Our History
The club was founded in 1976 as the Yankee Point Yacht Club but there is a history that goes back before that notable year.
In the year 1910, Purnell Saunders established a homestead for his family on Myer Creek at the present site of the Yankee Point Marina. Purnell brought his family, furniture, equipment, and livestock to the property by barge. He cut down the trees on the property and used the wood to build the house on the hill above the clubhouse. He spared one oak tree near the corner of the house; a tree that was to figure prominently in the yacht club’s history.
By 1974, a marina known as the Myer Creek Marina was owned and operated on the property by the Lerner family. They hoped to develop it into a facility with floating docks. The few families keeping boats at the marina at the time were asked to buy stock in the Lerner’s venture. These boaters, who were to form the nucleus of the future Yankee Point Yacht Club, declined to invest and the venture failed.
That same year, Harry Farmer and Randy Walker from Richmond bought the marina from the bank. They weren’t business people trying to start a marina; they were sailors looking for a deep-water property to berth their boats and there was space on what today is “B” pier, for a few more boats. Folks such as Jack Young, Fred Kellam, Doug Harrington, and Charlie Heasty who needed a place to keep their sailboats found the place, and the Yankee Point Marina was born.
Harry and Randy had little capital, but lots of enthusiasm for establishing an all-sailboat marina. By the end of 1975, about thirty sailboats were docking at the marina. With the aid of a hose and lots of muscle, they were able to add slips to accommodate more newcomers.
Harry and Randy thought it desirable that the thirty or so boat owners should form a yacht club and they asked Charlie and Nancy Heasty if they would take on the organizational responsibilities. The Heastys agreed and began talking with their slip mates about forming a club.
On a chilly, dreary, drizzly day in the Spring of 1976, the hopeful and potential members gathered in the old crab house for an organizational meeting. Since Charlie had taken the lead in bringing this group together, he was immediately installed as Commodore. Fred Kellam, a graduate of Yale and Book Editor of “U.S. News & World Report" was a shoo-in for Secretary. Finally, Bob Jaffee, a Richmond businessman joined the little group as Treasurer. The members didn’t know enough about each other to fill out a full slate of flag officers, so the first board had only three members which formed the Yankee Point Yacht Club.
Next came the bylaws. Drawing heavily from the work of other yacht clubs, a set of bylaws was created. The members wanted “Yachting, seamanship, sailing and allied subjects, and good fellowship among the members.” Those words have remained the club’s objective. Also, they wanted a social program to become better acquainted with one another. Dues of $25 per year were proposed and Bob Jaffe passed the hat, and with $750 in the treasury, the club was off and running.
It was obvious that meetings couldn’t be held in the old crab house. The oak tree that Purnell Saunders had spared in front of the old farmhouse was the answer; members met under it for the next three years. Never in those three years did it ever rain on events under the oak tree. Dues went for such niceties as beer, soft drinks, and nibbles and members started the practice of providing covered dishes.
Teamwork and cooperation were the glue that held the club together in the early days. Need a shower? Line up in the living room of the old farmhouse on the hill and wait your turn. It wasn’t until 1977 that Harry and Randy finished the heads on the hill.
During the brutal winter of 1976-77, thick ice on the creek pulled the piles of the only docking pier from the bottom. In the words of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “It looks like a leviathan sucked them under, played with them, and spit them out like so many Popsicle sticks.” The havoc resulted in the start of the club's annual “Clean-up Weekend".
In addition to a lot of painting, the members constructed a bulletin board to improve communication, a picnic table, and a dinghy rack. A yardarm was assembled from a discarded buy-boat boom. The desirability of having something more than the old oak tree for shelter was a continuing topic of discussion. The solution was to raise the roof of the old oyster house and house the club on the second floor. The cost was estimated to be in the neighborhood of $35,000.
Twelve members came up with the $35,000, which was loaned to Harry and Randy. Jake Rowe, who later served as Commodore, was a practicing structural engineer, and Charlie had some expertise in architectural design. On a pro bono basis, building plans were produced, and by spring 1979, members held their first social event in a place that didn’t sway when the wind blew. Along with the club room came a substantial raise in dues to cover rent. So, there was good news and bad news.
Members felt that the club’s activities should be directed almost exclusively to sailing, rather than to social functions. One of the first sailing events was a Memorial Day race-cruise to Grog Island. Fred Kellam, club Secretary at that time, led the fleet until it reached the Bay, but fell behind when he mistook the Stingray Point Light for the Windmill Point Light. Fortunately for him, it was high tide.
The club’s racing program had a dual purpose - first, to develop a group of racers who could compete with other clubs in the area, and second to qualify for entrance into the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association (CBYRA). Of course, there was a third purpose - to enjoy.
An interclub spring, summer, and fall series of races were set up. By 1980, the club had been accepted into the CBYRA and members were ready to compete in interclub racing. Attesting to the success of the club’s racing program, one need only look at the result of the Rappahannock River Cup Series, an event established in 1983 and won by Yankee Point 11 times between 1983 and 1998.
In 1989 John McConnico leased Harry Farmer’s half of the marina and within six months purchased it. By 1993, John bought Randy Walker’s share of the marina and activities increased dramatically. Later two additional acres were purchased by John for expansion of the growing boat storage requirements. The Marina stored 175 boats during the winter of 1998-1999.
In 1991, Ruth Bush was elected as Commodore - the first woman to serve in such capacity in any club in our area. She introduced Moonlight Madness, Rally on the Water, and the All Women Crew Race.
