The Historical Highlights by P.C. Wayne B. Barr

The Lavallette Yacht Club has come a long way-quite literally as well as figuratively-from its beginnings in 1904. Today enjoying a superb location and facilities that rank with the best on Barnegat Bay , it looks back on a proud history of nurturing some of the Bay’s most successful sailors; of sponsoring regional, national, and international championship regattas; and of fulfilling its changing missions throughout the years.

Swan Point is the third site for the Club and indeed its original building, which forms the core of the present structure. From 1905 to 1914 the Clubhouse looked out over the ocean from a low dune on the south side of Bond Avenue ; from 1915 to 1947 it was situated on the bay front on the north side of President Avenue , and in the winter of 1947-48 it was moved to Swan Point.

Formally organized at a meeting in the quarters of the R to R (Road to Ruin) Club on the evening of August 13, 1904 , the Club ranks as Lavallette’s second oldest institution, antedated only by the Union Church. Parenthetically, it should be noted that there was no formal link between the R to R Club and the Yacht Club. The R to R was a weekend and vacation retreat for members and guests –who were noted for their lively pursuit of fun. They were however, instrumental in the founding of the Yacht Club and providing leadership, financial support, and business and legal expertise during the early years.

By July of 1905 the Clubhouse was ready for occupancy. The two-story structure consisted of four first-floor rooms-those now know as the Commodores’ Room, the Snack Bar, and the two Juniors’ Rooms-topped by a single, open room that remains little changed today. There was a first floor porch, barely level with its sandy surroundings.

Just why the beachfront location was chosen must remain a matter of speculation; the early log-keepers did not go into detail on this point. Clearly the intention of those at the initial meeting was to build on the bay front. At a meeting of the Trustees the following March, however, sentiment in favor of the oceanfront site prevailed.

Two possible reasons suggest themselves. One, the bay front was not a particularly appealing place. It was marshland, mosquito-infested and more hospitable to its sizeable population of snakes and muskrats that to humans. The Bay Boulevard was a one-block stretch of road from Reese Avenue to President Avenue that was frequently more bay than boulevard. And then, as now, it was often hot and humid when the beachfront was pleasantly cool. Two, Lavallette’s need for a yacht club might be questioned, but there was no doubt it needed a center for community activities and entertainment. There was no school, no town hall, the struggling church was housing the municipal offices, and the R to R as yet had no home of its own. Residents of the fledging resort could not look to neighboring towns for diversion; the only link was the railroad, and it would be another seven years before a gravel road made its way from Bay Head to Seaside Park. If the Yacht Club was to serve as a social center, the beachfront would be the better site.

During its decade on the beach and for so long thereafter as was needed, the Club performed this function admirably. It provided the town with dances, dinners, and entertainments throughout the summer season; housed meetings of all types; and for at least one summer was the home of the Sunday School classes of the church.

From the beginning, however, there were those whose hearts were with sailing, gunning, and fishing on the Bay, rather than the social activities on the oceanfront. Among them was the first Commodore, Charles C. Eareckson, a Philadelphia lawyer who was also the second mayor of Lavallette, serving from 1890 to 1910. In 1906 he donated a lot on the bay front at President Avenue to the Club, and the Trustees appropriated $450 to build a house. Activity at the Bay Annex, as it came to be called, promptly flourished. A new dock, porches, screens, lanterns, and a flagpole were added in 1907, and the Committee on Sanitary Comfort was authorized to spend $20 for construction of the necessary facilities. Formal races  for the members’ catboats and sneakboxes were held as early as 1908, and in 1910 the First Annual Open Race for Sneakboxes was won by Quickstep, of Forked River , with Lemonade, of Bay Head, second. (For those under the impression that women have come only recently to sailing competition it may be instructive to note that a 1911 race for members was won by Miss Bertha Rembaugh in her 20-foot sneakbox-and this in a day when skippers of the twenty-footers were said to be recognizable by the size of their biceps.)

When a winter storm damaged the beachfront Clubhouse late in 1914 there were few objections to the proposal that it be moved to the bay front. By July of 1915 it was in place, the annex was moved to the rear, a second-floor front porch was added, and the first-floor porch was carried down the full length of the south side of the Clubhouse and Annex. Joe Stillwell did the job for $1922; he inadvertently set the building down in the charted path of the Bay Boulevard , but the Boulevard existed almost entirely on paper and the miscalculation went unnoticed, or at least unheeded, at the time.

Lavallette was one of the six first-year members when the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association was formed in 1914. During the 1920’s and early 1930’s, when 50 to 60 fifteen-foot sneakboxes from eight clubs raced in the BBYRA’s weekly regattas, Lavallette’s fleet ranked with the best, and several skippers brought home Bay Championships. As the BBYRA fleet grew more diversified, so did Lavallette’s. Over the years the Club has had champions or strong contenders in virtually every class-among them Moths, Snipes, Penguins, Comets, Jets, G-Boats, M-Sloops, Lightnings, Class E-Sloops, Flying Dutchmen, Lasers, and catboats of all sizes. Three of the original five historic Class A Catboats have represented Lavallette at one time or another, and all brought championships to the club.

When Lavallette’s Jet 14 sailors dominated their Class, much as the club’s Laser skippers do today, three won national titles and both the Senior and Junior Nationals were held here. The Club has also been the host to the Flying Dutchman North American championships; to State and Central Atlantic District Lightning regattas; to Laser District competition and, most recently, to the Laser Master Nationals. Lavallette’s own intra-Club competition brings out more than 50 entries in a variety of classes from Prams and Sunfish to Lightnings and Sanderlings for the traditional Sunday races.

The move to Swan Point was precipitated by the revival of plans to construct the northern section of Bay Boulevard , which would slice through the Clubhouse. The need had been foreseen; in 1943 the Club acquired title to the easterly portion of the sedge islands at the northern end of town, bordering on the Great Swan Pond-better known locally as “The Ducky.” In the winter and spring of 1947-48 the sedges were filled; the necessary dredging provided a relatively deep-water access to the site. The Club was uprooted (the Annex had been razed in 1933 and replaced with a much smaller structure, which made the club a more manageable package), and followed the Boulevard right-of-way and a newly constructed road to its present location.

Here the Club has enjoyed its greatest growth. Gradually, as time and funds permitted, the building and facilities have been improved and expanded. Bulkheading and slips were installed, first along the Ducky, and eventually a marina with 47 slips, power, and water came into being. One by one, three launching hoists were erected, and parking space for cars, boats, and trailers was provided. Kitchen and bar facilities were installed, progressively expanded, and topped by a deck superbly situated for viewing races or sunsets across the westerly strip of sedge. The second-floor porch, which had developed an alarming list, was restored to an even keel and made an integral part of the second-floor area. In 1985-86, the first floor porch’s width was doubled, and it became a popular adjunct to the indoor dining and drinking areas.

The growth in facilities was more than matched by the expansion of activity. Social functions became more numerous and varied, and the season was extended at both ends. It had been customary to open the club in late June and shutter it immediately after Labor Day. Today the club is commissioned on Memorial Day and is open, at least on weekends, until Halloween. A comprehensive junior program has been developed, with social as well as sailing elements. A fleet of training boats was acquired, and Club launches were purchased to serve as tow boats, patrols, and committee boats, easing the burden on Club members who had volunteered their time and vessels for these duties.

The town has long since outgrown its dependence on the Club as a community center, but the Club now serves 195 families and some 55 single members-as many as the present facilities can accommodate, and perhaps more than the total summer population of the town when the Club was founded. There is a waiting list of prospective members, and the Club appears to have put down its roots at last.

-Copied from the 2001 Lavallette Yacht Club Directory