Eight Bells: Pam Rorke Levy — Sailor, Filmmaker, Caretaker of ‘Dorade’

Pam Rorke Levy, a member of St. Francis Yacht Club, passed away on January 4. Together with her husband Matt Brooks, Pam owned and raced the 1929 Sparkman & Stephens classic yawl, Dorade. Pam had sailed little before she and Matt bought the 52-ft wooden boat that ultimately took her on many exciting ocean races. Below we share details from Pam’s obituary, forwarded to us by John Burnham.

After purchasing and refitting the boat, the couple raced Dorade on San Francisco Bay through 2012-13. Then came “Matt’s Crazy Idea” — preparing the boat, organizing the crew, and racing in the Newport Bermuda Race, the Transatlantic Race, the Fastnet Race (England to Ireland and back), and the Transpacific Race to Hawaii. Together, Pam and Matt successfully competed in all the ocean races the famous boat had first won in the 1930s.

Pam’s studies had led to a successful career as an independent producer and journalist, working for networks from Discover and National Geographic to HGTV and A&E, covering subjects ranging from ethical and societal issues to sports (she covered the America’s Cup for NBC in Perth in 1987), home redecorating, histories, and biographical films. Over three decades she collected many Emmys and other awards and accolades. Yet she had sailed little before she and Matt bought Dorade. Though as the couple eased into their new boat and learned her story, they realized that Dorade demanded a much higher level of sailing commitment from them. And they loved it.

When it came time to execute “Matt’s Crazy Idea” Pam was initially hesitant to sail the distance races herself, but at the last minute decided to sail in the often-stormy 608-mile Rolex Fastnet Race in 2015 to document their race against the 1935 S&S yawl, Stormy Weather.

“Given how rough the race often is, we explained that this was a horrible idea for her first offshore race,” said Kevin Miller, Dorade’s sailing master, “but she came anyway. Pam wanted to tap into that Dorade energy and feel the boat so she could write about it. She got beat up a little in ‘Fastnet’ conditions near the finish, but she’s tough as nails. That was a look deeper into who she was.”

After that, Pam signed on for the 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race, and when Matt couldn’t make the trip, she took over as skipper. Dorade earned silverware once again.

In 2019 Pam was diagnosed with cancer, and her racing was limited to East Coast inshore races. It was the promise of getting back aboard that kept her going during her treatments. Buying Dorade had begun as Pam and Matt’s story of saving a boat and sharing a passion for it, but it later became much more. Between the pandemic lockdown and Pam’s cancer, Dorade taught them to trust each other as partners and truly be happy together. The boat also taught Pam to overcome her fears and begin to take risks.

Events celebrating Pam’s life will be held at St. Francis Yacht Club, Jan. 27, 5 p.m. and New York Yacht Club, Harbour Court, May 16, 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Sailing Museum in Newport, R.I. or the St. Francis Sailing Foundation in San Francisco.