Accomplished Mackinac sailor expelled by Bayview Yacht Club after sexual assault conviction
Defense lawyer explains why she just filed a motion to get judge tossed from the case of a former Morgan Stanley wealth manager from Grosse Pointe Farms
Warning: Details in this story contain graphic description of trial testimony.
Robert Allen “Bob” Declercq of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, is the son of a Great Lakes sailing legend whose boat “Flying Buffalo” dominated Port Huron to Mackinac Island races for years.
The longtime sailmaker, who later became a wealth manager at Morgan Stanley, built a record of race success on different boats — he was considered a highly desirable crew member in high demand. Declercq was inducted into the Bayview Mackinac Hall of Fame in 2023.
But in recent weeks, pages with his name that honored his legacy have been removed from the digital race program archived by the club.
Declercq, 71, is sitting in jail, facing a potential life sentence.
The office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel prosecuted Declercq for assaulting his 3-year-old granddaughter in the bathroom of his second home in Fairview. On May 2, an Oscoda County jury found Declercq guilty of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct — vaginal penetration and anal penetration — of a person under 13.
The May 2020 assault carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. Sentencing is scheduled for August 18 at 11:00 a.m. before Judge Casandra Morse-Bills in the 23rd Circuit Court in Mio, Michigan.
“This very young victim of sexual assault showed great courage in telling a trustworthy adult in her life what had occurred,” Nessel said in a news release. “I am grateful for the jury, and the Michigan State Police for their investigative efforts, and those of my office’s prosecutors, who brought accountability and justice for this assault.”
News of the trial and its verdict rippled through Bayview Yacht Club, shocking members who knew nothing of the case. Declercq had attended a commodore’s dinner just a week earlier at the club on the Detroit River. Since then, members have wondered privately who knew what about the case — and when.
Declercq’s attorney told Shifting Gears that she asked her client to say nothing to anyone because she didn’t want to violate court orders protecting identifying information about the alleged victim. Having family members make claims created an especially sensitive situation, said defense attorney Shannon Smith.
“We did not want to sling mud at people in the family,” she said. “It’s very clear that the mother has some really serious mental health issues, the mother of the little girl who made the claims. The last thing Mr. Declercq wanted to do was expose all that to the world … We wanted to try this case in the courtroom, not in the media.”
This was the first of two trials for Declercq this year. A second case, involving sexual assault allegations from his daughter, was postponed by an ice storm in April. It has been rescheduled for Mackinac County on October 29. While these cases unfolded, Bob Declercq’s sister went to police in 2021 to report she suffered sexual assault at the hands of her brothers — the defendant and his twin —when she was a child. No charges have been filed, Smith noted.
This article is based on review of court documents obtained by Shifting Gears, interviews with friends and family of Declercq, Mackinac sailors from throughout the state, a senior official at U.S. sailing and lawyers working on the case. A transcript of the case is not yet available.
Details of testimony
Members of the prestigious Bayview Yacht Club revealed they have received a letter urging the club to remove Declercq from the Hall of Fame out of respect for sexual assault victims.
On Wednesday, May 21, a corporate sponsor of the 101st Bayview Mackinac Race asked that the corporate logo be removed from the website, according to a source with firsthand knowledge.
All this despite the fact that few details have been revealed publicly about court testimony. Declercq’s lawyers talked with Shifting Gears.
Shannon Smith of Bloomfield Township, Michigan, whose law firm website defendingabuse.com refers to her as a “criminal sexual conduct lawyer” who specializes in cases involving children, said Declercq didn’t have a prayer with Judge Casandra Morse-Bills running the trial.
Smith moved for a mistrial twice, saying that the judge was biased and repeatedly accused the defense team of lying and misleading the jury.
“The judge ruled against allowing certain evidence in. She limited our expert witness,” Smith said. “After doing this more than 20 years, (I believe) it was absolutely an erroneous outcome. Mr. Declercq has a very strong appeal ahead of him … It became very clear we were not getting a fair trial.”
