The First Hundred Years: Clearwater Yacht Club, 1911-2011

The agreement goes on to say:

It is understood and agreed that the leased premises and the building which is to be completed thereon is to be used by the Lessee for yacht club and other allied purposes, the said Lessee being interested in promoting yachting, boat races and other similar sports for the entertainment of and for the benefit of the general public. The Lessee covenants and agrees that as a part of the consideration for this

34 The First Hundred Years: Clearwater Yacht Club, 1911-2011 Newspaper articles collected in Taver Bayly’s scrapbook from 1936 to 1937 indicate the club was a major hub of sporting and social activity for members and the wider community. Both power and sail boat races were held regularly. In June of 1936, in fact, the club (with Guy Roberts as chair of the Race Committee) organized an interesting event that combined both forms of racing. Power boaters competed in a “bang and back again” race in which boats of all sizes and speeds started at the “bang” of the gun (or perhaps cannon) and ran at any speed they chose but could not change their throttle speed once the race began. At the sound of the second shot, they turned around and headed back to the starting line. In principle, since lease that membership in the Lessee corporation shall always during the existence of this lease remain open to any and all persons who may desire to become members of the Lessee corporation by paying prescribed membership fees and otherwise complying with such reasonable rules and regulations as may be established or required by the Lessee for membership therein (lease is included as Appendix F in Haeseker, 1976). Clearly, in 1935, the city fathers thought the activities provided by the Clearwater Yacht Club were valuable enough to the city to warrant a rather major and very long-term investment. It is also clear the city and club agreed at this point to an “open membership” policy and, at least on paper, the club’s dedication to inclusivity was established with this agreement. The newly remodeled building on Mandalay was formally commissioned on November 14, 1935, “…with a dinner for city officials and officers of the Chamber of Commerce, past and present, who had helped the Clearwater Yacht Club realize its dream of ‘such elegant and commodious quarters’” (Ransom and Tracy, 1961: 13). The club’s first burgee was registered with Lloyds of London in that same year (Ransom and Tracy, 1961).

Clearwater Yacht Club cup and saucer showing the club burgee registered with Lloyds of London in 1935 and used until 1954 when the current burgee was adopted. The cup and saucer are in Tim and Terri Roberts’ collection . Photo by Mary Lucy Walker.