists who can paddle the big canoe. These big canoes are essential to the success of our open houses, taking out families with younger children. They also organized their family-friendly outings (though one trip was thwarted by a Nor’easter) and continue to support the club’s community outreach by training local collegiate concrete canoe teams.
• Rowing: Our small but dedicated rowing committee continues to be a steadfast contributor to our open houses, taking out multi-passenger boats that expand our capacity to get people on the water.
• The Cabin: The cabin was well used. More than 160 people enjoyed time at the lake, according to the cabin visitor log. About 70 people stayed overnight. We successfully hosted a mandatory ACA event at the Lake that drew more than 30 attendees for rock painting. (You may have noticed our new doorstop featuring the Sebago bear!)

Looking Ahead to 2026

• 2026 marks a change in leadership for the sailing committee, with long-time chair John Decker stepping down. John began his position as chair just as Covid was curtailing many of our activities. But the sailing program has grown under his leadership and he has established a solid organizational structure that will ensure the sailing committee’s continued success long into the future. Many thanks to John for his years of commitment to the sailing program.
• November 16 will be our fall workday.  Details to follow, but now that our season is winding down, some exploratory work will be done on Clubhouse improvements that day.

—Beth Eller, Commodore

—Rob Buchanan, Vice Commodore