BFSC BOARD MEMBERS
Interested in volunteering for a committee? We'd love to have your help.
Please reach out to any of the board members below.
We welcome your participation and look forward to hearing from you!
LISA SCHOER
Commodore
Lisa and Jack met in 2003 and married the following May, 2004. They live in Cumming Georgia.
Lisa has been an avid sailor since her teens. She has crewed on dinghies; C-15’s, Lightning’s and MC Scows and cruisers; Capri 25’s, Catalina’s, J 24’s and Hunters.
Jack has been sailing since his early twenties. He is a certified ASA basic keel boat instructor. Jack enjoys cruising and racing.
Lisa and Jack also enjoy open and blue water sailing. Together they have sailed in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, the Grenadine’s and the BVI’s.
TOM BEACHEM
Past Commodore
Tom hails from Washington DC and back long ago in his late 20s, he first cut his teeth racing and cruising Flying Scots in the Sailing Club of Washington (SCOW). When he moved to Atlanta in 1995, he quickly found a home in the Barefoot Sailing community.
In 2010 and 2011, he served as BFSC Commodore and has since managed to keep from getting reelected to the post. He races on Taka and if asked will deny knowing anything about repairing marine bilges and heads.
He maintains dual BFSC/SCOW memberships and on trips back home, sails with old SCOW friends, coordinating their long-running "Iceberg Regatta" each March.
LAURA CLARKE
Social Captain
I am new to sailing, but not new to the water. I grew up on motorboats on the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers near Savannah, GA. I earned my first fishing rod at the age of six, when I caught 32 sunfish one day in a lake near our home in Wilmington, Delaware. I grew up shrimping, fishing and crabbing in my Boston Whaler during the summers around Tybee Island where we had a summer house.
My dad was a sailor, and I always preferred the quiet of sailing to motorboats. I have taken classes at Lake Lanier Sailing Academy in 2021, and I am ASA 101, 103, 104 and 105 certified. I do not yet own a sailboat, but I am a LLSA Passport Club member, and have access to their fleet, so I sail as often as my schedule allows.
I have really enjoyed socializing and sailing with all the new friends I have met through Barefoot Sailing. I love organizing a good party, and look forward to acting as Social Committee Chair in 2023.
LINDA HOOPES
Yeoman
Bio to be posted later.
DAVID STEADMAN
Purser
David grew up in Atlanta and has lived here for most of his life. He first sailed at a summer youth program on Lake Seneca in Upstate NY, then grew to love sailing on the much warmer waters of Lake Lanier after an “Evening at Emory” program.
David and Jacqueline met in a whitewater canoeing class in 1989. They started crewing BFSC races in the early 1990’s, then bought their own Catalina 250 in 1997. After 20 years they traded up to “Out of Office”, their current Catalina 355. More cruiser than racer, “Out of Office” enters the occasional race but is more commonly seen at the club’s cruising events.
David and Jacqueline are living their sailing dream: sailing close to home with friends and family throughout the year, then making occasional bareboat charters for a week of blue water cruising. They’ve made repeated charters in Tampa Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and the BVI’s, with the Baths at Virgin Gorda being one of their favorite places on Earth.
CHESTER "CHICO" WOJNA
Racing Fleet Captain
Even though I was raised in Puerto Rico (sí, soy Boricua) I never sailed growing-up but did the occasional fishing trips. It was not until I met my lovely wife, Orla, in Ireland during an expat assignment that changed all that. It was actually Orla, after we married and moved to Atlanta, who introduced me to sailing and taught me how to sail at Lake Lanier. Orla learned to sail when young racing dinghies and Shannon one design in Lough Ree Yacht Club in Athlone, Ireland.
It did not take long for me to develop the same love for sailing. We purchased our first keelboat in 2004, a 1981 Catalina 27, and kept it until 2012 when raising kid’s demanded a hiatus from sailing. We returned to sailing to Lake Lanier in 2021 after we purchased a Catalina 22 and thereafter now own a 1991 Hunter 30T since 2022.
We enter into the occasional races, and although we really like racing, we enjoy mostly sailing for sailing sake, the lake, volunteering and socializing.
Family, Traveling and Sailing are a big part of our lives as we all enjoy it.
