Eight Bells: Jim Marta

Jim Marta, PhD, a Pacific Northwest sailing icon and a longstanding member of Seattle Yacht Club, passed away on January 16, 2024, one week short of his 88th birthday. He was born in Roslyn, Washington on January 23rd, 1936. Jim was a veteran ocean racer, and a perpetual podium finisher in Pacific Northwest yacht racing.

To quote Henry Miller:
“If at eighty you’re not a cripple or an invalid, if you have your health, if you still enjoy a good walk, a good meal (with all the trimmings), if you can sleep without first taking a pill, if birds and flowers, mountains and sea still inspire you, you are a most fortunate individual and you should get down on your knees morning and night and thank the good Lord for his savin’ and keepin’ power.”

At eighty, Jim was healthy and strong; his love of the sea was eclipsed only by his love for his lovely wife Barbara, with whom he shared 62 years of marriage. Jim and Barbara met at Central Washington State College, where Jim’s athletic abilities earned him letters in basketball, and in track and field. Jim’s career in education began as a teacher, and culminated as a Superintendent of Schools.

Barbara preceded Jim in death in December of 2021, with both survived by their son Matt. Jim’s memorial will be held at Seattle Yacht Club on February 17th, 2024, between 1400 and 1700.

Testimonials:

Frank Ritter:
In early 2011 I was looking for a boat to race on; as a member of a SYC reciprocal yacht club, I was invited to attend a gathering for prospective new members. Jim and Barbara were in attendance, and Jim welcomed me to sit at their table. Jim suggested that I visit with him on board Eye Candy the following Saturday after the race; thereafter, I was invited to join his crew, and I remained part of the Eye Candy family until Jim’s death.

During the SYC Vashon Island Race a few years ago, near the northern entrance to Colvos Passage, Jim looked around and said, “This reminds me of the 1967 Vashon Island Race; let’s go up the west side of Blake Island!” A bold move, indeed, as doing so involves sailing extra distance in unpredictable currents. At the north end of Blake Island, Eye Candy emerged at the front of the fleet, and Jim had turned a mediocre result into a top finish.

After Glen Utgaard retired from sailing, I was offered the helm more frequently; one thing that Jim always told the crew was how “no one is allowed to talk to Frank while he is at the helm.” He wanted to me to stay focused on the task.

I often felt that Jim had taken me under his wing, like a son, and I will always be grateful for being welcomed by Jim and Barbara, in their home as well as on the boat.

Robert T. King, Skipper SV String Theory:
I began sailing with Jim in the early 1990s on his Frers 42 White Lies; Jim’s next boat was the Tripp 40 Snake Oil, then followed by Eye Candy, a Farr 395. One of my most memorable moments on board Eye Candy occurred at night, about two miles from the finish of the SYC Smith Island Race (approximately 90 nautical miles); we were on port tack off Jefferson Head, sailing downwind in an east-northeasterly, with our #3 set as staysail inside our asymmetric kite. When sailing on Puget Sound, we occasionally experience an almost immediate convergence between northerly and southerly winds, and races can be lost or won, depending on how one manages the transition.

I was driving at the time; I heard the sails of a nearby competitor begin to luff, and I knew the convergence zone was immediately ahead… I said to our navigator “We need to tack”; he replied “You can’t tack, we have a kite up!” I spoke to the pit crew, saying “Smoke the halyard and ease the sheet right before our tack!” We executed a perfect “tack-weather takedown” and found that Eye Candy was then in the southerly, on layline to the finish. Jim didn’t bat an eye, and Eye Candy won the race. Jim was a mentor for many sailors… we were close friends both on and off the boat; Jim was one of the few members in our sailing community who would call me “Bobby”. I will miss him dearly.