History

Becoming St. Francis

St. Francis Yacht Club was founded in 1927 by a group of 21 San Francisco yachtsmen with a vision of a club in the City. It was an offshoot of the San Francisco Yacht Club, which was founded in 1856 and had its facility in Sausalito, across the Bay. That facility burned to the ground in the mid-twenties and a fierce debate raged after the fire between those who lived in Marin County and those who lived in San Francisco. The city-dwellers wanted to relocate to San Francisco—not surprising given that this was before the Golden Gate Bridge, so SF members had to travel by water to their club. Members from Marin found a suitable location in Belvedere against the wishes of their SF membership and pulled some fast and furious moves to secure the right number of votes to make it happen. This so offended the SF members that they chose to leave San Francisco Yacht Club and form their own club: the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Today, there is great camaraderie between the two clubs and many members belong to both.

For the club’s full history, click here.

St. Francis Yacht Club Honors Hall of Famers

The St. Francis Yacht Club honored their Hall of Famers at a dinner on October 28, 2014 with 200 people attending.

Those honored included National Sailing Hall of Famers Tom Blackaller, Paul Cayard, Stan Honey and John Kostecki, plus America’s Cup Hall of Famers Lucy and Fritz Jewett. Another Hall of Famer, National Sailing Hall of Fame President Gary Jobson, was the Master of Ceremonies.

Here are some photos of the event, courtesy of photographer Igor Capibaribe, and a short video tribute that was played during the dinner.

L-R: St. Francis YC Commodore Bruce Munro, John Kostecki, Stan Honey, Lisa Blackaller, Lucy Jewitt, Paul Cayard, Gary Jobson, St. Francis YC Commodore George Dort

Video: Tribute to the St. Francis Yacht Club Hall of Famers (4:15) :