BILL ANCHORS
Vice Commodore
I learned to sail small boats growing up in Savannah, GA (Sunfish, Chrysler Man-O-War) and owned a 16 ft ski boat in high school.
I started sailing on Lanier in the early 90's with the Mother Ocean club out of Sunrise Cove. After Mother Ocean went out of busines, I joined Lake Lanier Sailing Academy out of Holiday. While there I earned ASA 101, 103, and 104 certifications.
Today I live on the south end of Lanier and keep a Bennington 21SX (pontoon) and a Catalina 25 at my dock.
BILL BOND
Cruising Fleet Captain
Boating was an item learned from my father. There was a problem though. He was a motorboater, and I got the bug for sailing. Sitting on the flybridge of his sedan cruiser in the New Buffalo Marina on Lake Michigan, sailboats would go by and skippers would ask if I wanted to crew. I usually jumped at the opportunity.
It was several years later (after college) that I purchased my first boat. A 19’ Buccaneer that I sailed regularly on Lake Calhoun in downtown Minneapolis, and sometimes ventured out to Lake Minnetonka and White Bear Lake. The daysailer was sold due to the call of child rearing years.
Many years later (after college for my children) I bought a 24’ S2 7.3 and started sailing on Lake Lanier. Pam, my first mate, had never sailed before and soon learned both the thrill and the relaxation offered by the quietness of sailboats.
When the pandemic hit, we decided we wanted more space as a getaway, and bought a Hunter 356. We’ve been enjoying our boat with Friends and Neighbors, and now look forward to sharing with members of BFSC on 1st Saturdays and other events.
I enjoy all forms of boating. My philosophy of ‘any boat is better than no boat’ has led me to rafting, rowboats, kayaking, canoeing, and motorboating. I even consider a Boogie Board a boat. If it gets me out onto the water, I’m game to go.
CHRIS MCBRIDE
Boatswain (Bo's'n)
Having barely sailed when I was a kid, I was a newcomer to sailing. I was lured to a sail race with drinks by a former Bosun, and instantly liked it. I've been a member of BFSC for 3 years now and enjoy any time I can spend on or near the water. There is a lot to like and a lot to learn about sailing.
The club Bo's'n is responsible for upkeep on the club boat, Favored End. This year we repainted the decks giving it a great new look. And, there is nothing quite like messing about with boats.
JACQUELINE STEADMAN
Membership Captain
Jacqueline was first introduced to sailing on a trip to Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans with David. She attended an ‘Evening at Emory” sailing class but learned mostly while crewing and playing with our boats.
David and Jacqueline met in a whitewater canoeing class in 1989. They started crewing BFSC races in the early 1990’s, then bought their own Catalina 250 in 1997. After 20 years they traded up to “Out of Office”, their current Catalina 355. More cruiser than racer, “Out of Office” enters the occasional race but is more commonly seen at the club’s cruising events.
David and Jacqueline are living their sailing dream: sailing close to home with friends and family throughout the year, then making occasional bareboat charters for a week of blue water cruising. They’ve made repeated charters in Tampa Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and the BVI’s, with the Baths at Virgin Gorda being one of their favorite places on Earth.
ERIN SCHRODER
Appointed Advisory (non-voting)
Erin was first introduced to sailing as a young kid in the 70s when her dad built a kit boat in the garage(!) while living in Pasadena, TX. She has a few early and fond memories of this time, albeit wary of the (then) large boom. Unfortunately, her sailing skills atrophied when her family stopped sailing due to a change in locale.
Fast forward to the mid-2000s and she is reintroduced to sailing by fellow Barefooter Tom Beachem.
These days, she helps with web editing and can be heard yelling "woohooooooo" while racing on Kathy and Jeff Paes' S/V Taka, an Islander P40. Her preferred crew job is forward-facing tactician/grinder.
Just kidding, it's observer corps.
Still kidding, it's really jib line releaser, photographer and one to scurry about.
RECENT PAST BOARD MEMBERS
BILL BOETTECHER
Racing Captain
Started sailing in high school. I have experience in everything from Sunfish/Laser to 36 foot keelboats. I still like dinghy sailing the best. If you don’t get wet, you’re not having fun. Looking forward to a great season of racing.
