Things are warming up, and summer is just around the corner. For many people, this means getting back out on the water, whether it be as a swimmer, surfer, sailor, or paddleboarder. Warmer weather also means a return to outdoor competitive sporting events.
Such was the case for Seymour (Sy) Kaback (1922-2005), contracting company C.E.O., entrepreneur, race car driver, and regatta heavyweight. In this image from The East Hampton Star’s photo archive, Kaback hands a silver trophy to Tom Wiggins, who was second in the 1989 East Hampton Yacht Club Chowder Bowl. Kaback, along with his boat manager, Dan Fallon, took first place in the race in his 42-foot Catalina named Lotus.
The Chowder Bowl dates to at least 1967. On the day of the 1989 Chowder Bowl, 13 vessels participated in the cruising class, making it the most competitive race of the day. It ended up being a close race, with a difference of only 14 minutes separating the first and second finishers.
As a race car driver, Kaback had made a name for himself in the 1960s, racing Lotus cars on tracks in the tristate area and winning the Vanderbilt Cup at the Bridgehampton Race Circuit in 1961.
By the 1980s, he had turned his attention to yachting, becoming skipper of three successive sailboats, all named Lotus. The first iteration, a 37-foot Peterson, was named boat of the year by the Eastern Long Island Yachting Association in 1983. From there, he went on to pilot two more Lotus sailboats that were similarly successful.
Kaback later became commodore of the East Hampton Yacht Club. He was also a member of the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett and Sag Harbor’s Breakwater Yacht Club.
Julia Tyson is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library’s Long Island Collection.
