The Bellingham Yacht Club has been an integral part of the Pacific Northwest sailing community since 1925.
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08/19/2024
It's Pink Boat Regatta - Bellingham Time!
Please help fight breast cancer by donating! Without research, there are no trial treatments! So please help me support breast cancer research by making a donation through my fundraising page for the 2024 Pink Boat Regatta - Bellingham. Even a small donation will help me achieve my goal! The process is fast, easy, and secure.
I am sailing for two dear friends Angie Field Rochna and Diane Casey who are battling breast cancer! Cancer Sucks - Let's beat cancer together!
I'm sailing in PINK!!!!
07/05/2024
I have been hacked! If you received an email asking for a favor to order off Amazon…. Delete!!
05/07/2024
More Social Events -
Long time BYC member and former Wednesday night chef Monica Hayward will be in town on May 10th to cook a classic Mexican dinner. For years, Monic, cooked amazing carnitas for our racers while husband Steve managed the bar.
04/09/2024
Cruising and Racing in Full Swing -
The new attire is in and hanging in the reception alcove. Take a look and if you see something that appeals to you, pick it out, take it to the bar and we will charge the item to your account. If you see something and your size is not there, please let me know and I will order it for you. If there ...
03/26/2024
Celebrate Spring at BYC -
Do you like bingo? Do you love music? On Friday April 5th we are hosting our first ever music bingo night. Your bingo squares will be filled with popular songs played randomly. Bingo cards can be purchased for $1 each and the proceeds go to cash and gift card prizes for winners. Free pizza start...
03/12/2024
More BYC Fun -
Join us at the BYC on Friday, March 15th for a celebration of Ireland's patron saint. There will be traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner for purchase and loads of entertainment. We will have bagpiper Wayne Rogers kicking things off, a short demonstration from the Clan Heather Dancers, and tw...
02/13/2024
BYC News and Events -
See the “Get Informed” page on the BYC website for more information about these events and others. AED Training There are now two AED stations at the BYC Clubhouse, one upstairs near the entrance (on your left as you enter) and one near the entrance downstairs. An AED, or automatic def...
Sailors for the Sea Skipper Chris Wolfe had a busy 2023 sailing season. She and her husband and sailing partner, Justin, who hail from Orcas Island, Washington, sailed more than 2,000 miles doublehanded in some of the most challenging offshore races in Europe and North America – with some impressi...
01/16/2024
A very social January! -
See the “Get Informed” page on the BYC website for more information about these events and others. Coming up in February & March we have some great presentations and workshops: Race to Alaska On Thursday February 1st.-7pm Then On February 1st, Race Director Jesse Wiegel will give a presentation ...
01/02/2024
Happy New Year of fun and friendships -
See the “Get Informed” page on the BYC website for more information about these events and others. Coming up in January & February we have some great presentations: Marine Engine Systems on Jan 4th First we have the last of Andy’s presentations about Marine Engine Systems. This will be a wrap ...
12/19/2023
Celebrate Winter with Social and Education Events -
I'm looking forward to the coming year. We have more than usual to look forward to this time around. I know Fleet Captain Mike Unger is continuing his laudable efforts to line up logistics for things to come. You'll soon see an announcement for our annual Boat Show Bus excursion. And I know h...
12/05/2023
More holiday celebrations, Racing Awards and January social events -
Ahoy and Best Wishes to all for the Holiday Season! 'Tis the Season ... for winterization; 'Tis the Season ... for haul-outs and checking lines; 'Tis the Season ... for perusing charts to plan next season; 'Tis the Season ... for festive spirits; 'Tis the Season ... for family, friends, and fellowsh...
11/21/2023
Tom and Jerry Party tomorrow, Lighted Boat Parade Dec 2 -
Holiday season is upon us. We're looking forward to the Tom & Jerry Party, the Lighted Boat Parade, a Gift Exchange (Yankee Swap style), festooning the Club with festive frills, and fulsome good fellowship. My focus here is Safety and Security. Each of us is responsible for his or her own safe...
11/07/2023
Lighted Boat Parade, Cruise Reunion, Racing Awards -
Although many of us are "on the hard" or tied up for the season, there's no dearth of activity at the Club. Happenings: We had a spirited Halloween party with the enthusiastic support of volunteers working with our House Events Committee. Chris Perkins and Amy Clark worked their white magic, m...
