Lewes Yacht Club celebrates 90 years
What started as a group of sailors meeting on Lewes Beach for weekend races more than nine decades ago developed into the Lewes Yacht Club, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this month.
Club members gathered Sept. 24 to celebrate the 90th anniversary. The event was highlighted with attendance by several descendants of the founders and the debut of a 90th anniversary video.
And in a long line of milestones in the history of the club is a project getting underway to renovate and expand the current clubhouse to allow for extra dining area (including more outdoor options), a larger bar area, more storage and a new pool bathhouse. The project will be done over a two-year period in an effort to impact the membership as little as possible.
The idea for a sailing association was presented in August 1932 by George Davisson, Richard Reese Sr. and Marjorie Virden. Davisson and Reese would become the club's first two commodores. A total of 17 charter members started the club and set the dues at $3 a year with a $1 initiation fee.
It took a few years, but LYC was incorporated in July 1937, and the first clubhouse was built in 1938 for $5,000 with donated materials on land given by the City of Lewes.
Today, LYC not only has a clubhouse but a pool and marina, an established summertime youth sailing school and swim team, weekly sailing races, special sailing events, programs for members and guests, a foundation, dinners, a snack bar and youth programs.
And there is that beach access. The club is situated at the site of one of the Lewes Beach crossovers with easy access to Lewes Beach and the Delaware Bay. The view from its large outdoor deck provides one of the best sunset spots in Lewes.
The club has 700 memberships with a waiting list of several years.
Among additions to the club over the years, the pool created the most controversy. Longtime members can recall the division that occurred between those who wanted a pool and those who didn't. It got to a point where some members quit the club. When the pool opened in 1987, it quickly became the most-used amenity at the club, and most of those members who parted ways returned to the fold.
Several key families have played significant roles in the formation and growth of the club, including the Masons, Carters, Marshalls, Millers and Reardons, all familiar names in Lewes.
Although the club has a variety of activities, its roots are in sailing. Over the years, the club has hosted a variety of regattas for all types of sailboats, including Sunfish, Mobjacks, Hobie Cats, Optimists and J-70s, all run by a dedicated race committee.
The annual Breakwater Race each Labor Day is the club’s longest-lasting tradition, having started 90 years ago. In the early days, members had swimming and rowing races to the breakwater as well.
The Cape-to-Cape Regatta, started in 2008, continues each August with racing between Lewes and Cape May, N.J.
Key events in LYC's history
August 1932 – Idea for LYC is proposed; 17 charter members
July 1937 – Incorporation takes place
1938 – Construction of first clubhouse at the end of Cedar Street
1941 – Club is used by the military as lookout during World War II
1950s – The clubhouse is expanded and renovated; membership is 123
1969 – Marina on Lewes-Rehoboth Canal is completed
1980s – First paid staff
1982 – Sailing school begins
1987 – Pool opens; swim team and water aerobics begin
2003 – Demolition of old clubhouse
2005 – New clubhouse dedicated
2009 – Foundation is formed
2017 – Major pool renovations and first general manager hired
2022 – Major construction project gets underway
