The Detroit Yacht Club (DYC) is a private

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, located on its own island off of Belle Isle in the

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between the MacArthur Bridge and the DTE generating plant. The DYC clubhouse is a restored 1920s Mediterranean-style villa that is the largest

clubhouse in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. DYC is a member of the Detroit Regional Yacht-racing Association (DRYA).

History

The club was founded by Detroit sailing enthusiasts in 1868. The first Yacht Club buildings, a small clubhouse and boatshed, were constructed in the late 1870s at the foot of McDougall Street, just south of Jefferson Avenue. In the early 1880s, the members were divided over the club's growing social activities, and in 1882, one group broke away to form the Michigan Yacht Club. The remainder elected James Skiffington Commodore (the club's title equivalent to the "President" of other recreational and social organizations) in 1884. The original Belle Isle clubhouse was built at a cost of $10,000 (with a further $2,000 for furnishings) in 1891, but burned down in 1904. A new facility was quickly built at the same site. In 1923, the present-day clubhouse was dedicated; its construction had cost more than one million dollars, the work of architect George D. Mason, who also designed the

Detroit Masonic Temple The Detroit Masonic Temple is the world's largest Masonic Temple. Located in the Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street, the building serves as a home to various Freemasonry, masonic organizations including the ...

(the world's largest) and the opulent

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. By the end of the following year, membership had reached 3000. Prominent member and Commodore Gar Wood set world speed records in hydroplanes, and with his Gold Cup victories brought the club to national and even worldwide prominence. Beginning in 1921, the DYC started sponsoring the hydroplane races. Membership declined dramatically during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and some services were suspended. In 1946, all bonds had been paid, and the club was debt-free. The club's women formed the first women's sailing organization in the country and raced the club's

catboat A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are f ...

s. During the next decade, dining facilities would be expanded, and theater-quality projection equipment installed in the ballroom, where Sunday evening screenings became a regular feature of club life. During the 1960s, an outdoor,

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champions ...

was added, and the West End docks were built, increasing the number of boat wells to over 350. The DYC has long been a symbol of privilege and exclusivity. Up until the 1970s, Black applicants were routinely rejected, until psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Ellison filed a lawsuit, and became the first Black member. More recently, the club added additional facilities like a fitness center and opened the Bitter End lounge area to allow for women to enter. Before the restoration, the Bitter End could only be accessed through the men's locker room. The newly restored Bitter End is also used for hosting small parties. In 2018, the Detroit Yacht Club celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary. Raymond W. Batt Jr. was elected to serve as the Commodore of the Detroit Yacht Club during the sesquicentennial year. dyc.com

Clubhouse

The Detroit Yacht Club clubhouse was designed by architect George D. Mason in a Mediterranean Revival style. The building sits on a man-made island constructed from fill dirt excavated from other construction projects. The cornerstone of the building was laid in 1922 by Gar Wood and the building was completed in 1923. The clubhouse is a rambling, informal structure. Of particular note are the two grand staircases and the wood-panelled second-floor ballroom.

Facilities

* Racquetball Courts * Indoor and Outdoor Pools * Outdoor Hot Tub * Outdoor Tennis courts * Bocce Ball Court * Volleyball Court * Indoor and outdoor restaurant * Marina for over 300 boats

Annual events

* Officer's Ball (Often called Commodore's Ball) * Vice Commodore's Ball (Also called Clean-up Day) * Memorial Day Celebration * Hydroplane Racing Weekend * Venetian Weekend

Groups within the club

* The Outriggers * The Pelicans * Metro Club * The Flying Scots * Ski Club * Garden Club * Sea Serpents * Kayak Club * Rod and Gun club * The Voyagers * The Seagulls * DYC Business Networking group * DYC Swim Team (MICSA League)

Notable members

* Gar Wood (former Commodore) *

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist, who was the only child of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor C ...

* Horace Dodge *

Charles Kettering Charles Franklin Kettering (August 29, 1876 – November 25, 1958) sometimes known as Charles Fredrick Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. For the list of patents issued to Kettering, see, Le ...

* Gus Schantz * Fred Fisher * Robert Oakman

References

External links

The Detroit Yacht Club
{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan 1868 establishments in Michigan Buildings and structures completed in 1924 Buildings and structures in Detroit Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Clubs and societies in Michigan Metro Detroit National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Organizations based in Detroit Sports clubs and teams established in 1868 Renaissance Revival architecture in Michigan Sailing in Michigan Sports in Detroit Sports venues in Detroit Yacht clubs in Michigan