At a meeting held June 17,1929, in the old Anderson Hotel Building on South Cambrian Street, Bremerton, a dozen boating enthusiasts formed what is known as the Bremerton Yacht Club, with Mr. F. H. Phillips as the first Commodore.

Committees were appointed to draw up by-laws and to get necessary data on getting under way as a regularly organized club. The present state of the club affairs show that those committees did their work well. Chief among the things necessary to be done was to secure proper quarters, and through the kindness of the city commissioner were offered the use of the old Charleston city dock. There being no float at that time, it was necessary to build one, which was done at a cost of about $150. A dance floor was put in the building and the interior was remodeled to suit conditions.

Commodore Phillips was followed in office by H. L. Haven in 1930, E. H. Brooks in 1931, Jan Van der Staay in 1932, Clarence Adams in 1933, Harry A. Prichard in 1934, George A. Braendlein in 1935, Lewis A. Tucker in 1936, Clarence J. Hillbery in 1937 and Elmer Brooks in 1938.

The Bremerton Yacht Club wishes to acknowledge with the deepest appreciation the very great help and support it has received from the city officials in Bremerton, the business and professional men, and the people at large. We also would like to extend our thanks to the neighboring yacht clubs, all of which have extended a helping hand whenever needed. Our membership is still small, due to the fact that our field to draw on is small, but the spirit is there and so long as that fact remains constant then there is no doubt that the B.Y.C. will continue to exist and to justify its existence by helping boat owners enjoy some of the wonderful gifts of nature with which Puget Sound is so richly endowed, and to make more people boat and water conscious.

The fact that the B.Y.C. has enjoyed a slow but steady growth is evidence that we have done something toward bringing a little more water enjoyment to an ever increasing number of people. A glance at Article 2 of our by-laws, which says the purpose of this club shall be to promote yachting, etc., etc., with the GREATEST amount of SAFETY, etc., tells the interested person why our club was formed and continues to exist. We now have a permanent home in sheltered waters, a caretaker living' at the club house where meals can be served to members, berths for boats and permanent mooring at all tides and seasons. Our schedule of events for this year appears elsewhere in this annual, and it is the earnest wish that all interested persons will join us in making the year 1938 a successful boating year.

This is an excerpt from the 1938 B.Y.C. Annual and was published on the cover page of the January 2004 issue of the TOWLINE.

LINKS:

• Commodores of the 1930s (Photos)