Commodore Mike Dorgan sat down with Alli Bell to discuss life as the 2018 SDYC Commodore, how he came to San Diego as a Star sailor back in the '80s, the growth of the local Finn fleet and more!
Mike Dorgan starts by summarizing the busy weekend at the Club including the cruising fleet cruise to Ensenada, the Taste of Point Loma and the International Masters Regatta. He talks about the history of the Masters regatta and tells us a little more about the races and friendly competition.
Dorgan came to San Diego from the Deep South, Alabama. He started sailing in Jacksonville, Florida at six weeks old and the love of sailing held on. He spent his childhood crewing for his father on a Thistle. He also sailied in Lasers and fell in love as an adult with the Star boat, which played a big role in bringing him to San Diego. He tells the story of coming to San Diego, meeting up with SDYC’s Eric Doyle, training for the ’92 Olympic Games, and crewing for Mark Reynolds and for Chick Rollins (a couple months after heart surgery).
On a 20-something adventure to Pacific Beach one night, Dorgan tells us the story of meeting and sailing with local legend Vince Brun. “The skippers would walk around the parties, look around and ask guys what they weigh,” he told us.
Commodore Dorgan met his wife over an onion cheeseburger at a local bar and grille. He tells the story of falling in love with Patti and how she changed his life. He continues about his children, their successes with sailing, SDYC and sailing against his son.
For many years, Commodore Dorgan was the only one with a Finn boat in the SDYC parking lot. He tells us about his experience building up the Finn fleet at the Club, and the reason why Finn’s are a great boat to sail. He reflects on last weekend’s Acapulco Challenge and the relationship that SDYC has with the Acapulco Yacht Club as well as the Puerto Vallarta races and Extreme Sailing Series.
Commodore Dorgan congratulates some of the SDYC members that are doing big things including Vince Brun (Sailing Hall of Fame), Tyler Sinks (Resolute Cup & Lipton Cup). He finishes by talking about his business, Dorgan Yachts, and how it’s more than a business to him. He explains some of the heart-warming parts of yacht sales. “I always say the best days of a sailor’s life are Saturday and Sunday.”