What is a club?

What is a “club,” anyway? As far back as the first paperback edition of Yachting Customs and Courtesies (20 years ago!) we’ve repeated the same mantra: “A club is first and foremost a group of people. Compatibility comes first; the name is secondary.” The lesson could not have been plainer than it was earlier this month when the Palm Beach Sailing Club provided the venue for the Jack Swenson Memorial race which was hosted by the Royal Turkey Yacht Club. The regatta was part of the international laser masters series and attracted 68 competitors from 8 countries. A few people (fewer every year, thank goodness) become red in the face and argue that a “sailing” club cannot, by its very nature, be a “yacht” club, ignoring some very fine old institutions like the Buffalo Canoe Club whose clubhouse is not located in Buffalo, and whose only canoes are two on
Read More