As YPYC members, John and Carol Jean created a friendly working atmosphere between the Yacht Club and the marina, but after ten years of owning and managing the Yankee Point Sailboat Marina, voted “Best of the Bay” by its customers, they decided to sell it in December 1999 to Ken and Karen Knull. Following the disaster of Hurricane Isabel in September 2003, A and B piers were completely rebuilt to new and much higher standards, and the marina itself was repaired and upgraded. Isabel also forced the replacement of the Yacht Club Yardarm Flagpole installed in 1977 and repaired many times in past years with a donated aluminum mast which was converted to a Yacht Club Yardarm.
2004 brought new challenges to the Club. With 184 members we were outgrowing the Clubhouse. The concern was what would happen if they all showed up for an event? At about the same time, the Marina owners were considering converting the Clubhouse space into a restaurant. The Yacht Club Board of Trustees and the Marina owners jointly worked on a proposal to build a new clubhouse on the Marina property that would provide a solution to both problems, space for a growing yacht club, and restaurant space. At the November 2004 Annual meeting, the general membership approved the approach to move ahead with a plan for implementation. However, it was not meant to be, the Marina owners decided that the space set aside for the new clubhouse could be better used as a snack bar and pool area, which was constructed in 2005.
From 2005 to 2009 club functions, cruising, racing, and social activities continued as normal. Facing the fact that the lease on the clubhouse would expire in 2010, a Planning Committee was established in 2009 to decide what direction could be taken. The club would have to negotiate a new lease or move off the marina property to a new location. During the negotiation, the marina owners indicated they wanted to modify the clubhouse property and open a restaurant at the current club location. Various plans were offered but in the end, the Planning Committee and the yacht club Board of Trustees decided it was in the best interest of the club to move from the marina.
During 2010 the Planning Committee members looked at over three dozen properties in Lancaster County. Near the end of 2010, the options available looked rather grim. Waterfront property was very expensive, building a new clubhouse made the problem even worse, and the yacht club treasury could not support the activity, but Yankee Point Yacht Club members have a long history of being able to pull together in bad times and having volunteers step up to the challenge.
A long-time member, Jim Young, stepped forward and agreed to divide his personal property on Meyer Creek for yacht club use. It was the beginning of a long project which seemed at times would never end. A finance committee was formed under Anker Madsen to address how to finance the property and the building of a new clubhouse. With that effort underway, Yankee Point Yacht Club, after nearly 35 years at Yankee Point Sailboat Marina, packed up their belongings and vacated the second floor of the old oyster shack in December 2010.
2011 would turn out to be one of the most interesting and demanding years in the history of the yacht club. Having no clubhouse for social, racing, and seminar events made life interesting. As usual, our members came to the rescue by opening up their homes for various events. Under Anker Madsen’s leadership and financial support, the Ole Sailors Club LLC was formed to address fundraising. 26 members of the yacht club stepped forward to fund the project. On April 27, 2011, four acres were purchased by the Madsen Family and leased back to the Ole Sailors Club LLC. In May the Board of Trustees and LLC broke ground for the new clubhouse. The old yardarm flagpole from Yankee Point Marina was moved and installed. It was a new beginning for YPYC, which at the time was doing business as the Yankee Point Racing and Cruising Club.
Under the leadership of John Henley, Chairman of the Planning Committee, and George Bott as Project Manager, the clubhouse became a reality in a little over 7 months. The 2011 Annual meeting was held in the new clubhouse, with rave reviews as to its location and quality of construction.
After much effort from Board members in 2012 and 2013, the club was able to install its first boat docking facility. With the completion of the new dock, the club moved its new Race Committee boat "Dwindle Down" to its permanent berth at YPYC. "Dwindle Down" was donated to the club by Jim Young and his family at Jim's passing in August 2013.
It is impossible to list all the volunteers that made it possible but the measurement of everyone’s efforts is in the number of new members joining since the clubhouse was completed.
In the Fall of 2020, the lovely piece of waterfront property at Yankee Point was transformed into an outdoor recreation area! None of this would have been accomplished without the generosity and hard work of the "Fun Committee" volunteers along with all the time, talent, and donations from several of our club members. The "Fun Committee" volunteers included Buddy Spencer, Jay Hornick, Betty Tidwell, Ethel Gibbs, and Billy McCarty. They put their brains and their brawn together and came up with a fabulously fun Games Court. They had help from several other volunteers and contributors of items and equipment including Eddy Whichard, George Bott, Charlie Costello, Warren Ryan, and others. Yankee Point Yacht Club not only boasts a kayak launch (aka “flume chute”) and a new six-boat kayak rack, we also have courts set up for bocce ball, horseshoes, and corn hole! To top it all off, we also have a fantastic bonfire pit!
It's always great fun to see members gather around the various games, challenging one another. It’s like watching everyone’s "inner kid" come out to play! It's great being outdoors, visiting with good friends, enjoying lively conversation and lots of laughter. Naturally, food and drink are always part of the mix, as well. We have lots of chairs and quite a few sturdy picnic tables. We can cook over the open fire or use the gas grill down at the games Court, so we'll often bring dinner!
Typically, during the slightly cooler months with weather permitting, we get together on Wednesdays in the late afternoon down at the waterfront. We try to get started around 4:00 PM. We might play some games or just sit around the campfire enjoying some great conversation and laughs. The games are open to all members and their guests any day, any time, but our “casually official” get-together is in the middle of the week on Wednesdays. Our traditional Wednesday night Happy Hour is also going on indoors up at the clubhouse, as always. On the coolest of evenings, the gas fireplace inside the clubhouse provides a little ambiance and warmth until spring says goodbye to the chilly months and hello to warmer months.