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Seattle Now & Then

Seattle now & then: seattle yacht club clubhouse, 1926.

(click and click again to enlarge photos)

(Published in the Seattle Times online on April 23, 2020 and in the PacificNW Magazine print edition on April 26, 2020)

Yacht club’s 1926 Montlake reception had a crowning touch

By clay eals.

Royalty fueled the roar of the 1920s in Seattle on Nov. 4, 1926. That day, the city welcomed a woman whom The Seattle Times called the “most beautiful and gracious of all Europe’s feminine monarchs,” Queen Marie .

For the 51-year-old regal representative of Romania (then spelled Rumania), Seattle was but one destination on a cross-country tour. Accompanied in an open touring car by our first female mayor, Bertha Landes , the queen zipped through an afternoon of stops initially intended for a full day.

She drew record crowds, and the city delighted her: “In all the towns I have visited, I have found none so beautiful as your Seattle. In each corner today, I have found a place where I should like to live.”

The fitting finale was the home of the Seattle Yacht Club . Its clubhouse, perched on Portage Bay, south of the University of Washington and north of today’s Highway 520, had opened six years earlier, on May 1, 1920. For a reception put on by “club women of the city” to honor the queen, the building burst with autumn blooms, its veranda rails draped in dahlias.

Only 200 of the 1,500 assembled women could greet Marie, however, because what was to be a one-hour stay lasted “scarcely more than 15 minutes.” This did not prevent 60 women – bonneted, like the queen – from posing outside with three youngsters, as our “Then” photo shows.

It’s no accident that a lighthouse-shaped cupola topped the clubhouse, which The Times called “the finest on the Coast and one of the finest in the United States.” Famed architect John Graham, Sr. , certainly intended for the Colonial Revival/Shingle Style structure to complement the recently opened Lake Washington Ship Canal, including nearby Montlake Cut, which connected Portage Bay to the lake.

The parcel, formerly marshland and a landfill for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at the UW campus, became available for the club’s purchase after a casino proposed for the site fizzled. The club deemed the calm, freshwater setting a buoyant change from the rough weather, railroad noise, oil dumping and swells of passing steamboats that its boaters and craft had endured at saltwater bases on Elliott Bay and along the West Seattle shore since its founding in 1892.

Today, with 2,800 member families and myriad programs for all ages, Seattle Yacht Club is the oldest and largest such local organization.

The coronavirus scuttled its traditionally sponsored early-May merriment for Opening Day, but the club optimistically has rescheduled an elaborate celebration of its clubhouse centennial for Sept. 26. Sailing and motor vessels from the 1920s are to be on display, including one that participated on Opening Day in 1920.

One might envision the pending party as fit for a queen.

To see Jean Sherrard ‘s 360-degree video of the “Now” prospect and compare it with the “Then” photo, and to hear this column read aloud by Clay Eals , check out our Seattle Now & Then 360 version of the column, when it is posted!

Below are a “Now” identifier photo and two other photos as well as 11 clippings from The Seattle Times online archive (available via Seattle Public Library) that, among others, were helpful in the preparation of this column.

And at the bottom, see a book excerpt relating to Queen Marie’s visit to the Seattle Yacht Club clubhouse on Nov. 4, 1926, plus a 1954 club menu!

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• CSC Juniors
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Office hours continue to vary...If you'd like to make an appointment, we're here at your convenience!

We reliably schedule 2 weeks out. 

Office will close or be in use by Race Committee on CYC Regatta days.

Clubhouse mailing address is 7755 Seaview Ave NW, Seattle WA 98117

Primary phone: 206-789-1919 and email: [email protected]

Non-Discrimination and Harassment Policy of Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, Inc.

The Club is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of its staff, members, visitors, guests, volunteers and vendors. The Club does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression or identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, political ideology, or any other status or condition protected by applicable local, state or federal laws in any of its activities or operations, except where a bona fide qualification applies. These activities and operations include, but are not limited to, hiring, placement, compensation and retention of staff, solicitation and admission of members, selection of vendors, provision of services and conduct of its operations, including Club’s racing, cruising, junior, educational, social and other programs and activities.

Verbal, physical, sexual or any other form of harassment that belittles or demeans any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression or identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, political ideology or any other status or condition protected by applicable local, state or federal laws is strictly prohibited. 

The Club encourages reporting of all perceived incidents of discrimination or harassment to the Commodore, Vice Commodore or Rear Commodore and prohibits retaliation against any individual who in good faith reports incidents of discrimination or harassment or participates in an investigation of discrimination or harassment concerns. Any person who is found to have engaged in such discrimination or harassment is subject to discipline, including without limitation termination of employment and membership and banishment from the Club’s properties, activities and operations.

7755 Seaview Ave NW  Seattle WA 98117

(206) 789-1919 [email protected]

CYC 2024 Leadership Team

Seattle Yacht Club

Many Seattle Yacht Club members cruise the waters of the Pacific Northwest in powerboats.  Whether touring the Club’s 10 Outstations, located from Gig Harbor in the south to Cortes Bay in the north, or exploring the fresh water lakes, our members tend to enjoy their time on the water. SYC has a number of interesting and exciting events for members with powerboats. These include formal events with fun interactive themes, local and long-range cruises from Puget Sound to the Canadian Gulf Islands, and monthly dinners with exciting and informative speakers. Our monthly club dinners include topics about boating in the Northwest and adventures from around the world. These dinner are also a fun way to meet with fellow Club members and share boating experiences.