10/25/2023
A New Board and Fall is here -
Ahoy to all! I'm penning this missive from Pristina, Kosovo, in my effort to meet this edition's publication deadline. I understand Laura Tulett is standing in for Jane Bright as editor. Thanks to Laura - And that serves as a reminder that, though elections are done and our newly constituted B...
10/20/2023
10/10/2023
A New Board and Fall is here -
This is my initial note as your newly installed Commodore. It’s my honor and pleasure to take office. I'm looking forward to a fun and productive year. We have a strong Bridge and Board this year, with a wealth of energy and experience. We have a lot of work to do going forward. The foundati...
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Formation of the Bellingham Yacht Club, the first such organization on Bellingham Bay since the old Fairhaven Yacht Club ceased its activities in 1905, was completed on the evening of February 14, 1925 when a small group of boating enthusiasts met at Garland’s boathouse on the south side. Dr. Carl Erb who, with Mrs. Erb, had in the winter of 1922 and the early part of 1923 sailed his auxiliary ketch Thetis from Long Island Sound to Bellingham by way of the Panama Canal, was named as the club’s first Commodore. To assist him, W.J. Seaman was named Vice-Commodore and J.L. Patton Secretary-Treasurer, while F. Stanley Piper was selected to draw the design for the club’s burgee. Today our burgee remains the same as the original 1925 design.
Among others who were active in the early days of the club were Captain Orrin E. Garland, who had taken a prominent part in sailboat racing on the bay twenty and thirty years before, and whose class C sloop Garland was talked about wherever sailors gathered; Ed E. Perry,. skipper of the ketch Bonita, who later moved to Tacoma; Ralph Nye, who was killed in an accident in Alaska; Vance Eager, who moved to Roseburg, Oregon, and Dr. George Ellsperman, one of BYC’s most active members who served two terms as commodore.
Three weeks after the club was organized it boasted a membership of 50 and a fleet of ten boats, ranging from cat boats and dinghies to Commodore Erb’s flagship. Members of Sea Scout Troop I, with the ship Sea Wolf and it’s master, H.L. Morse, were taken into the club as junior members, and plans were made for a season of weekend cruises and sail and powerboat racing.
In 1928, the club completed negotiations to obtain a summer mooreage and space for a clubhouse at Camp Perfection, on Chuckanut Bay. Piles were driven for a 135 foot dock, and members gathered on weekends and evenings to build the dock and floats, and to put out moorage blocks for the club’s fleet of 25 boats. A small locker shed was built, to be replaced by a clubhouse later. By the time the moorage was ready, club membership had increased to 90.
In 1946, a vital step in the development and growth of the BYC was taken when it was decided to acquire a building at the foot of Cornwall Avenue, formerly used as the Bloedel-Donovan commissary, and during WWII as headquarters of the Coast Guard. Financed by individual members, and with work donated by others, the building was soon converted from plans drawn by Edgar Black, Jr., a designer and active member, into one of the finest yacht club installations on the coast.
In 1959 and early 1960, the Port of Bellingham began development of Squalicum Harbor to the North, and a place was reserved for the BYC. Fred Haskell was instrumental in getting the Port to build the original structure that is now the BYC clubhouse; it was called by the Port a “warehouse”. When this maneuver was discovered by the State Auditor, the BYC members were forced to purchase the building from the Port, making it necessary to raise dues from $10 to $25. The club then moved from Cornwall to it’s present location. No suitable use could be found for the abandoned clubhouse at the Cornwall site, however it still exists and is in use in LaConner, where it is now Palmers Restaurant.
In 1998, in order to save our club at a period of time when many similar organizations were failing, the club made the decision to lay off all paid employees, and become an all-volunteer association. This change, made under Commodore Chuck McCord (1998-1999) was propitious, as it saved the club from closure. Since that change to an all-volunteer organization, the club began expanding once again in membership, as well as becoming financially stable. In 2009-2010, under Commodore Pete Foti, the club underwent a significant remodel, successful in large part due to the 100+ volunteers who donated countless hours to the project. With financial security and growing programs, combined with renewed emphasis on our original boating roots, the Club is prospering with gorgeous new facilities. It’s hoped that Stan Piper’s design for the BYC burgee will long fly over Bellingham Bay and all the beautiful Northwest waters, as the Bellingham Yacht Club continues in it’s eighty-fifth year of service.
