History

What's a yacht club without a burgee?

Just two months later, on August 31, a “Formation Day” meeting was held to adopt the Club Bylaws and elect seven directors with Bud Holderness serving as the Club’s first Commodore. A burgee design contest for the Club was later won by Jeanne and Don Parkinson, with the design of a white seagull on a blue field.

The Club’s inaugural sail race took place shortly after, on September 10, and it blossomed into the annual Classic Series of sail races which still take place to this day and continue throughout the year. Initial memberships were solicited, resulting in 90 Charter members. Initiation fees were $50 and dues were $30 per year. Space for a clubhouse was donated by the real estate developer in a sales office where Montego Village now stands.

By September 1973, the Club moved into much larger rented space on Grand Caribe Isle and remained at this location for the next 21 years.

30 ladies started one of California's longest-lived Women's Auxiliaries

In December of 1973, a group of 30 ladies formed the C-Gulls auxiliary, which now numbers well over 100 members, and it quickly developed into a fun-loving and very active Club support group. To this day, C-Gulls sponsors numerous social activities for members and fund-raising activities for Club improvements.

Regattas, parties, and joining the big leagues

In the Summer of 1974, the Club’s facilities were enlarged and a patio and guest dock completed. Social activities expanded to include a wide range of events, including Monday Night Football parties, Wednesday night barbecues, holiday brunches, a Labor Day Outrageous Raft-Up, and a Black-Tie Commodore's Ball and New Year’s Eve gala. Today, the Coronado Cays Yacht Club (CCYC) now features live entertainment nearly every Friday evening during the year. A sailing program was organized in 1975 for junior members aged 12 to 18, and a summer sailing instruction program was inaugurated.

Through the years, CCYC joined several major yachting associations including the Yacht Racing Union, Southern California Yachting Association (SCYA), and the San Diego Association of Yacht Clubs (SDAYC), which formally inducted the Club into membership at an October 1974 Commissioning Ceremony.

The Club’s sailing and cruising activities developed rapidly, with a number of Club sponsored races and raft-ups. On May 11, 1974, the Club hosted its first invitational regatta, a Ranger Roundup. Since then, CCYC has sponsored major invitational regattas, such as the South Bay Invitational, Multi-Class Regatta, and Ladies of the Waterfront. Today the Club sponsors the Fall South Bay Club Dillon Shipshape Series Invitational Regatta.

In 1985, the Club pioneered commercial sponsorship for area races with the Multi-Class Regatta. “Out and backs," the so-called Beer Can sail races, are conducted in three series known as Ale, Lager, and Stout. These races are conducted each Wednesday evening during the spring and summer, with over 25 Beer Can races held each year. Special events such as whale watching, fishing tournaments, and overnight or weekend cruises are planned for the power fleet. The electric boat fleet participates in sponsored events such as “Poker Runs," parades, rallies, treasure hunts, and fundraisers.

A proud tradition of racing - and trophy winning

Over the years Club members have distinguished themselves by supporting yachting interests and successfully competing in various yachting competitions.

• Staff Commodore Don Thoza served as Commodore of SDAYC in 1988, and in 1989, received that organization’s prestigious Alonzo C. Jessop award. In 1986, Staff Commodore Paul Pettit won the same award and was named SDAYC’s Yachtsman of the Year in 1991 and 1994 for his predicted log racing. Paul has been North American Cruiser Association (NACA) Champion twice in 1994 and 1995 and won the SDAYC John Rumsey award for special recognition in 1998.

• Gary Adalian won the NACA Championship in 2006 and the NACA High Point Trophy in 2002. Member Ken Gust was also named Yachtsman of the Year and received the Alonzo C. Jessop Award for his development of the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet’s (PHRF) handicapping system.

• In 2007, Dave Fleck was awarded the perpetual trophy for the best decorated Yacht Club boat during the annual holiday celebration known as the San Diego Bay “Parade of Lights,” viewed by over 80,000 people each year.

• In the summer of 1997, the Club entered the big time in competitive sailing when Shillelagh , representing CCYC, won the coveted Lipton Cup. This 1903 trophy is the most prestigious and beautiful of all of the inter-club trophies on the West Coast. In the years before 1997, the Balboa Yacht Club, Newport Beach, pretty much owned the Lipton Cup. However, CCYC mounted an extraordinary effort to bring the Cup back to San Diego, where the award was originally established.

• After a three-year campaign, Dick and Diane O’Briens’s 35-foot Schock, Shillelagh, prevailed on its third try for the Lipton Cup. The winning CCYC crew brought acclaim to our members' sailing expertise by beating notable sailors such as Dennis Connor, Dave Ullman, and other top notch world-class sailors. The victory re-awakened local interest for the Cup with Coronado, San Diego, and Southwestern Yacht Clubs mounting strong challenge campaigns in recent years.

Growing pains proved fruitful

As activities and membership grew, it became apparent that the Club needed its own building. At the annual membership meeting in October 1991, Commodore Jack Figy presented a plan to change to an equity club, where members hold an ownership interest in Club facilities with the intent of funding construction of a new and expanded facility. The plan was enthusiastically approved by the membership and in January 1992, the Club became a California Non-Profit Mutual Benefit Corporation offering equity memberships.

Concurrent with the change to equity status, Commodore Ed Noonan announced plans for acquisition of an existing 56 slip marina and construction of a 9,800 square foot clubhouse on leased Port District land on the North end of Grand Caribe Isle.

Breaking ground and groundbreaking!

On September 4, 1993 Commodore Carl Caccamise officiated at ground-breaking ceremonies and construction was begun by General Contractor Douglas E. Barnhart in January, 1994. Just one year later, on September 2, 1994, Commodore Bob Tyner presided over the Opening Dedication attended by virtually the entire Club membership.

The Road To Gold was a great path forward

In 1997, a very successful fund-raising program, Road To Gold, enabled the Club to retire several leases on equipment and gain favorable restructuring of the mortgage which placed the Club on a firm financial footing.

One feature of the program was a membership promotion that resulted in 67 new Equity memberships. In the fall of that same year, as the Club reached its 25th anniversary, the members celebrated with a formal Silver Anniversary Ball on August 23, almost exactly 25 years following the initial Formation Day. Honored were 13 charter members of the original 90 who remained active in the Club.

By 2002, the Club completed sales of all the 499 Equity memberships. Due to sales and donations of equity memberships from members who have resigned due to changing circumstances in their lives, there are presently over 100 equity memberships available for new members.

In 2007, CCYC implemented two successful and very popular new features for our Club. The first was the decision to provide members with food service from our own in-house Club Restaurant in lieu of relying on outside food preparation companies hired to use our kitchen for food service. Named “Cays Bistro," CCYC quickly earned the reputation for providing high quality menu items at affordable prices. Second, the Cays Adventurers Series was started by Gloria LeBlanc. This unique series of scheduled member presentations, covering diverse topics from travel and work experiences to wine tastings and game nights, has become a very successful, enjoyable, and informative activity thoroughly enjoyed by our membership.

Nearly 50: Going Strong and Looking Good!

For nearly 50 years CCYC has faced many challenges and enjoyed an equal number of successes. Our Club will continue to uphold the highest traditions of the yachting spirit while also providing members with many opportunities for social fun and fellowship. Today, with dynamic Club members, a beautiful clubhouse, a high quality restaurant and bar, and a strong financial balance sheet, CCYC members are strongly positioned to enjoy great yachting and social activities for many years to come.