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

Aerial view of Clearwater (circa 1970s). The white building to the south of the causeway was the site of the Star Spectaculars (rock concerts) that drew young people from all over the Tampa Bay Area. Photo by the Clearwater Flying Company; courtesy of the Clearwater Historical Society Archives.

44 The First Hundred Years: Clearwater Yacht Club, 1911-2011 Among the forty loyal CYC members who stuck it out during these difficult times were Historical Committee members Ann Cornett, Dave and Betty Perkins, Peggy Word, Hank and George Hardy, and Bill Welbon as well as current CYC members Helen Dexter and Jim Eaton. These dedicated these rescue attempts and damage from several severe storms drove club expenses up and it looked as though the financial stability of the club was on a serious downward slide (Gamblin and Gamblin, 1976). Times were also changing across the nation. The decline in membership at CYC mirrored a national trend in declining organizational membership and participation that started in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Putnam, 2000). Snipe sailing was still going strong, but young people in the area may have been more interested in the rock and roll bands playing at the weekly Star Spectacular in the auditorium on the mainland than in the social activities at the club. The club’s lack of racial and ethnic diversity was also out of step with the changing values of the 1970s and became part of the debate over the appropriateness of the club’s use of public property (Haeseker, 1976). As noted in earlier chapters, the club’s 1935 agreement with the city stipulated an “open membership” policy. The racial and gender restrictions were not, however, officially removed from the legal articles of incorporation until 1987. Under pressure from residents and the press, the City of Clearwater decided it was no longer appropriate for a private membership club to hold a virtually free perpetual lease on land belonging to the city. CYC was ordered to vacate the premises on Mandalay Avenue (Gamblin and Gamblin, 1976; Haeseker, 1976).