80th Anniversary Celebration

MIAMI YACHT CLUB1927- 2007

80th Anniversary Celebration

MIAMI YACHT CLUB1927- 2007

Miami Yacht Club

Established in 1927

Home of Sailing Champions

Member: USSA, BBYRA, SORC, FSA

2007-08 Officers

Commodore: Gus Zuloaga

Vice Commodore: Linda Foran-Evans

Rear Commodore: David Peterson

Secreatry: Andrea Livingston

Treasurer: Donita Leavitt

Staff Commodore: Rick Harty

Board of Governors

Raul Lopez Todd Lewis John Hannau

Ken Ellis Don Manson

Steve Evans Guy Hamilton Bill Flood

Carla Schiefer Henry Vidal

Jimmy Duncan Larry Newberry Jim Ori

Frank Taddeo April Wegman

• Central Location - Conveniently located on Watson Island (behindthe new Parrot Jungle), the club offers dockage and sheltered waternear downtown Miami and Government Cut

• Restaurant and Bar facilities - Featuring a fantastic view of thebay, excellent food and a friendly staff, MYC also offers a great placefor meetings, parties and weddings. Private chef and staff available.

• Heated Pool - The pool and open space on the bay offer a greatplace to swim and socialize year round

• Youth and Adult Sailing Classes - Group and Private lessons areoffered, from beginner to advanced

• Recreational Cruising - Ongoing social events and raft-ups onBiscayne and the Keys, as well as Gulfstream crossing to Bimini andthe Abacos.

• Competitive Racing - Weekly races, monthly BBYRA, regattas,national championships and a yearly race to the Bahamas.

• Sandy Beach - Launch your catamaran or small boat right from thebeach

• Boat Storage/Dockage - Wet/dry slips available at reasonablerates, boat ramp/hoist on site with a public ramp next to the club.

• Community Service - Miami Yacht Club is host to numerousservice organizations and community service projects. For over 80years, MYC has worked to build a better community...locally,nationally and internationally.

1001 MacArthur Causeway at Watson Island, Miami. Florida 33132 • www.miamiyachtclub.netOffice: (305) 377-9877 • Email: manager@miamiyachtclub.net • Restaurant/Bar: (305) 371-0703 • Fax: (305) 358-7402

A Special Thank You t0...The MYC House Committee Ivette & Gus Zuloaga David Peterson

Tobie Hollenbeck - Entertainment Christina Peterson - Decorations

Bill Flood - Invitation Andrea Livingston, Tamme Flood & John Glass - Program

and to all of those who contributed to the 80th Anniversary Celebration

The history of the Miami Yacht Club is entwined with the

history of the City of Miami. In the post World War I era,

development fever swept over the Greater Miami area and

brought about the birth of Coral Gables, Fairchild Tropical Garden,

Miami Beach, the University of Miami, and Vizcaya. The Twenties

also saw the rise of many hotels, as well as other commercial and

residential buildings. Attracted by all this development, people

came to sunny Florida, and many settled in Miami. Among the

new residents were sailing enthusiasts who loved boat racing and

yachts, and in mid-1927, the South Florida Boat Racing

Association grew out of the monthly meetings held by these

sailboat lovers, mostly people of modest means who owned small

vessels, such as Snipes, Crickets, Suicides and Moths.

On July 19, 1927, Commodore John Robinson

signed the Association’s original charter, notarized

by Bertha Cox; and Circuit Judge W. L. Freeman

approved the charter on July 25, 1927, which is

the date of record for the founding of what would

eventually become the Miami Yacht Club. As

suggested, the Association’s original Members

came from all walks of life and met along Miami’s

waterways to plan sailboat races. Their first get-

togethers took place on Star Island at the Third

Street Anglers Club, now the Miami Beach Rod

and Reel Club, and later at Pier 5’s Old City of Miami Fishing

Docks, now Bayside Market

Place, and also in a sail loft

where Bicentennial Park now

stands. They held races off

Point View, SE 15th Road and

Biscayne Bay. Most Members

stored their boats at home and trailered them to the ends of public

streets to be launched.

