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

Peggy Powell (left), Donna Ventura, Adrian Jenkyn, and Vice Commodore Sandie Ramsden at the Out of Africa party (2010). CYC Archives.

sometimes bribed or even bought—imagine that! The Dinghy Poker Run (brainchild of David and Theresa Kresge) has become a “blood sport” in which members traverse the bay in inflatable dinghies collecting cards along the way and defending their territory with water cannons. From time to time, the Entertainment Committee, with help from the Gulls and Bow Chasers, has staged a production called the “Follies” that always brings down the house with laughter. Most of all, CYC members love to dance. As the club moved from home to home, music and dancing always followed. Two of the club’s early homes were, in fact, ballrooms—one on the top floor of the public pier and one atop Lester Dicus’ Sunset Point Hotel. In the 1930s, when budgets were too tight for live bands, the club hosted “Radio Dances” (Bayly scrapbooks). When asked what she remembered most about growing up at CYC, Ann Bayly Cornett said two things: “watching the guys work on boats and the dances.” She was also known to say that while there might be other clubs to which you

Cutthroat competition at the Chili Cook-off through the years (2006–2010). Photos by Amanda Fleming.

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