Eight Bells – Joanne McFee
We were shocked to receive the news last evening that Joanne McFee of Island YC had passed away on Wednesday. When she didn’t answer repeated phone calls, authorities were called and found her dead in her Alameda home. She was 62.
In addition to bringing a warm and friendly presence to any room or situation, Joanne was the ultimate ‘go-to gal’ when it came to getting things done at Island YC, where she had been a member since about 1990. She was the club’s race chair almost from the start, and we’ve often wished she could have given classes to other yacht club race people — she was always there (or quick to return calls), always helpful, and always quick with results and details. In short, a race editor’s dream contact. And when the going got rough, Joanne never flinched. She gained an additional measure of respect during last spring’s tragic loss of the Cheoy Lee 31 Daisy and the two sailors aboard her during IYC’s Doublehanded Lightship Race. Joanne did IYC and indeed the entire local sailing community proud, fielding most reporters and every tough question like a pro.
Joanne’s parents emigrated from England to Northern California after World War II. She was raised in Orinda and went to college at UC Davis, where she met her first husband, a veterinarian. Their only son, Brian, lives in Sacramento with his wife and two daughters.
It was her second husband who got her into sailing, first through Encinal YC and later at Island YC. She became an accomplished sailor in her own right, occasionally showing up owner-skippers with her knowledge of rules and tactics, or her deft touch on the helm. And she sailed the smart way, never owning a boat, but sailing on a variety of other people’s yachts over the years.
Ashore, “Joanne was the ultimate club volunteer,” says IYC member and longtime friend Ben Mewes. “Whatever needed to be done, it got done and only later you’d find out that Joanne had had a big part in it, whether it was racing related or just being a volunteer cook. She really exemplified what a yacht club was all about.”
A remembrance for Joanne is planned at Island YC this Sunday at 4 p.m. (The course for IYC’s Commodores Cup that day will be shortened specifically to accommodate this.) The club plans to prepare some of Joanne’s favorite dishes for the occasion, but asks that visiting sailors bring a potluck dish to share. For more information, contact IYC Vice Commodore Dawn Chesney at (510) 430-9990.