Friends celebrate life of Newport man who invited hundreds to discover joys of sailing

Fear seized Jennifer Bopp her first time aboard the Fairwind in rough waters. She struggled to stay on two feet as the 40-foot ketch pitched violently from side to side, occasionally tipping over far enough to take on small amounts of water.

Anything that wasn’t tied down was either tossed about the wooden boat’s cabin, sent skidding across its deck or chucked overboard into the sea. And, for a moment, she panicked. That’s when she heard Fairwind’s owner, Tim “Skipper” Bercovitz, shouting at her over the squall.

“He said ‘I don’t know why you’re scared. I’m the one who can’t swim,’” Bopp recalled.

They made it back to Fairwind’s berth just outside of American Legion Post 291 in Newport Beach in one piece, and went on to sail up and down California’s coast together over the years. Bopp was just one of hundreds of people Bercovitz welcomed onto his boat who would eventually fall in love with sailing.

Bercovitz died of prostate cancer on June 21.

A handful of his loved ones gathered to reminisce Friday at the American Legion, where he served as sergeant at arms for the past 25 years, longtime friend and fellow veteran Jim Voelkl said. Fairwind, his pride and joy, was a well recognized fixture in the harbor just a few yards from the hall’s patio. That’s largely because he would invite practically anyone interested in coming aboard to go sailing with him.

“It’s the only boat in the Marina like that that can hold as many people,” Kemp Bailey, a Navy veteran and one of the first people to ever sail with Bercovitz in Newport Beach, said. “And it was: come one come all, basically an open door policy. I don’t think anybody’s ever been turned away from being on the boat.”

Bercovitz made it his mission to spread his passion for sailing. He would reach out to youth groups, charitable organizations, law enforcement and veterans advocates, and was constantly arranging outings for them, Voelkl said.

Fellow Army veteran Walter White credited Bercovitz and the many friends he made while crewing the Fairwind for helping him learn to manage post-traumatic stress disorder. The friends gathered with him at the Legion Friday were shocked to learn that he was struggling to control his anger around 2018 before a therapist recommended that he invest in some sort of outlet, which led him to reach out to “Skipper.”

“It was the camaraderie that was developed, and the friendliness,” White said. “He had a tradition. It involved rum. At the end of every trip someone was tasked with getting the glasses out. He would say ‘nobody got hurt, nothing got broke, I think we came back with the same number of people we started with,’ and then we’d toast.”

The Fairwind competed in local boat races almost every Monday night in the summer over the past 25 years, even though the 40-foot, 54-year-old Japanese-built vessel wasn’t primarily designed for speed, Voelkl said. But those competitions were the introduction to a lifelong passion for multiple generations of sailors.

The iconic boat has hosted numerous weddings officiated by “Skipper” himself. It has also played a role in many funeral ceremonies, helping loved ones revisit cherished memories that had been formed on its decks.

Shaun McCrae said he learned everything he knows about sailing from Bercovitz. The veteran and his boat also helped him create a positive relationship with his previously estranged adult son, Dylan Prosser.

Prosser expressed to his father an interest in sailing. McCrae knew Bercovitz was a stern captain in need of a crew at the time, so he convinced him to take son under his wing.

The three of them would go on to sail hundreds of miles together. McCrae said watching Prosser go through the same trials he had and develop similar skills made the fact that they were family undeniable to him.

“It’s different,” McCrae said of his bond with his son. “In a way, it makes us tighter than even a father and son might be, because we’re more like brothers. Everything he went through on this boat, it’s almost identical to how I learned.”

He, Prosser, Bopp, Bailey, Voelkl and White said the Marina simply would not be the same without “Skipper” and his Fairwind parked in the harbor. So, they were relieved when the boat’s new owner decided to keep it there and convert it to a charter vessel for local trips. That means future generations may continue to board prized, wooden-hulled vessel to fall in love with the ocean all over again.