Seattle Yacht Club also hosts Navigational Rallies (aka Predicted Log Racing) around Puget Sound. These navigational contests are a great opportunity for members to improve their knowledge of their boat and skills of predicting the boat’s performance around a designated course.

Seattle Yacht Club Sailing

2019 syc race book, youth summer sailing school, adult sailing lessons, junior race team, high school sailing, opti green fleet program, junior race team, race team vision.

SYC is recognized among the leading yacht clubs of the world with a renowned comprehensive junior sailing program, in which the Junior Race Team is an integral part.  Our Junior Race Team draws upon a broad base of young sailors (open to the public) primarily from the SYC Summer Sailing School, SYC’s Northwest Interscholastic High School Sailing Team (HS Sailing), and community outreach programs.  The SYC Junior Race Team and HS Sailing provide youths, from ages 8 to 18, the opportunity to reach for competitive success at all levels while developing athletic skills, leadership, sportsmanship and a lifelong love for boating.  SYC has given rise to numerous generations of successful Pacific Northwest sailors, including multiple Olympic champions.  The SYC Race Team continues the Club’s legacy of achievement, representing SYC in local, regional, national and international competitions.

Race Team Mission

Progress juniors from participation to development to the highest levels of youth racing achievement.

• Provide a fun and supportive environment for junior racers of all abilities
• Provide coaches exceptional in their sailing accomplishments and their abilities to train and inspire our racers
• Maintain facilities and equipment equal or superior to leading yacht clubs around the world
• Promote interest and participation in sailing and racing with an active, adaptive outreach program
• Prepare racers for Collegiate Sailing providing an opportunity to leverage individual racers’ sailing skills and racing achievements in the college application process
• Develop  a lifelong interest and appreciation of sailing and racing in all Race Team members while promoting SYC junior membership in a family oriented, supportive environment

JOIN THE TEAM 

Race team schedule, race team coach: cameron hoard.

Cameron has been the SYC Jr Race Team coach since 2011. Originally from Upstate NY, Cam has lived on both coasts, but has come to call the NW home.

Cam has been a sailing coach for the better part of 20 years. He has worked for various yacht clubs and sailing programs in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. 

The SYC Jr Race Team does most of its year-round training on Shilshole Bay (Puget Sound), however Cam and the team travel all over the country competing in over 25 regattas every year. A busy training and regatta schedule is what makes the SYC Jr sailors the best in the North West!

The team has found lots of success under Coach Cam with SYC sailors winning national championships, qualifying for international regattas, and dominating the NW Youth Racing Circuit. It’s exciting and fun to work with such committed, talented, and hard working Jr sailors representing the club. 

2017 was a big year for the team and the sailing department! They were honored to receive the Captain Joe Prosser Award, from US Sailing, for excellence in sailing instruction. The Jr sailors list of accomplishments is far too long to list here, so please stop Cam in the hallway or on the dock to hear about it all! Or join them at the SYC Jr sailing awards held every January, to meet the team, celebrate an amazing year, and help them kick off the successful season ahead. Go SYC!

Contact Coach Cameron Hoard.

Joining SYC

Seattle Yacht Club welcomes applications for membership from Northwest boaters ages 10+ who would like to join our active community.

Members of the Club are entitled to use our Portage Bay Clubhouse with casual and fine dining restaurants, banquet and meeting facilities, guest moorage, and permanent moorage (subject to availability).  Members are also encouraged to participate in a wide range of regattas and cruises, and enjoy activities and dining events at the Club.  Membership with SYC offers use of our Elliott Bay clubhouse facilities and discounted Elliott Bay moorage (subject to availability), use of nine Outstations (listed below), and reciprocal privileges to more than 225 other yacht clubs around the world.  

SYC OUTSTATIONS

• Cortes Bay – Desolation Sound, B.C. 
• Eagle Harbor – Bainbridge Island 
• Elliott Bay – Seattle 
• Friday Harbor – San Juan Islands 
• Ganges – Saltspring Island, Gulf Islands, B.C. 
• Garden Bay – Pender Harbor, B.C. 
• Gig Harbor – South Puget Sound 
• Henry Island – Roche Harbor, San Juan Islands 
• Ovens Island – Dunsmuir Islands, Gulf Islands, B.C. 
• Port Madison – Bainbridge Island 

Several levels of membership are available based on the age and marital status of the candidate.  For an individual membership, the initiation fee is determined by the age of the new member on the date the application is completed.  Monthly dues adjust throughout the life of a membership as it advances from one class to another.  We encourage married couples to apply for joint membership.  There is one initiation fee, which is determined by the age of the older spouse on the date the application is completed.  The monthly dues are determined using the birthdate of the older spouse.  To request a chart of the current fees and dues, contact SYC's Membership Director.

Each membership application needs one primary sponsor and three other members to serve as recommenders (all must be voting or Surviving members of SYC).  The application process begins when a voting member of SYC checks out an application packet and becomes the applicant’s sponsor. 

Interested In Learning More?

If you are interested in exploring membership and receiving an invitation to SYC's next Open House (date TBD), please complete and submit a Prospective Member Interest Form . 

Membership Brochure & Benefits Of Membership Video

For an overview of the Club, download SYC's Membership Brochure . Enjoy the video below about the benefits of membership with SYC featuring the Club, our Outstations, activities, and some of the people who make the Club special.

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