Despite the Association’s modest origins, it gained an

international reputation starting in 1928 as a proven success by

organizing and sponsoring “The Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup

Race,” a regatta off the coast of Miami Beach. The Lipton Race

was named for the renowned tea magnate, who three times

challenged for the America’s Cup in his Shamrock. He also

donated the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, as the cup for the regatta

and in so doing helped to put Miami on the map of international

regattas. Nine years later in 1937, the Club deeded the trophy

and race to Miami’s oldest yacht club, the Biscayne Bay Yacht

Club, for continuance of the regatta.

By 1932, the

South Florida Boat

Racing Association

had moved to the area

of Miramar Hotel, near

the present location of

Omni, just north of the

Venetian Causeway.

The Members raced

along the Intercoastal Waterway and in the waters of the

surrounding Biscayne Bay, doing their best to avoid the trap of the

pilings to their east that had been set for the never built Isles of

Capri. For many years, the Association’s “committee boats” were

the docks, including the concrete dock at the foot of NE 18th

Street.

On February 27, 1934, the Association realized one of its

fervent dreams, when in conjunction with the Nassau Yacht Club

Looking Back1927 to 2007

Originally Written By Lynn Hummel and Suzy Burrows; Additions by Lew TwitchellRewritten By the Club’s longtime Historian, Harold Cobb; and Edited By Jim Ori and Andrea Livingston

Miami Beach Rod and Reel Club

and the sponsorship of the City of

Miami and the Mayor, the first Miami to

Nassau Race was held. It is still on

going today and will celebrate its 75th

anniversary in 2009.

Ten months later on November 27,

1934, Judge Worth W. Trammell of the

Eleventh Circuit Court of Florida

approved the Association’s November

23rd petition to change its name to the

Miami Yacht Club, symbolizing the Members desire to be a part of

the City of Miami. Historically, the Members obtained the use of

the name when a night club called “the Miami Yacht Club” to the

north of the Royal Palm Yacht Basin closed. In 2009, the Club will

also celebrate the 75th anniversary of this name change.

By the time World War II started in Europe, the Club met in

the Boy Scout Troop Headquarters at Bayfront Park. Private

homes, the downtown Miami Public Library, Bayfront Park, and the

Chess Club also served as meeting sites. During the war in 1943,

the Mid-Winter Regatta first started.

Following the war and the return of the GIs, Miami became a

permanent family town and began to control its development. It

was in this climate that the Miami Yacht Club moved to it’s

permanent home. A site was found on what had been an old

sandbar along the route of the then named County Causeway

(later General Douglas MacArthur Causeway) on the northeast

corner of Watson Island. This place had been a dumping ground

for the spoil from deepening the harbor and also served as a

garbage/construction debris dumping ground. Covered with

Australian Pines and other weeds, it looked quite desolate.

Watson Island itself was named after a Miami City Manager and

Florida legislator, father and son. The Miami Outboard Club

(founded in 1938) and Chalks Airlines also occupied sites on the

Island, and when the State of Florida transferred title of the Island

to the City, the occupation

and use by the two clubs

and Chalks Airlines of their

respective sites were

“grandfathered” as existing

occupations.

By 1947, the Miami

Yacht Club negotiated a

lease for the occupied land

and obtained approval to

clear it and build

a clubhouse. The

Members then

cleared the site

from the Miami

Outboard Club to

where the Brown

House was to be

re-located, from the Omni area, in the future. The Brown house

partially collapsed during the move and later was burned down by

vagrants in 1998.

Later, the Members also obtained the flagpole now located at

the foot of the Club’s T-Dock. Shortly after the Club changed its

name, the Membership began the forerunner to the Miami to Key

Largo Race, which to this day is one of Miami’s principal regattas

and benefits the City’s youth being taught to sail in the Club’s

Youth Sailing Program.

Officials of both the City of Miami and State of Florida

applauded the Club’s philosophy of service to the educational,

cultural and recreational needs of the youth of the City. For

decades, the Club has continually provided very successful youth

sailing, adult sailing, boating safety, and inner city programs of the

highest caliber.

