SUNDAY STORY:Still sailing strong

In the days after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, members of a New Orleans yacht club watched their club burn to the ground on live television.

Although TV producers may not have realized what structure they were seeing go down in flames, yacht club members watching from around the country recognized the building as the historic Southern Yacht Club.

Almost one year since Hurricane Katrina devastated their yacht club ? along with most of the Gulf Coast ? three of the club’s younger members have rallied to travel to Newport Beach to compete in this year’s Governor’s Cup regatta.

Skipper Baker Potts, 19, along with crew Norman Vallette, 16, and Michael Levert, 17, arrived in Newport Beach last week to race Governor’s Cup 21s in the U.S. International Junior Match Racing Championship, sponsored by the Balboa Yacht Club.

Although the team said they didn’t race as well as they’d hoped, just being here is an accomplishment ? most of the boats they practiced their seamanship on had been destroyed and some of their families’ homes were heavily damaged.

Potts was on his way to begin his first year at Tufts University in Boston when the hurricane struck. His house, in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans, was hit hard. His parents are still out of their home, living in trailers, Potts said.

“My house got 10 feet of water,” said the soft-spoken Vallette.

He’s been living with friends in New Orleans until he can help his parents rebuild their home.

The yacht club where the three grew up sailing is back in business, but is now housed in three portable trailers. The Southern Yacht Club ? on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain ? was started in 1849, making it the second oldest yacht club in the country behind the New York Yacht Club.

But the club that survived the Civil War didn’t make it through nature’s powerful blow. Rushing water took out the bottom floor of the club during the hurricane; days later a gas fire destroyed what was left of the club’s second story.

“It was not protected by the levees, what little the levees did,” Potts said.

Edward Levert, racer Michael Levert’s father, saw it all happen while watching television over the Internet.

“The bottom floor was washed through and the top floor was burned to a crisp,” Levert said.

The destruction wiped out about half of the yacht club’s boat fleet and many of club’s valuable trophies disappeared, including a large silver trophy given to the club by famous Scottish yachtsman Sir Thomas Lipton, Levert said.

Many miles from Hurricane Katrina, Balboa Yacht Club Member Bob Strang also saw the destruction of the Southern Yacht Club on TV.

“We stood in the bar here and watched the yacht club burn to the ground,” Strang said. “Everyone was heartbroken. It’s this old, classic yacht club.”

Strang, a pilot, flew to New Orleans after the hurricane to hand-deliver a Governor’s Cup invitation to the Southern Yacht Club.

Normally teams apply and are selected to participate in the race, but Balboa Yacht Club guaranteed the Southern Yacht Club team a spot in this year’s competition.

“We’re very proud to have them here,” Strang said.

When they heard about the invitation, Levert said the racing team was eager to accept.

“It’s a big honor,” Levert said.

After the competition ended Saturday, Strang said Balboa Yacht Club planned to present the Southern Yacht Club team with a “replacement trophy,” to help rebuild the club’s trophy collection that washed away with the flood waters.

“It was a gesture from one yacht club to another,” Strang said.

The boys, who all talk with a slightly detectable southern twang to their voices, said the hurricane hasn’t really put a damper on their yacht racing. Although operations at the club weren’t normal, the yacht club had boats back on the lake by October.

A visit to the club’s Web site makes no mention of the hurricane that took down the historic facility ? the Web site is full of social and yacht racing events.

“For those who have a passion for sailing, it was home,” Levert said. “Still is.”dpt.23-sunday-3-C.1PhotoInfoRK1T7DTV20060723j2s7trncCredit: JAMIE FLANAGAN / DAILY PILOT Caption: (LA)Above: Baker Potts, Norman Vallette, and Michael Levert rig their boat at the Balboa Yacht Club. Below: Vallette at close quarters dpt.23-sunday-4-C.1PhotoInfoRK1T7DVC20060723j2s7udncCredit: Caption: (LA)