The Gil LaLonde Memorial Trophy

In the late summer of 1990, the Lake Shore Sail Club lost an avid supporter of JAM racing with the passing of Gil LaLonde.

In recognition of his dedication to Lake Shore Sail Club and his commitment to the race program, Gil was awarded the USYRU Sportsmanship award posthumously. In Gil's memory, his wife Linda donated a perpetual award to be presented to a Lake Shore Sail Club member racing JAM, who compiles the best combined record in each year's Spring and Summer Sunset Series.

A pharmacist's mate in the U.S. Navy, Gil had to wait until he retired from the Service to get a steady berth on his own boat, a Tartan 28 with the name of Biwa-Ko, i.e., Lake Biwa, a lake near Tokyo, Japan. Whether it was the boat, computers, mechanics, or painting, Gil set many goals for himself, tenaciously pursuing each until he mastered them. Sailboat racing was one of those personal goals.

Gil succeeded in his sailboat racing goals when he took 1st overall JAM honors in GLYC's 4th annual regatta and 2nd place in the LSSC's Spring Sunset Series JAM B fleet. Gil's personal style was to stress his own ability rather than capitalize on another's weakness. He was more apt to go for clear air and sail his own course than to press another boat's position. A very familiar sight in Lake Shore's races, Gil supported his love of sailboat racing with more than his presence. He was active in the formation of LSSC's racing rules and developed LSSC first computer scoring software.

1991

Dave Beard

2001

Norm Mallory

2011

no JAM class

1992

Andy Unger

2002

Norm Mallory

2012

 

1993

Andy Unger

2003

Norm Mallory

2013

 

1994

Norm Mallory

2004

Mike Mahar

2014

 

1995

Norm Mallory

2005

Norm Mallory

2015

 

1996

Norm Mallory

2006

Don King

2016

 

1997

Rick Romer

2007

Cary Poplawski

2017

 

1998

Brian Lang

2008

Cary Poplawski

2018

 

1999

Lothar Wald

2009

Cary Poplawski

2019

 

2000

Ron Whalen

2010

no JAM Class

2020