History of BYC

    In 1922, when Newport Harbor was more shoals and sandbars than open water, the Southland Sailing Club, soon renamed the Balboa Yacht Club, was formed by a small group of sailors wanting an active organization with an emphasis on family sailing. 
    From its beginnings in a small wooden structure on open, sandy Balboa Peninsula, BYC has evolved to become one of southern California's most prestigious yachting organizations. In 1926 the Club moved to a new clubhouse on the southeast corner of Little Balboa Island, a stone's throw from its present location on Bayside Drive. Over the fireplace hung a burnished wood plaque bearing the Club's motto, "A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck." Originally donated by the first commodore, Isaac B. Potter, the plaque hangs today over the present Club's dining room fireplace.
The Newport Harbor of the past began to change as dredging began in 1935, and the following year the harbor we know today was officially opened for navigation. Balboa Yacht Club, with it's prime location near the harbor entrance, now had a convenient, protected anchorage for its growing fleet.
     BYC signed a lease with the Catalina Island Company in 1957 giving them an outstation site at Whites Cove west of Avalon. Thanks to members' untold hours of hard work, from cement work to landscaping, from plumbing and wiring to carpentry and painting, this facility is now a treasured getaway site for members to enjoy.
     The Clubhouse and facilities on Bayside drive have evolved over their half-century of use to meet the changing yachting needs of the membership and to provide a comfortable environment for a wide variety of social activities.
     A detailed history of Balboa Yacht Club includes a litany of its members' successes in some of yachting's most highly acclaimed competitions. Its cruisers have ranged worldwide in their boats. In fact, Baja California and the coast of mainland Mexico are as familiar to many of the members as the coves of Catalina. 
    Today the Balboa Yacht Club is still among the leaders in yachting and still true to its tradition of family

Past Commodores

1922	Isaac Potter*		1969	David Smiley*
1923	Frank Hutton*		1970	Donald Franklin*
1924/25	H. M. Worcester*		1971	Edwin Steen, Jr.*
1926	W. M. Davenport*		1972	Jack Baillie*
1927	H. M. Worcester*		1973	George Hoedinghaus*
1928	Robert Bostwick*		1974	David Lang*
1929	Louis Coffey*		1975	Kenneth Ross
1930	B. F. Mansfield*		1976	Preston Zillgitt
1931	Evart Adams*		1977	Morrie Kirk
1932	E. G. Sherman*		1978	William Carlson
1933	Walter Cuorsen*		1979	Bob Williamson
1934/35	T. Higbee Embry*		1980	Phillip Glasgow
1936	Paul Johnson*		1981	John Robinson*
1937	J. Eugene Ziegler*		1982	Terence Welsh
1938	H. F. Batchelor*		1983	William Taylor
1939	Lewis Bish*		1984	Richard Jones
1940	Howard Baker*		1985	Richard Krenz*
1941	Edmund Riesen*		1986	Alan Andrews, M.D.*
1942	Theodore Johnson*		1987	Richard Jenness
1943	Fred Hunie*		1988	Douglas Wall*
1944	Mark Healy*		1989	John Cazier
1945/46	Donald Kemp*		1990	James Kelly*
1947	Robert Boyd*		1991	George Leitch*
1948	Richard Fenton*		1992	John Barker
1949	Castleman Smith*		1993	Richard Lawrence
1950	Fred Smales		1994	Donald Anderson*
1951	Harry Blodgett*		1995	Dudley Johnson
1952	Converse Wurdemann*		1996	Edward Di Orio
1953	L. B. Wheeler*		1997	Richard Blatterman
1954	James Whyte*		1998	Charles Buchanan
1955	Marshall Kennedy*		1999	Stanley Cochran
1956	Frank Wood, Jr.*		2000	Mike Wathen
1957	Chip Cleary*		2001	Tom Purcell
1958	Paul Holmes*		2002	Josh Walker
1959	William Campbell*		2003	Jeffrey Allen
1960	Vilan Couch*		2004	Howard Neff
1961	Carroll Hudson*		2005	Norm Shepherd
1962	John Biby, Jr.*		2006	William Seals
1963	William Blurock*		2007	Craig Reynolds
1964	John Payne*		2008	Art Mitchell
1965	Charles Glasgow, Jr.*		2009	Alan Andrews
1966	David Young*		2010	Richard Pacelli
1967	Frank Lynch*		2011	Peter Bretschger
1968	Ralph Deaver*		2012	Judi Gorski

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