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Apr 27, 2009, 2:02 PM
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EIGHT BELLS: Robert G. Scharf
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Submitted by Eastport Yacht Club:
Robert G. Scharf, a resident of Annapolis since 1982, died Saturday, April 18, at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 83. Born on April 28, 1925, in New York City, he grew up in the New York area and attended the Wittenberg School in Ohio and Brown University. He served in the U.S. Army, and was honorably discharged in 1944. As a young man, he lived for a time in pre-Castro Cuba, before returning to the New York area, eventually settling in Stamford, Connecticut.
His work as a yacht broker took him to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the 1970s, where he worked for Fitzsimmons-Huckins. Although he briefly pursued other career paths, he always returned to the marine trades. After moving to Annapolis, he worked as a broker with Scandinavian Yachts and Omega Yacht Sales & Charters, and was a partner in Annaoplis Marine Propulsion, Inc. After retiring from the marine trades, he worked for the City of Annapolis as a drawbridge tender on the Spa and Weems Creek bridges until his full retirement two years ago.
Mr. Scharf was an early member of Eastport Yacht Club, joining the club when he first moved to Annapolis. He served the club in many capacities, including as Commodore in 1993, and as chairman of the Race Committee for several years. He devoted hundreds of hours to the Building Committee in 1989-91, helping to plan the development of the club’s new property on Sycamore Point, and he volunteered as a fleet leader for many years in the EYC Parade of Lights.
He was very active in regatta management, serving on race committees not only for the Eastport club, but also for Severn Sailing Association and the Naval Academy Sailing Association, and for the Columbus Cup match racing series in Baltimore in the early 1990s. In one year during this period, he served more than 200 days of race committee duty at various events. He and his Alura 30 Cormorant were well-known fixtures on local race courses, but he also traveled in pursuit of this interest, serving on the race committees for Key West Race Week and the 1996 Olympic Games in Savannah, Georgia. In the Annapolis area, he served as a key player or Principal Race Officer for a wide range of events including the Leukemia Cup, of which he took charge in its second year, the Solomons Island Invitational, and numerous regional, national, and world championship events, and he was valued for sharing his knowledge and experience with many of the current generation of area race officials.
In addition to boating, Mr. Scharf’s interests included cars and collecting guns and knives. He also was a talented and accomplished cook. In younger years, he enjoyed a wide range of athletic pursuits, including playing polo. A skilled storyteller and dapper bon vivant, he was known for his sardonic humor and great generosity.
Mr. Scharf is survived by his former wife, Janice B. Leyton of Scarsdale, N.Y.; sons Jonathan Leyton of Morgantown, W.V., and Jordan Scharf of Annapolis; daughters Dana Scharf of Crownsville and Carla Carroll of Stamford, Ct., and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his former wife Jean I. Scharf of Stamford, and by his daughter Robin, who died in 1962 at the age of 5.
A celebration of Mr. Scharf’s life will be held on Saturday, May 9, at 2 p.m. at Eastport Yacht Club. In lieu of flowers, his family requests donations to a phantom boat fund raising campaign in his name for the Annapolis Leukemia Cup Regatta on June 13. Checks payable to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society can be sent in care of Eastport Yacht Club, P.O. Box 3205, Annapolis, MD 21403, marked “Scharf.”
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