Longtime Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club racer Joe Degenhardt dies

Joe Degenhardt, a longtime dedicated member of Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club who competed in about 50 races a year, has died. He was 91.

Degenhardt died of natural causes on Jan. 1 at his home in Corona del Mar, said his daughter, Grace Dassoff.

Degenhardt was born in Chicago in 1929 and moved to Southern California in his 20s, Dassoff said. He joined Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club in 1980 and had been racing his Catalina 38 sailboat, “Lickity Split,” for the last 20 years.

Bahia Corinthian club spokesman Bill Long said that Degenhardt was very prolific and dedicated to the craft, but maintained a sense of humor out of the water.

“He was just a riot,” Long said. “When he would go to Ensenada every year, he wanted to test his crew to see if they had all the equipment ready. One year, he had a crew of maybe five or six, but he took two of the life jackets out of the bottom of the boat and took the fire extinguishers out. Then he would ask them if everything was ready to go, safety-wise ... He kidded around but they loved him, they really loved him.”

Joe Degenhardt was a member of Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for 40 years.

(Courtesy of Bruce Berglund)

Long said Degenhardt’s racing accomplishments included four Congressional Cups, including one first-place finish. He also competed in 30 Newport to Ensenada races, and a Transpacific race with Dassoff.

Degenhardt won four Catalina 38 national titles, Long said, and enjoyed sailing around the world with his family, including his late wife of 60 years, Verna. She died in 2015 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

“He was respected by all of the sailors that knew and raced against him,” Long said. “We also have an annual show every year that goes for a week, called Showboat. Joe was one of the pioneers, and he tap-danced in the show every year up until about four years ago.”
Dassoff said she enjoyed sailing with her father over the years. She said he suffered a stroke four years ago that left him unable to speak, but he would hold up signs in the boat to let his crew know what to do in a given situation.

“He could communicate with his little twinkle in his eye,” Dassoff said. “He was very demonstrative, even though he couldn’t speak. He was always able to convey his thoughts ... Even was he was convalescing, the crew would come and pick him up in his wheelchair and take him down there [to the water]. He really had so much grit that he even refused to use a wheelchair. He wanted to walk.”

Dassoff said last year the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club created a perpetual trophy in his name called the Joseph Degenhardt Corinthian Spirit Award.

“I think that kind of sums it up,” she said. “He just had this really incredible grit. He was always such an adventurous person.”

Joe Degenhardt is survived by his son, Bill, his daughter, Grace, and her husband, Glenn Dassoff. Grace Dassoff said no memorial services are currently planned due to the coronavirus pandemic, but she is hoping to plan a Celebration of Life ceremony this summer on July 10, her late father’s birthday.

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