In Memoriam to Shields Class Sailors

The Chicago Yacht Club (CYC) community mourns the passing of longtime member Michael Allen Schwartz, who passed away on May 25, 2025, at the age of 85.

A passionate sailor and dedicated club member, Michael was the 1969 CYC Race to Mackinac Champion board member of the Club, and the longest-serving member of the CYC Nominating Committee. He played a key leadership role as a member of the Steering Committee for the new Belmont Station, helping to guide the vision and future of the Club.

Michael was a past president and competitive sailor of the local Chicago YC Shields one-design fleet, racing actively through 2024. He was the proud owner of Shields 90 and 130 and he also served as past president and board member of the national Shield Class Sailing Association, contributing to the growth of one-design racing.

Michael grew up in Chicago, attended Senn High School, and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy. He began his career as a pharmacist at Walgreens, rising to store manager, and later went on to own and operate a successful chain of drugstores. He ultimately expanded into owning and managing commercial real estate throughout the Chicagoland area.

Beyond his professional and sailing achievements, Michael was a Level 2 certified ski instructor with the Professional Ski Instructors of America, teaching at Vail Resorts and with The Snowflake Club for over 40 years—sharing his love of skiing with generations of young learners.

Most importantly, Michael was a devoted husband to Tobie, his wife of 58 years, a proud father and grandfather, and a deeply committed caregiver during Tobie’s decades-long journey with multiple sclerosis.

Michael leaves behind his three sons—Jonathan, Andrew, and Steven—and seven beloved grandchildren, who were the light of his life.

His warmth, humility, and tireless enthusiasm made a lasting impact on the Club and everyone privileged to know him.

Michael will be deeply missed by his fellow sailors, his friends at the Club, and all whose lives he touched.

Source: Shalom Memorial Park Website

We are saddened by the loss of Newport resident, and long time Fleet 9 sailor, Dr. Shoe - as we affectionally called him. He owned and raced 245 Hawk for over 20 years and was a frequent participant for many a Nationals

Born in Franklin, New Jersey, son of Charles P. Shoemaker, Sr. and Alice Haight Shoemaker, Dr. Shoemaker was a 1959 alumnus of Amherst College. He graduated from Albany Medical College and did his internship and residency in general surgery at The Yale-New Haven Medical Center. After completing his training, he entered the Navy in 1969 under the Berry Plan and served at the Naval Hospital in Newport, RI and for a year in Vietnam on the Hospital Ship, USS Sanctuary. On his return to the island and discharge from the Navy in 1971, a life-long love of sailing prompted him to accept an offer to join The Aquidneck Medical Associates. He remained affiliated with that group practice for the remainder of his medical career, retiring in 2005 after 34 years.

Charlie was an avid sailor and devoted to one design racing. His Ensign, Challenger, was a fixture in Narragansett Bay racing for over 50 years. He added his Shields, Hawk, in later years and raced both competitively. Over those years, he won many local, regional, and national regattas, but it was the competition and camaraderie with others who shared his devotion to the sport that mattered to him most. For 50 winters, he unfailingly participated in the Sunday Frostbite sailing out of Newport Yacht Club. He was a member and former Commodore of the Newport Yacht Club and member of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and he raced in their seasonal series and in team racing on the Bay and in England and Ireland. He encouraged and taught many young people to sail and supported the founding of Sail Newport to expand access to sailing and to foster a love of the sport in the broader community.

Source: Funeral Home Obituary

Michael R. Deland, former EPA administrator and key player in Boston Harbor cleanup, dies at 77. When Michael R. Deland was appointed in 1983 to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office, he predicted some of his decisions would rile the business community, environmentalists, or both.

"Mike Deland is without question the most aggressive environmental law enforcement official in the nation," Armond Cohen, then an attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, told the Globe in 1989, when Mr. Deland was about to be appointed chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, one of the most influential environmental posts in the nation.

Born in Boston in 1941, Michael Reeves Deland was a son of F. Stanton Deland Jr., a prominent attorney and former president of Harvard's Board of Overseers, and Susan Reeves Deland, who was active in organizations, including supporting the Arnold Arboretum.

Mr. Deland grew up in the Brookline part of Chestnut Hill and spent summers in Marion, Massachusetts, where he became an expert sailor. He kept racing after his walking mobility was limited. Sailing in competitions with his wife, Jane, he twice won a national Shields Class championship (1980, 1987).

Source: Boston Globe January 9, 2019

Joe Schulz-Heik died of an apparent heart attack after his boat was splintered in a collision on fog-bound Long Island Sound, authorities said.

Joachim Schulz-Heik, 61, of Larchmont, was sailing a friend’s 35-foot boat to a Block Island, R.I., regatta just after midnight when the accident occurred, eight miles off the coast of Guilford, Conn. The Mariner III, a 120-foot charter yacht headed from Rhode Island to New York City tore into the sailboat, sinking it immediately in 90 feet of water, said Robert Bilbo, a Coast Guard spokesman.

Along with co-skipper Thierry de La Villehuchet, Joe won the Shields National Regatta in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Source: New York Post, June 21, 2003