FRED KEMPNER
Racing Captain
Growing up near the shore on Long Island and then living for a number of years a few miles from the coast in Florida, you’d think I’d have had some early experience with boating and sailing, but no. It wasn’t until I joined some friends on a sailing charter in the BVI’s in 2000 that the sailing bug bit me. I bought a 31 Hunter on the lake in 2002 and cruising and racing on sailboats has been a big part of my life ever since. Paula and I eventually sold the lake boat and bought a 38 Hunter that we parked on the South Carolina coast. After several years of exploring the coast, we decided to move the boat to the lake where we now race and cruise with family and friends as often as possible.
PETE MAURER
Past Commodore
Pete Maurer, and his wife Ro, have been members of Barefoot Sailing Club for five years. Prior to being Commodore, Pete served as Cruising Captain (2014) and Vice Commodore (2017). Ro, who is a professional chef for Kroger, catered for the 2017 Barefoot Open. They are refitting a 1974 Westsail 32, which is docked at Sunrise Cove Marina.
JOYCE MCINTOSH
Past Commodore
I became a member of Barefoot in its early days, racing as crew on a C-15 dinghy with trapeze. We became fleet champions, district champs, and then moved to larger boats on the ocean, with my last boat being a Beneteau 57. I am certified through Lake Lanier Sailing Academy and enjoy racing, cruising, race committee, and social activities. Currently “boatless”, I am available to crew.
2017 Commodore
2016 Vice Commodore
2015 Social Chair
NORMAN PLOTKIN
Cruising Fleet Captain
I am a lifetime sailor. I grew up in Miami Beach, Florida and started out at 8 years of age in Optimist Prams. At age 12, I moved up to racing in a Moth (a class similar in size to a Laser). My parents owned a cruising yawl that we sailed as a family and I sailed in college with my friends all over South The Florida Keys and the Bahamas. I am ASA certified 101, 104 and 105. I am a member of the Atlanta Sail and Power Squadron and have taken several of their classes. I hold a Coast Guard Captain’s license (OUPV). I have bareboat chartered in the Virgin Islands, the Windward Islands, Florida, Charleston, Hilton Head and Washington State (NW - San Juan Islands). For 16 years, I belonged to the Passport Sailing Club out of Holiday Marina on Lake Lanier. I purchased my boat, Starcather, a Catalina 28 in February 2016 and soon after joined BSC.
EVELYN ROSSIER
Social Captain
Though new to Barefoot Sailing Club, Evelyn enthusiastically jumped right into volunteering to serve on our board as Social Captain. Retired, Evelyn enjoys sailing, traveling, photography and volunteering. Welcome aboard, Evelyn, we're happy to have you.
RONALD SPIERS
Boatswain (Bo's'n)
The BFSC’s Bo’s’n is responsible for the clubs Race Committee / work boat – The Favored End. Ronald has been “messing about in boats” since he was 7 years old and has sailed for over 40 years. Anything from ocean races, deliveries, cruising, or sailing his boat, Top Sheila an old Hunter 25, just perfect for lake cruising, he is out sailing as often as possible.
PETE WINHAM
Racing Captain
A little yarn about Pete.
He learned to sail right here on Lake Lanier in the late 60's.
His father was an excellent teacher having sailed in southern England where he and Pete were born.
They both raced during the 70's in the early years of AISC and raced the very first Dogwood Regatta.
Pete has an OUPV Captains license and has owned/sailed numerous sailboats over the years . He currently races and cruises on a Morgan 45, Southern Cross.
He has sailed the east and west coast of the U.S. as well as the BVI's, the Windwards, Bahamas, and Dominican Republic.
Pete and his wife Susan live on the lake, but keep their boat primarily at Holiday Marina where they have made many lifelong friends.
DAVID BRYANT
Membership
I started sailing Tech Dingys and Hobie 14’s as a kid growing up on a lake in New Hampshire in the 1970’s. After taking about a 10-year break during college and early adulthood, my wife, Kit, and I moved to North Georgia in the early ‘90’s. Coming from an area where the sailing season is about 5 months at best, I was shocked to see sailboats on the water on January first. It was a no brainer at that point to get back into sailing and we have been sailing on Lake Lanier ever since, first on a Balboa 20 Then our current Hunter 25.