By 1950, the Miami Yacht Club’s meeting room and the

original T-dock had been completed. The rest rooms, showers

and lockers came next. Members with expertise in architecture

and engineering drew up the plans and had them approved and

permitted. Miller Beer donated a water pump to provide water

for the site from a small storage tank. Trucks brought water to

replenish the supply. The water main on the far side of Watson

Island, next to the existing pavement of the MacArthur

Causeway, was located and a tap made so meters could be

installed for both clubs. Two-inch water lines were run for the

clubs’ use, and the Miami Yacht Club’s line was also used to

irrigate Watson Island Park.

After the approval of the expansion, additional plans included

a concrete patio and a connecting link between the two-story

lockers, rest rooms and steward’s quarters and the meeting room.

Partial loads of left over concrete from Acme Concrete were

poured to form the patio on the

east side of the Clubhouse

nearest to the water, and a

drive-up circle was laid on the

opposite side. For access to the

property, a road was constructed

from MacArthur Causeway to the

drive-up circle.

Around the same time in

1955, footings were formed and

reinforcing bars placed for the

connecting link that also

included the Bar & Restaurant

(named the Latitudes Lounge), a

covered loggia facing Biscayne Bay, and the patio. An open

breezeway between the

meeting room and the Bar

& Restaurant connected

the patio to the drive-up

circle, and the kitchen was

placed on the other side of

the Bar & Restaurant.

The centerpiece of the drive-up circle is the historic anchor

from the Prinz Valdemar, formerly a Danish cadet training ship used

by the Germans during World War I to run iron ore to Germany and

later in the coconut and gun running trade. On January 25, 1926

after being converted to a floating hotel, the Prinz Valdemar

capsized on what was to become Watson Island, and effectively

blocked the Harbor. After that, the Prinz Valdemar lived out the

remainder of her life as an aquarium, across Biscayne Boulevard

from the Miami News Building (now the Freedom Tower).

Eventually, she rusted through and was scrapped.

In 1957, when the first lease expired, the Club and the City

signed an additional 20-year lease and plans moved forward for a

pram shed (1965), boat lift,

south ramp, additional north

docks and north ramp, and dry

storage facilities. The area was

reduced and a boat ramp

constructed by the City between

the Miami Yacht Club and the

Miami Outboard Club.

International Optimist Dingy

Association prams (IODA)

replaced the original Clearwater

prams in the advanced classes,

and a youth sailing program was

started in the summer for all

Miami residents as well as an adult sailing program. In the last

Prinz Valdemar

fifty years, the youth and adult sailing programs have trained

thousands of participants in boating safety. Trophies named for

our world class sailing

instructors continue to

be given at statewide

regattas.

In the 1970’s

there was a need for

more docks due to the

Club’s expanding

membership. The club

had no money to

finance the building of

new docks. Club

member Arthur

Livingston went to

people on the waiting list for dock spaces and was able to get

people to pay ahead for 1 to 2 years of dock slip rent to finance

the expansion. On December 22, 1973 the club had the ribbon

cutting ceremony for completion of the North docks. By 1975, the

waterway on the north shore had been dredged. The original T-

Dock and J-Dock were replaced. The Club created a new water

source, upgraded the buildings’ exteriors and the lounge got new

lighting and a custom made bar. On a daily basis, Members

donated time and materials and worked on maintaining the Club’s

property and training boats for youth and adult sailing classes.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida and Miami.

Wind gusts of 175 mph hit Miller Drive in South Miami-Dade

County as the eye wall passed through, and the storm surge at

Watson Island rose in excess of 12 feet above mean low water.

The concrete base of the flagpole was under water.

Hurricane Andrew destroyed all the docks (the J-Dock, the T-

Dock, and the North Dock) and drove the vessels anchored

offshore onto the beach and into the docks. Once again, the

Club’s Members

joined forces and

cleaned up.

As many other

businesses

discovered as a

result of Andrew,

the Club was

underinsured for

the damages

done to the property. A small settlement from the insurance

company permitted the restoration of the J-Dock and the north

and south launching

ramps. These repairs

allowed the trailer-

based boats to come

back to the Club and

their owners to return

to the enjoyment of

sailing and the use of

the facilities, which

helped to restart the

sailboat racing

schedule and youth

sailing program.

