|
|
| PORTLAND YACHT CLUB CENTENNIAL 1908-2008 |
|---|
| Remembering the past, focusing on the future |
|---|
 | | Submitted Photo | | The Yacht Clubhouse in September of 1931 |
|
by BILL CHEVALIER
Fleet Captain, Portland Yacht Club
As Portland Yacht Club gets ready to celebrate its 100th birthday, Old George Kelly would scarcely recognize the place.
George, one of 15 men who organized the Commodore Motor Boat Club back in 1908, and became its first commodore, helped round up $1,000 to incorporate and buy a 9 x 12 foot float house for meetings, social events and for organizing river races.
The little clubhouse at the foot of S.E. Ellsworth Street, served the purpose, but just two years later his successors got $10,000 together and put a proud new 26 x 55 foot building on timbers elevated 28 feet above the Willamette River at low water. By now it was called Portland Motor Boat Club, a name that stuck until 1925 when it became Portland Yacht Club.
George Kelly was a prime mover in relocating PYC to the Columbia River at Marine Drive and 13th, its present site. He doubled the club's money when he sold the club's property that happened to be on the site of the new Ross Island Bridge.
Even though George Kelly was a true visionary for Portland Yacht Club, his starched collar would wilt if he could see how his 108-square-foot clubhouse has been transformed into a modern, yet traditional 11,000 square foot edifice with 275 boat-owning members plus their spouses or mates.
Portland Yacht Club members, through their commodores, board of trustees and many, many committees, have accelerated growth of the physical plant, the moorage and other facilities in recent years.
Most recent improvements, aimed at celebrating the club's 100th Birthday in style, include insulating the entire building, replacing the siding, installing new double-pane windows throughout the clubhouse and giving it a fresh coat of paint.
The clubhouse interior has received more than just a "sprucing up" for the Centennial. Under the tutelage of 2007 Commodore Heather Adams (PYC's first woman commodore), the club's main social gathering place is all new. The club's house and grounds committee fashioned a completely new Flag Room which contains a totally renovated bar. From an antiquated, crowded and hard-to-operate serving station, the bar is now the centerpiece of an enlarged area with a beamed ceiling and paneled backdrops. The bar itself is a large L-shaped affair, with space for three servers, a light toned granite bar top and all new appliances. Typical of the spirit of volunteerism at PYC was the efforts of a member architect who envisioned the final configuration.
Elsewhere inside the club, the large dining room underwent serious remodeling last year to improve acoustics and replace old sliding doors with attractive French doors. This was the result of a large anonymous donation from a member.
PYC members are quite proud of the fact that all these upgrades were financed through existing budgets, dedicated funds, an auction and several fund raisers, but with no new long term debt.
Outside the dining room is a greatly expanded patio that sees large crowds during good weather and overlooks the moorage. A shiny new 55-foot aluminum flagpole was installed recently. The new flagpole and its adjacent plaza were donated by a member in memory of his wife.
Portland Yacht Club offers its members extensive moorage for both power and sailboats. A recent major upgrade added an entire new row of open slips, which now holds 24 large sail and powerboats. The addition is part of a 25-year moorage upgrade program to replace all wooden docks with concrete floats with all the modern conveniences. The moorage now has space for 215 boats.
Also undergoing constant improvement is the club's members-only Willow Bar Outstation on the east side of Sauvie Island. Member efforts transformed an old, dilapidated moorage into a cruising destination for club
boats. Docks at the outstation have accommodated upwards of 50 large boats. An expansive patio float, which is both covered and enclosed, is the haven for any-weather parties. Conveniences include restrooms, a shower, a galley, and tables and chairs for large or small groups.
George Kelly would notice one thing that hasn't changed since his days. All efforts are aimed at benefiting members, present and future, just as they have been in the past. Looking ahead, the club has a long range planning committee that considers possibilities such as more outstations, expansion of the clubhouse, uses for the club's property on the wooded eastern tip of Tomahawk Island, and perhaps additional moorage.
The celebration of PYC's 100th year will be the province of Berkeley Smith, a retiring circuit court judge from St. Helens who will be commodore for the 2008 centennial year. He and his wife, Carole, who will be a very busy first lady, are already deep into planning events to mark the occasion.
While March 25 will be the precise birthday, major emphasis is being given to Opening Day on the first weekend of May. In 2007, PYC hosted the Rose Festival Court during the Opening Day boat parade to help celebrate that organization's centennial. Next year, all the stops are being pulled out to put at least 100 PYC boats into the parade. Portland Yacht Club will be host club for the Columbia River Yachting Association. Many nautical and political dignitaries will be invited to the festivities as PYC celebrates its position as the oldest yacht club in Oregon.
The centennial theme will run throughout the year's activities, including spring and Christmas ladies dinners, a special time capsule event, and a float in the Rose Festival Starlight Parade.
Berkeley and Carole Smith want to celebrate the past while focusing on the future at Portland Yacht Club. They said they want to keep activities alive that bond members together, make good use of the club facilities, and focus on activities for kids, especially safe boating and sailing.
Berkeley retires after 26 years on the bench, and now becomes a senior judge for the state of Oregon. George Kelly would be right in step if he piloted his naphtha-fueled 41/2 horsepower open boat up to the PYC docks. The first Commodore's flagship of the fleet was named "The Judge."
|
| Go to top. |
|
