The Knickerbocker Sailing Association (KSA) is a members club set up by and for

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

sailors in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. KSA membership is open to all LGBTQ and straight people, and it has a goal of being a "friendly, nonjudgmental group of people that have joined the club to share new life experiences, on the water together".

History

KSA began in 1994, when founder Braden Toan asked around on

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

to find fellow people interested in establishing a gay sailing club. It had an inaugural trip in August 1994, when 13 gay men met in Jersey City for a sail aboard a 38-foot Irwin cruiser. In 2018, KSA had more than 150 members. Its fleet includes both

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s and

powerboat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the inter ...

s. While some members have extensive sailing experience, no sailing experience is necessary to join. KSA hosts various flotillas throughout the tri-state area, from Atlantic Highlands to Block Island to Provincetown. Captains provide their own vessels, and crew participate in helping to sail boats with other members; boat ownership is not required to join. Members include people who run charter boat companies, live on their boats, or just sail for fun.

Events

KSA participates in the Annual Stonewall Sails Regatta, an official event of New York's

Heritage of Pride Heritage of Pride (HOP), doing business as NYC Pride, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that plans and produces the official New York City LGBTQIA+ Pride Week events each June. HOP began working on the events in 1984, taking on the work prev ...

's Gay Pride Week. KSA races with J/24s on the Hudson River and in the past has partnered with Hudson River Community Sailing, who has provided the racing boats. KSA works with Hudson River Community Sailing as another group that supports diversity in sailing, in particular through maritime education for students in local public high schools. During Pride week, KSA hosts a floating parade with sailboats decorated in flags, along with sometimes participating in decorated boats in New York's dry parade. Gilbert Baker, designer of the

rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...

, was a member and created rainbow sails for KSA boats for these occasions. Fundraising is a focus during KSA's Pride events, benefiting other non-profit organizations such as

AmfAR amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of ...

Rocking the Boat Rocking the Boat is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization under 501(c)(3) in The Bronx, The Bronx, New York City. They run educational programs for high school students, teaching boat building, environmental science, and sailing, wit ...

, Callen-Lourde, and the New Jersey Community Research Initiative. KSA teams have participated in several

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was s ...

. The club also organizes flotillas for visiting local destinations, such as

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

References

External links

KSA website
{{LGBT culture in New Jersey Yacht clubs in the United States LGBTQ culture in Connecticut LGBTQ culture in New Jersey LGBTQ culture in New York (state) LGBTQ in Rhode Island LGBTQ sports organizations in the United States 1994 establishments in New Jersey