With the

cooperation and assistance of City officials, the Club obtained

approval for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management

Agency (FEMA), which gave us the funds to rebuild the T-Dock and

the North Dock. Since then, Members continue to work daily on

maintaining the Club’s property and vessels, as well as many other

activities and functions enjoyed throughout the year.

During the rebuilding period, the Club operated on a month-

to-month rental basis with the City. Negotiations for a long-term

lease began and were conducted for a period of several years by

the Commodores. Finally in December 1997, Commodore Jim

Campbell signed a twenty-year lease, with two five-year options

for extension,

for the remain-

der of the

property the

Club had

occupied since

1947. The

new lease and

extensions

allowed the

Club to obtain

financing for the construction of a swimming pool adjacent to the

patio. As a gesture of good will, the Club agreed to terms in the

lease that provides the City Marine Patrol partial use of the second

floor as offices and also the use of a number of wet slips and dry

storage spaces as well.

Since our Club’s inception in 1927, we have continuously had

from 300 to 400 of Miami’s finest sailors as Members, currently

boasting approximately 350 Members from the Greater Miami

area and an additional 150 Non-Resident Members from outside

Miami, or from other States and foreign ports. For all this time,

our Members have continued to support the education of our

youth and other adults by teaching them how to sail while enjoying

every moment and experience upon Miami’s beautiful waterways.

In 2007, the Miami Yacht Club will celebrate 80 years of service to

the sailing community and the City of Miami and sixty years of

residence on Watson Island, where

the Club thrives today and is

known to yachtsmen the world over

as “the Home of Sailing

Champions.”

Our most prestigious racing

event, of course, is the Miami to

Key Largo Race, which we sponsor

in conjunction with West Marine.

The first named Miami to Key

Largo Race occurred in 1957.

Other Key Largo races existed in the 1930’s, as well as a later

motorboat race and an “Around Key Largo Race” for catamarans.

But the current Miami to Key Largo Race is the only one that has

endured. The proceeds from the race are donated to the Youth

Sailing Foundation for the continuance of its sailing programs.

Throughout the world’s sailing community, the Club continues

to proudly fly its burgee and bear the name of the City of Miami.

In effect, our Club has become a Miami institution, serving our

community and supporting the best

interests of our youth and the sport

of yacht racing on an international

level, for we are “the Home of

Sailing Champions.”

In the processing of

completing the original draft special

thanks was given to Jim Church,

Willie Saunders, and Jack Wirt for

sharing their warm and vivid

memories of the past.

Unknown, Jack Wirt, Buddy Enos, Francis Seavy – Approx. 1945/1946

Mia

mi K

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argo

col

lage

- S

arah

New

berry

1866

Miami is founded.

1870

Henry & Charles Lum buy 165acres at 75 cents an acre in

South Beach. They want to plant& harvest coconuts.

1891

Julia Tuttle settled in Miami.

1894

The coconut business was notvery profitable for the Lums so

they give their plantation to JohnCollins and leave Miami.

1896

Henry Flagler completed arailroad to link Miami to NorthernFlorida and the East Coast of the

United States.

1902

Government Cut is authorized bythe U.S. Congress.

1905

Government Cut is completed.The fill from dredging is used to

create Fisher Island.

1907

John Collins extends his MiamiBeach land and discovers fresh

water allowing him to plantavocados, fruits, and vegetables.

1910

Miami’s population soared to 5,500.

1912

The Lummus Brothers, Miamibusinessmen, established an

Ocean Beach Reality Company,which envisioned a city fronting

the ocean made up of modest single families.

1913

Joe’s Stone Crab Opens on Miami Beach.

1918

County Causeway (The MacArthurCauseway) is completed.

1920’s

Miami becomes known as atropical paradise for tourists.

1920

The Man-made Flagler Monumentand Island is completed along

with the Venetian Islands.

1926

Population boom comes to a haltand Miami suffers from 1st

severe hurricane.

1926

Land reclamation with materialdredged from the port createsCauseway Island later to be

renamed Watson Island.

