Community Boating, Inc. (CBI) is a private

not-for-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation m ...

founded in 1937 to teach

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

to those who would not typically have access. Located on the

Charles River The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...

Esplanade between the

Hatch Shell The Edward A. Hatch Memorial Shell, commonly referred to as the Hatch Shell, is an outdoor concert venue on the Charles River Esplanade in the Back Bay section of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1939–1940, it is one of the city's prominent ...

and the

Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachuse ...

, it is the oldest public sailing organization in the United States. To date, they have had over half a million sailors use their organization.

History

Community Boating, Inc. was founded by Joseph Lee Jr., a wealthy Bostonian and recreation advocate. In 1932, the city of Boston set $200,000 aside to build a boathouse at the

West End, Boston The West End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bounded generally by Cambridge Street to the south, the Charles River to the west and northwest, North Washington Street on the north and northeast, and New Sudbury Street on ...

Beach. However, by 1937 the boathouse still had not been built and so Lee partnered with William F. Brophy, a lawyer who worked in the West End, to push for the boathouse's construction to advance opportunities for public boating for local children. Lee also began regular meetings of the "Community Boat Club" in the basement of the West End Community Center to build simple plywood sailboats and the group of 100 began sailing out of the boathouse on the Charlesbank with seven boats. The Community Boat Club later relocated to Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) property on the Upper Basin without permission over concerns that they had been sailing too close to the Charles River Dam. The Community Boat Club and Lee continued to advocate for a city-funded boathouse. In 1938, they regularly drew attention to their cause by sailing under the

into the Upper Basin, including once during the annual

American Henley Regatta The American Henley Regatta was a popular and inclusive regatta for the sport of rowing in the United States. Unlike the national championship regattas of the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen, which focussed primarily on boat clubs as parti ...

at the Union Boat Club. Metropolitan police towed them out of the basin in response. In another protest, the Community Boat Club marched from the West End to the State House, placing a boat called the ''Eugene C. Hultman'' inside the Hall of Flags. In 1939, the Community Boat Club petitioned the recently elected governor

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett Atholville Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more th ...

, to use a portion of the $1 million gifted to the city by Helen Storrow for the improvement of the Charles River Basin to build a boathouse. In the summer of 1939, Saltonstall attended the club's boat christening ceremony, one of which was named after him, and in 1940 he asked the state legislature to designate part of Helen Storrow’s gift for completing the boathouse. In 2007, they began a universal access program to allow people with disabilities to sail.

Operations

Community Boating, Inc. operates out of a boathouse built in 1941. They employs staff to run operations and also relies on volunteers to teach classes. Available boats include

kayaks ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

, paddleboards, and sailboats. Operations are funded through corporate sponsors and membership fees. In 2021, the organization served roughly 4,000 individuals.

Activities

Community Boating, Inc. continues to provide boating training and equipment with an emphasis on accessibility.

References

External links

* Boating associations Non-profit organizations based in Boston 1936 establishments in Massachusetts {{US-culture-org-stub