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Restoring the Bones of Seattle Yacht Club’s 100-year Club

John Brenneis

Seattle Yacht Club

September 22, 2023

When your yacht club’s mainstation building has weathered a century of storms and rain, it might be time to see what lies beneath the outer skin. This is exactly what the Seattle Yacht Club decided it was time to do. Complicating this was the fact that the Old Grand Dame is on the National Historic Register, so it can have no significant exterior changes to the appearance of the building or the footprint. SYC Architect and Club member describes how SYC undertook this project.

As with any wood-framed structure that has withstood the ravages of a century’s worth of wind, rain, sun and occasional neglect, the grand dame of Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood was showing her age. Designed by former Commodore and renowned Seattle architect, John Graham, Sr., and completed in 1920, the Seattle Yacht Club’s clubhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places 86 years later.

Three years ago, Commodore Ted Shultz asked me how much it would cost to “re-side” the building. In my experience, I have learned to never offer an opinion about how much something will cost without serious study, consultation and discussion, so I proposed that all exterior finishes be replaced or restored instead of replacing only the skin of the building. Because these new surfaces would likely not be disturbed for another hundred years, it made sense to go one step deeper now and do a seismic upgrade of the structure beneath.

First, we decided to bring the structure up to current building code standards for an earthquake-resistant design. We then drafted a list of things that we wanted to improve, limiting it to just exterior work so that the interior of the Club remained fully functional and operational during the construction period. A committee representing all constituent interests was then formed to decide how we would accomplish this.

Once we agreed to a defined scope of work, we decided that this should be a winter-time project so as not to disturb the summer’s events, but would have cost implications beecause the work would have to be fully enclosed during periods of inclement weather to keep the building dry. While the building is about 19,000 square feet in floor area, it’s just a big house. So, I contacted a trusted contractor who had extensive experience building large, intricately detailed homes. They looked at the project and developed a detailed cost analysis.

The SYC by-laws require a majority vote of the membership for capital improvements of this magnitude. I developed a detailed narrative and made presentations to the Club while working to gain the approval of the Seattle Landmarks Board because they enforce the development restrictions for any building designated as “Historic.” Once we cleared that hurdle, the project was put to a vote of the membership in June of 2022, and passed by a 9 to 1 margin.

With the funds approved, I set to work preparing the construction drawings, hiring the engineer to perform the seismic retrofit design and writing the project specifications. I also began the arduous process of wresting a building permit from the City of Seattle. This was all done under the auspices of the Club’s House and Building Committees. In addition to the siding, the project also included the removal and replacement of the original ship-lap sheathing; the oldest of the original single-glazed windows, doors, and trim; a deteriorating and non-code conforming deck railing and flat roof; and the refurbishment of the soffit above the porch below. Costs were updated as the scope developed with the design. In July 2023, we executed a contract with Walter F. Toth Construction to begin work on August 1.

Phase I of the work began with the erection of a weatherproof scaffolding on the east side of the building, and demolition of the old siding and sheathing to expose the un-insulated stud cavities. To our great fortune, the framing was found to be rot-free, including the sill plates (the horizontal 2x6s that come into direct contact with the concrete foundation), a true testament to the qualities of older buildings.

Seattle Now & Then

Seattle now & then: seattle yacht club clubhouse, 1926.

(click and click again to enlarge photos)

(Published in the Seattle Times online on April 23, 2020 and in the PacificNW Magazine print edition on April 26, 2020)

Yacht club’s 1926 Montlake reception had a crowning touch

By clay eals.

Royalty fueled the roar of the 1920s in Seattle on Nov. 4, 1926. That day, the city welcomed a woman whom The Seattle Times called the “most beautiful and gracious of all Europe’s feminine monarchs,” Queen Marie .

For the 51-year-old regal representative of Romania (then spelled Rumania), Seattle was but one destination on a cross-country tour. Accompanied in an open touring car by our first female mayor, Bertha Landes , the queen zipped through an afternoon of stops initially intended for a full day.

She drew record crowds, and the city delighted her: “In all the towns I have visited, I have found none so beautiful as your Seattle. In each corner today, I have found a place where I should like to live.”

The fitting finale was the home of the Seattle Yacht Club . Its clubhouse, perched on Portage Bay, south of the University of Washington and north of today’s Highway 520, had opened six years earlier, on May 1, 1920. For a reception put on by “club women of the city” to honor the queen, the building burst with autumn blooms, its veranda rails draped in dahlias.

Only 200 of the 1,500 assembled women could greet Marie, however, because what was to be a one-hour stay lasted “scarcely more than 15 minutes.” This did not prevent 60 women – bonneted, like the queen – from posing outside with three youngsters, as our “Then” photo shows.

It’s no accident that a lighthouse-shaped cupola topped the clubhouse, which The Times called “the finest on the Coast and one of the finest in the United States.” Famed architect John Graham, Sr. , certainly intended for the Colonial Revival/Shingle Style structure to complement the recently opened Lake Washington Ship Canal, including nearby Montlake Cut, which connected Portage Bay to the lake.