1927

On July 25, 1927, CommodoreJohn Robinson signed the SouthFlorida Boat Racing Association’s

original charter, notarized byBertha Cox; and Circuit Judge W.L. Freeman. The Association’s

first get-togethers took place onStar Island at the Third StreetAnglers Club, now the Miami

Beach Rod and Reel Club, andlater at Pier 5’s Old City of Miami

Fishing Docks, now BaysideMarket Place, and also in a sail

loft where Bicentennial Park nowstands. They held races off Point

View, SE 15th Road and Biscayne Bay.

1928

The South Florida Boat RacingAssociation gained Internationalrecognition for organizing andsponsoring “The Sir ThomasLipton Challenge Cup Race”.

1932

The South Florida Boat RacingAssociation moves to the area ofMiramar Hotel, near the present

location of Omni,just north of the Venetian

Causeway.

1934

The South Florida Boat RacingAssociation in conjunction with

the Nassau Yacht Club and the sponsorship of the City ofMiami hosts the first Miami

to Nassau Race.

1934

On November 27, 1934, JudgeWorth W. Trammell of the

Eleventh Circuit Court of Floridaapproved the Association’sNovember 23rd petition to

change its name to the MiamiYacht Club.

1941

US Enters World War II.

1944-1945

The Miami Yacht Club moved to a site along the route of the thennamed County Causeway (later

General Douglas MacArthurCauseway) on the northeast

corner of Watson Island.

1947

The Miami Yacht Club negotiateda lease for the occupied land andobtained approval to clear it and

build a clubhouse.

1949

On July 17, 1949 A flag raisingceremony was held at MiamiYacht Club’s new clubhouse.

1950’s

The original T-Dock wascompleted.

1955

The Bar and Restaurant and Patio were built.

1950-1951

Prinz Valdemar Anchor moved to the club. (Jack Wirt bought the

anchor for scrap from the Miami Aquarium).

1957

When the first lease expired, theClub and the City signed an

additional 20-year lease.

1957

First named Miami to Key Largo Race is run.

1960

The original J-Dock was built.

1965

Original Pram Shed and the J Dock hoist were built.

1973

The Original North Docks were built and completed.

1984

The first Annual Conch CupCharity Regatta is held.

1985

Pat Peters, the first femaleCommodore, is elected.

1990

The US Sailing’s Olympic SailingCommittee organizes the annual

Olympic Classes Regatta which issailed on Biscayne Bay and MYC

is chosen to help host theTornado Multihull class.

Today, MYC still continues to helpthe Olympic Sailing committeewith this race along with other

local clubs.

1991

The Miami Yacht Club is declared“Best of Miami” in the New Times.

MYC Timeline...

1992

Overhead Power lines at theentrance gate is buried

underground.

1992

Hurricane Andrew struck SouthFlorida. The storm surge at

Watson Island rose in excess of12 feet -The concrete base of the flagpole was under water.All the docks (the J-Dock, the T-Dock, and the North Dock)

were destroyed.

1993

The Miami-Key Largo Racereaches 214 entries.

1994

Reconstruction of the Docksbegins. City and DERM approvalsfor bids, plans, and permits took

two years.

1995

International Sailboat Show held at MYC.

1995

MYC helps host the TornadoOlympic Trials.

1995

Between April and July of 1995work to rebuild the the T, J and

North docks was completed.

1995

The Kitchen is temporarily closeddue to financial issues.

1995

Parrot Jungle Plan is approved.

1996

Olympic Classes Regatta Tornadoclass registration reaches high of

45 entrants.

1996

On Wednesday Nights MembersVolunteer to cook Dinner whilethe club searches for a chef.

1997

In December 1997, a twenty-yearlease, with two five-year options

for extension was signed.

1999

Hurricane Irene damages docksand sinks 4 boats at the docks.

1999

The Pool construction iscompleted.

2001

Parrot Jungle constructionbegins. The MYC Entrance

moves from the west gate directlyin front of the Anchor and

driveway circle to the presentlocation.

2002

Over 100 sailors attend MYC summer camp.

2003

The New Horizons Sailingprogram for City of Miami Parks

Children is established.