Al Declercq of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, a champion sailor known throughout the industry, worked for major sail companies and now runs Declercq Marine.
He told Shifting Gears that his twin brother was wrongly convicted. "I still believe he's innocent and he just wasn't allowed to put on a defense. I think he's going to get a new trial on appeal and then it'll just be a matter of how that goes."
“The granddaughter's claim would have happened in 2020 when she was 3. It was reported in 2021 when she was 4,” Smith told Shifting Gears.
Testimony at trial showed that the child and her mother discussed the incidents that led to conviction more than 100 times, Smith said. Declercq was charged in Fall 2022 and trial just happened a few weeks ago.
Both his granddaughter and daughter testified at trial, along with the child’s father.
“This whole story comes out about ‘I believe something sexual happened to my daughter last year’ and, lo and behold, this 4-year-old is like, ‘Yeah, ‘something happened to me,’” Smith told Shifting Gears. “So the mother goes and reports that to police. And they start their investigation. The mother keeps trying to make the case better and better. It’s very obvious she’s trying to add to the case,” Smith said.
“Finally, she goes back in July 2021 — two months after she made the initial report about her daughter — she says, ‘By the way, back in 1994, my dad did the same thing to me when I was a little girl on Mackinac Island,’” Smith said. “A couple months after that, now I remember a whole lifetime of abuse and started listing off all kinds of crazy stuff that she says happened. All of that came in in trial.”
These details aren’t spin, they’re part of the trial record, Smith said.
The judge “let the mother testify of all the alleged abuse she had at the hands of her father,” Smith said. “… Honestly, the defense wanted all of that to come in because the only way you could understand why this little 4-year-old was led to say something was to understand … how much her mother hated the accused, the father.”
Smith spotlights her experience with forensic interviewing techniques, memory and suggestibility, adolescent and child development, and offender behavior. She represented serial child molester Dr. Larry Nassar at trial.
Declercq wore an electronic ankle bracelet
When initially charged, Declercq wore a tether rather than remain in jail “because he posed no danger to the community and was not a flight risk,” Smith said. “It was removed and not required during the pendency of the case. So he was able and allowed to be sailing and everything else … The court did not put any prohibition that he could not be sailing or anything.”
Sailors have posted images to the Sailing Anarchy blog that appear to show Declercq in long pants while others are wearing shorts during the 2023 Port Huron to Mackinac Race, alleging a box-shaped bulge at his ankle indicates a tether.
Remembering the precise timing of the tether is difficult because they’ve been in court since 2022, Smith said.
Sailors often wear pants to avoid the sun, even in hot weather. So that’s not uncommon and would not have been questioned at the time.
Challenge raised by defense on fairness
Late on Wednesday, May 21, Smith filed motions that will be heard on June 30 that included:
Asking that the case be reassigned to an unbiased judge and, if that doesn’t happen, ask the State Court Administrator’s office to review the matter and pursue concerns on appeal.
Asking the court to allow Declercq to go with his adult son Robert Declercq, a Morgan Stanley financial adviser, to a medical appointment scheduled with his dentist in Grosse Pointe on May 29 so that the defendant may get implants. He had cancer that spread to his throat, esophagus, lymph nodes and teeth.
Teeth had to be removed during gum surgery. While the cancer is in remission, doctors say the implants are needed to keep cancer from spreading further to prevent infection and eliminate pain because the temporary teeth won’t last. Both the son and his father could wear tethers or the court could order the jail to transport Declercq. If the teeth aren’t impacted, “he faces serious health issues” that could “cause extreme burden” to the Michigan Department of Corrections.”
Cancer is unrelated to the appeal, Smith said.
Sailors did mention the cancer diagnosis the year Declercq sailed a shorter Mackinac Race course one year.
Bayview: Disciplinary action and fallout
Bayview Commodore Paul Falcone responded to questions from Shifting Gears:
Why was Declercq expelled in May?