Our main interest is cruising, and we enjoy pulling up to the various beaches on the islands and spending the night on the hook whenever possible. We just had our first charter this summer (through the club) and we look forward to doing it again as soon as possible. It took us a while to find the club, but we have enjoyed it very much since joining in early 2017.
KERRY MCGRATH
Past Commodore
Kerry learned to sail as a teenager at her town's public sailing school in Connecticut, so she and her high school friends could cool off by capsizing countless times, all summer. She first learned about Barefoot when she took a sailing class at Evening at Emory many years ago, hoping to meet single men. The class was of course full of women, but the instructors were from Barefoot! One of her favorite memories of the club is when some members gifted her a boat "make-over", tightening the rigging, scrubbing the foredeck, cleaning the cabin... and then having a party!
TEDD MEINERSMANN
Racing Fleet Captain
Sailing for Tedd started in high school in the late sixties. Got into racing on a Mobjack dingy in the late seventies. A move to the Clemson area introduced Tedd to lake sailing where he raced a Force 5 on Lake Hartwell. Racing on Lake Lanier has been mainly on keel boat, crewing on several boats and racing his own Lindenberg 22 and Tartan 28.
PAULA MOORE
Yeoman
Growing up in a suburb north of Buffalo, NY, my love of sailing began with a brand new orange 26 ft. O’Day day sailor on the glorious waters of Lake Ontario. After a 30 year hiatus, sailing resumed in 2002 by joining BFSC, posting my offer to crew for anyone in need on the BFSC website, and eventually accepting an invitation from a guy who had just started sailing by buying a 31 ft. Hunter (Dream‘in), and definitely in need of crew. Since then, Fred and I have improved our skills, chartered boats in the British Virgin Islands, Florida, Grenada, Greece, and Croatia, and are always planning a new sailing adventure. We left the lake for several years to try our hand at Blue water sailing on our currently owned 38 ft. Hunter (Saucy Wench), eventually deciding to return to the lake to rejoin old friends and meet new ones. No regrets and all blue skies ahead.
GAIL RODRIGUEZ
Vice Commodore
Originally from New York, Ms. Rodriguez has sailed the Long Island Sound in the 80’s and 90’s. One of her memorable trips was a month-long sailing trip to Mystic, CT, Block Island, RI, Newport, RI, and Martha’s Vineyard, MA. After an absence of over twenty years on the water, she decided to go back and rediscover her love for sailing. This is when she discovered Barefoot Sailing Club. Ms. Rodriguez brings to BFSC her skills in design, public relations, and branding. She currently leads the Public Relations and Marketing team for Georgia State University School of Music.
JACK SCHOER
Purser
Lisa and Jack met in 2003 and married the following May, 2004. They live in Cumming Georgia.
Lisa has been an avid sailor since her teens. She has crewed on dinghies; C-15’s, Lightning’s and MC Scows and cruisers; Capri 25’s, Catalina’s, J 24’s and Hunters.
Jack has been sailing since his early twenties. He is a certified ASA basic keel boat instructor. Jack enjoys cruising and racing.
Lisa and Jack also enjoy open and blue water sailing. Together they have sailed in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, the Grenadine’s and the BVI’s.
DAVID WRIGHT
Education Captain
Dave has been an active member of Barefoot Sailing Club for over ten years, serving as Commodore in 2013. He has sailed for twenty plus years and enjoys both racing and cruising venues, but gets the greatest satisfaction from introducing sailing basics to prospective sailors.
CONNIE VOONG
Education Captain
Fell in love with sailing when she was invited to crew along one day. Experienced on J24's, J22's, Pearson 32, Cal 31, Catalina 320, etc.
February 2017- Joined Barefoot as a Member
April 2017- Became Barefoot's WebMaster
December 2018- Joined the Social Committee
PAUL ZANTZINGER
Social Captain
Paul has returned to his role as Social Captain at BFSC which he has filled six times before. Paul was commodore of BFSC in 2012 and is a loyal member for 17 years. He has sailed off and on for 65 years. He has sailed on Lake Lanier for 25 years. In 2013, Paul received the high honor of receiving the BFSC Lifetime Achievement award. Paul's speciality is the lobster boil which he ran last year. He looks forward to serving the club once again this year.