2004

MYC hosts the Tornado Olympic Trials.

2005

Current entrance road is paved.

2007

MYC celebrates its 80thAnniversary.

John G. Robinson 1927-1930Arthur H. Bosworth 1931-1936Henry S. Thompson 1937-1938Robert E. Collins 1939-1940Jack Wirt 1941-1946Jack C. Oakes 1947Paul Palmer 1948Jack Wirt 1950Ralph C. Knowles 1951Charles S. Wilson Jr. 1952-1953Dr. Robert C. Noble 1954Edwin S. Morris 1955A.J. Griffin 1956-1958Dr. W.T. Mooney 1959William E. Saunders, Jr.

1960-1961Myers Noell 1962James C. Bailey Sr. 1963Jerry A. Stegenga 1964Lothar A. Patelsky 1965Dr. Gideon J. Stocks Jr. 1966Freeman Stebbins 1967John E. Greaner 1968Fred Darlow 1969Fred Bremen, Sr. 1970Freeman Stebbins 1971Lothar H. Patelsky 1971Karl T. Seeley 1972Charles R. Lynch 1973Mark Albury 1974

Joseph J. Judge 1975-1976Victor J. Cribb 1977Ernest Guirola 1978Don H. Manson 1979-1980Jack W. Schuh 1981Ernest Guirola 1982Henry C. Anoll 1983Thomas Trump 1984Patricia Peters 1985Lynn Hummel 1986Francis(Pete) Schweers 1987Augie Canamero 1988Mike Hannau 1989Jim Campbell 1990Tom Wilson 1991Jon Stiles 1992Jim Jordan 1993-1994David Quick 1995Angel Canete 1995Jim Jordan 1996Jim Campbell 1997David Quick 1998Jim Campbell 1999Sean Ferrell 2000Steve Evans 2001-2002Larry Newberry 2003Linda Foran-Evans 2004Sean Ferrell 2005Rick Harty 2006Gus Zuloaga 2007

MYC Past Commodores

WORLD’S CHAMPION

Holder of the world’s championship

in the moth class of sailing vessels,

Ivan Crim, 15, is the envy of juvenile

sailors as he glides along Biscayne

Bay in his trim little craft.

August 21, 1938

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Happy 80th BirthdayM I A M I Y A C H T C L U B

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The Dolphins Are LaughingA birthday sestina on the eightieth birthday of the Miami Yacht Club

By Carol Gulliver

The sestina was invented around 1000 AD in Provence

(between France and Spain) by the poet Arnaud Daniel.

It has six verses of six lines each. The last word in every verse

is the same, but in a different order. It is followed by a

3 line “rondo” using the same six words.

Count to eighty in the fading light

See half a rainbow coloring a cloud

Run behind your shining spinnakers down the wind

To Largo watched by the circling frigate bird

The cats will rock but every cat

Will ride the waves and feel the swell

The clear green glassy waves will swell

And slide our boats to morning light

Olympic cats can hide the ninetail cat

The cat who hides in the white puff cloud

The whipping cat who wraps around the bird

His lightning snakes the boats and shakes the wind

Music in the shrouds – we’re all below – the wind

Is miles away that made the swell

And sang to sleep the soaring bird

The moon shines on the dancers and the light

Is from the land and on the cloud

The patterns make a cloud a cat

A boat can’t sink with a calico cat

And no body spits into the wind

Octogenerian bodies will swell

And on our honor is never a cloud

Above, abaft, an anchor light

This big old ketch is hauled by a bird

Back in time, this same old bird

Burst fluttering-a bird, a cat?

A bunch of prams (or seagulls?) in the light

Flying boats, clouds, birds, wind –

The music of the spheres could swell

And turn a boat (amorphous) to a cloud

This band of sailors, harnessing a cloud,

An airy windy magic bird

Has landed on this island where our sails will swell

Come cat five winds or any cat

Our bosuns whistle up the wind

Carousing sailors dance in every light

A military type of cloud marches – rains a dog or cat

Laughs at wind and frowns at light

Wakes the early morning bird, and makes the waves

and music swell.