“As Commodore, I first learned of Mr. Declercq’s legal issue on May 1, and took prompt action. The Board voted unanimously to expel him from the Bayview Yacht Club and ban him from our property and all Club events to align with the Club’s values and code-of-conduct. The expulsion underscores our commitment to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for our staff, families, and guests.”
(Falcone explained that he received a call about the case the day before the verdict.)
How have club members responded to the expulsion?
“I respect that members can have differing opinions from leadership and from fellow members, I take those perspectives seriously. While I won’t speak for individual members, I can say clearly that Bayview Yacht Club has zero tolerance for conduct that puts the safety, dignity, or well-being of our members, guests, or the broader community at risk. Our leadership is fully committed to fostering a safe, respectful environment, and we are actively reviewing and strengthening our policies to strive for that standard always being upheld.”
Why was Declercq invited to the Commodore's Dinner in the days prior to his conviction?
“The invite was extended by me, prior to May 1 when I learned of the criminal proceedings.”
Did BYC leadership know prior to the trial that charges were pending?
“I did not know … To ensure a full and objective understanding of what happened, the club is initiating an independent third-party review to examine these circumstances.
Why was Declercq's Hall of Fame status removed from the 2024 Bayview Mackinac race program, digital archive, both Table of Contents and interior pages 18 and 19?
“The Board felt that this was the appropriate thing to do. While we cannot fully erase history, we can limit what content could be perceived as celebrating him.”
Has Bayview reached out to U.S. Sailing and/or SafeSport for guidance on best practices to prevent or reduce incidents of abuse in the future?
“Yes. Internally we have been sharing what resources are available from US Sailing, the governing body in our sport. Many of our leaders and judges who interact with youth have been through SafeSport Training or National Alliance for Youth Sports training. In addition, we are engaging a third-party expert to conduct a comprehensive review of our policies and procedures. As part of this process, we will be working closely with governing bodies like U.S. Sailing to ensure our policies align with the highest standards for abuse prevention, training, and reporting.”
Questions and more questions
Meanwhile, friends have been scrutinized.
Recent crewmates have been questioned privately by club members because Declercq raced Mackinac after being indicted. They’ve consistently maintained they found out when the rest of the world did, according to interviews with Shifting Gears.
Meanwhile, on the homepage of the non-profit website run by the Detroit Community Sailing Center at the Belle Isle Boat House, president Harry Jones posted a special letter with a Q&A about its former board member to reassure families.
“The (Bob) Declercq era (of board service) was so far away in the past,” Jones told Shifting Gears. “Our intent was to try and reduce any speculation or connections that may or may not have happened with us by clearly stating, here’s the facts, and we’re comfortable that we’ve got processes in places. We can never say that it can never happen but we’re pretty confident that this issue didn’t touch us at all.”
Sailors angry, monitoring case closely
Sailing Anarchy, the blog and forum community catering to sailors from every part of the world, curates a discussion thread that now spans several thousand posts and examines every aspect of the Declercq case, including legal documents, filings and analysis that wouldn’t be out of place in a legal journal.
Filled with profanity and outrage, and involving what appear to be a few members of the Bayview Yacht Club, sailors have fed the discussion every day since the verdict.
One writer shared a flyer just now circulated by Bayview promoting the upcoming Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series Detroit from May 30-June 1 features the boat on which Declercq sailed.
Sailing Anarchy questioned the wisdom of the selection.
Another poster included a May 20 article from BridgeMichigan about the Michigan Senate giving sexual assault survivors more time to sue.
“The current statute of limitations is 10 years from the date of an assault or until a victim turns 28 years old, which advocates say is too short a window for young people who may not be able to grapple with the abuse until later in life,” the article said. “The new limitation would extend the timeframe for alleged victims to file suit until they turn 42, or seven years after they become aware of the injury, whichever is later.”
Bayview members say they worry that Declercq supporters are victim shaming. Case observers have asked why the defendant — who testified in court — would keep a list of medicines taken by his daughter if not to portray her as unstable.
