I have very sad news of the passing of a good friend of mine and the marina community. Clint Baty, an avid sailor, advocate, and my predecessor as Harbor Master of Great Salt Lake Marina died on February 20th after a brief illness.
Clint was born in Moab, Utah on April 27, 1934 and served in the Navy, stationed in Europe during the Korean War. He found his home on the Great Salt Lake in the early 1970’s and was a fixture here until 1998 when he retired. During that time he worked as the Ranger Sailboat dealer and taught sailing introducing many people to the sport of sailing and Great Salt Lake before becoming the first Harbor Master on Great Salt Lake. Besides sailing his other passion was running and golf. I remember him often spending his lunch hours running from the marina to the old truck stop located near Rocky Mountain Raceway. There are many of us who have wonderful and colorful stories of Clint, including him racing on Great Salt Lake when he was racing his Merit 25 and losing his keel. We had many racing duels with him on is Olson 30 WEST SECOND SOUTH while I was racing on AVALANCHE, a Hobie 33.
During his last few years as Harbor Master he, Ann Hunter, and I worked closely together on the birth of SAILFEST; An event he envisioned celebrating the sport of sailing as well as this wonderful inland sea he loved. That event still occurs every year and is a lasting tribute to Clint. He and I also worked closely on search-and-rescue cases during that time. He had a vast knowledge of Great Salt Lake and its history and was always a joy to talk to. And he dearly loved to tell stories of his adventures on Great Salt Lake. He would often return here to visit the lake he loved and see old friend. He always loved telling stories of the glory days of Great Salt Lake.
Clint lived in American Fork and was married to Jane Barratt for the last 23 years of his life. He is survived by seven children, twelve grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
The obituary can be seen by going to http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/obituary.aspx?n=clinton-baty&pid=184278179
A graveside service will be held at the Camp Williams Veterans Memorial Cemetery on March 31, 2017 at 11am.
Clint was 82
Dave Shearer
Harbor Master
Great Salt Lake State Marina
Antelope Island State Marina
801-209-9142