“Bob had a file for every member of the family with details on all of their ailments, meds, etc. This was not unique to his daughter,” Smith told Shifting Gears. “The files on him are actually huge with every possible cancer treatment option out there. His wife just had her hip replaced. There's a huge file on her. I have esophagus issues that caused me to be hospitalized. Bob made a file of research on me (lol). He bought me books of recipes of soft foods so that I would be able to eat when my Picc line got taken out. You can put all this out to the world if you want. Bob was just a nice guy who was always interested in helping people with health issues, including me, and I didn't even know him personally outside of this case.”
Documents related to the mother of the victim were printed out so that Declercq might understand how someone might believe unfounded claims, Smith said.
Smith continued, “So there was also a folder with info about false memories, how children can be led to believe something happened that didn't, even accidentally by a well-intentioned parent … It pains me to see how sinister they made all that look.”
U.S. Sailing: ‘Just sickened’
A senior official with U.S. Sailing told Shifting Gears that the case has rocked the sailing world. “We’re all just sickened.”
The first weekday after the conviction, Bayview contacted the U.S. Sailing team to alert them to the situation and seek advice.
U.S. Sailing is obligated to then file a report with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which was done on May 5 — when Bayview called. The non-profit sports entity, authorized by the federal government, is dedicated to keeping young athletes safe from abuse.
In this case, the official said, Declercq is in jail but reporting is essential.
U.S. Sailing suspended Declercq’s membership in the organization immediately, to maintain authority and prohibit him from participating in sailing events, the official said. Declercq had no current licenses or certifications. If Declercq did, they would have been revoked. All race officers, judges, instructors have criminal background checks, and the sailing takes training and oversight seriously, the official told Shifting Gears.
“From the U.S. Sailing point of view, obviously the abuse of any child anywhere at any time is a serious matter … We don’t want people associated with our sport who are convicted of matters like this,” the U.S. Sailing official said.
“We’ve taken all the action we’re permitted to take. We didn’t actually terminate his membership because we wanted to retain jurisdiction over him for the U.S. Center for SafeSport. We had people agitating to terminate his membership. We wanted to be cautious and make sure we didn’t make anything worse.”
Expelling Declercq, rather than accepting his resignation, prevents him from maintaining a status in good standing at Bayview, the U.S. Sailing official said. “It also sends a message to him and to the community and to the sport in general that they don’t condone this, don’t tolerate it.”
Meanwhile, sailors throughout the Midwest — especially in Chicago and Detroit — are aware of this case and following developments closely.
“We in the Great Lakes area either knew Bob or knew of him. They’re a prominent family,” the U.S. Sailing official said. “Most of us have coached kids. It hit us all in the gut.”
Since conviction, Declercq has hired lawyer Michael Dezsi of Royal Oak to appeal the conviction. Smith is working closely with Dezsi on the appeal, which is filed after the sentencing. Dezsi, an adjunct law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy. His students are assisting on the case. Shifting Gears is not naming the jail holding Declercq because of safety concerns.
Editor’s note: Court records and news reports mistakenly capitalize the first “c” in Declercq to incorrectly read DeClercq. Autocorrect on the computer makes the change if it’s not caught. Also, the state refers to Declercq as a resident of Grosse Pointe but the address listed in court records is Grosse Pointe Farms. Following a request forwarded by an alleged victim, certain details of the case have been removed from the story.
Note: This story has been updated with the correct age of Bob Declercq. Press statements from the state attorney general’s incorrectly listed his age and the spelling of the judge’s first name, which also has been corrected.
Phoebe Wall Howard, a Grosse Pointe native and member of the Port Huron Yacht Club, covered competitive sailing for The Detroit Free Press for seven years. Find more sailing coverage here.
Note: I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out a great mix of political analysis, features and news from the Heartland here.
Incredible reporting. Terrible situation.
OMG. What a story! How tragic. Great reporting, of course.