The parcel, formerly marshland and a landfill for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at the UW campus, became available for the club’s purchase after a casino proposed for the site fizzled. The club deemed the calm, freshwater setting a buoyant change from the rough weather, railroad noise, oil dumping and swells of passing steamboats that its boaters and craft had endured at saltwater bases on Elliott Bay and along the West Seattle shore since its founding in 1892.

Today, with 2,800 member families and myriad programs for all ages, Seattle Yacht Club is the oldest and largest such local organization.

The coronavirus scuttled its traditionally sponsored early-May merriment for Opening Day, but the club optimistically has rescheduled an elaborate celebration of its clubhouse centennial for Sept. 26. Sailing and motor vessels from the 1920s are to be on display, including one that participated on Opening Day in 1920.

One might envision the pending party as fit for a queen.

To see Jean Sherrard ‘s 360-degree video of the “Now” prospect and compare it with the “Then” photo, and to hear this column read aloud by Clay Eals , check out our Seattle Now & Then 360 version of the column, when it is posted!

Below are a “Now” identifier photo and two other photos as well as 11 clippings from The Seattle Times online archive (available via Seattle Public Library) that, among others, were helpful in the preparation of this column.

And at the bottom, see a book excerpt relating to Queen Marie’s visit to the Seattle Yacht Club clubhouse on Nov. 4, 1926, plus a 1954 club menu!

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Yacht Clubs

Seattle Yacht Club

Founded in 1892, Seattle Yacht Club is one of our country’s most active and long-established yacht clubs. With facilities ranging from the historic main station on Portage Bay, to ten outstations located along the shores of Washington and British Columbia, the club offers an outstanding group of properties for use by its more than 2,500 members.

From the Commodore:

It gives me great pleasure to confirm the commitment of the Seattle Yacht Club Board of Trustees and its members to the goals and mission of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Our Fleet Captain Sail, Dave Ferguson and his committee, and Past Commodore, Chris Otorowski, will be working together on the member matching fund program that I expect will exceed the Founding Club level.

We look forward to watching the progress of the NSHOF and its home in Annapolis.

The Pacific Northwest waters, aristocratic pines and views of Mt. Rainier, Baker and the Olympics provided inspiration for Chief Sealth’s (Seattle) native peoples and SYC respects this heritage while developing its own traditions and stewardship. In the 1880s Puget Sound’s Budlong’s Boat House was the locale of the first gathering place of SYC yachtsmen followed in 1882 by the moorage on Battery Street at Brighton’s Boat House. The first Clubhouses built for a formally organized Seattle Yacht Club were in 1892 and 1909 in West Seattle.  Presently the Portage Bay clubhouse (1919) between Lakes Union and Washington offers a colonial style with classical elegance and uncovered and covered moorages. It has been on the National Register of Historical Places since 2006. In addition, there are ten beautiful outstations extending from south Puget Sound through Canadian waters. They are Gig Harbor, Elliott Bay, Port Madison and Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, Henry Island and Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands, and Ganges, Ovens Island, Garden Bay and Cortes Bay in Canada. The marine environment is protected by SYC’s Code of Ethics and negotiations with the City of Seattle. Reciprocity with U.S. and international yacht clubs exists.

Since 1928 SYC has participated in powerboat predicted log racing’s annual International Cruiser Race, the Capital to Capitol Race. Hosted by SYC in 1936, the attendance was the highest of any U.S. cruising event to that date. In the 1940s the IPBA made it a family event. Today SYC hosts the IPBA Stimson Cup and participates in other IPBA and local races.

The belief that “everyone who wants to be on the water should be” underlies programs for the community such as the 1935 Shut In Cruise when 50 SYC boats took patients in wheelchairs and on stretchers for a Lake Washington cruise. World War II veterans were taken on similar cruises. Today’s Annual Special People’s Cruise was inspired by SYC women who arranged Christmas cruises for the Fircrest clients. SYC’s Opening Day, modeled in part by the city’s 1911 Potlatch celebration has the largest boating parade and international crew races in the world. SYC sponsors the largest fund raising event in boating, the Leukemia Cup Regatta and the SYC Foundation provides funding for Youth Sailing classes and community boating projects.

Protection of maritime waters and racing abound. SYC formed the first Pacific coastal squadron to teach motorboat navigation and to cooperate with the U.S. government in 1916. During World War II SYC’s Flotilla 24, the largest civilian squadron in the U.S., patrolled Pacific inland waters with private small and large luxury yachts. Pleasure boating was dormant but racing continued. The hydroplane races with SYC’s Slo-Mo IV and V won the Gold Cup 1950-1954 and put Seattle and Seafair on the map. The hydroplane era continues with the SYC burgee on winning boats and thousands of spectators watching the races on Lake Washington and on television.

Pleasure boating resumed after World War II. In 1964 SYC was invited to join the Cruising Club of America and continues to host several of their events. The latter’s goal of promoting cruising by amateurs and its interest in seamanship, navigation and handling of small vessel is in keeping with SYC’s philosophy and support of what the juniors call “people who like to mess around in boats”. Boating education at SYC has always been a priority for youth and adult members and non-members. Currently it is provided in Lasers, Vanguard 15’s, and Optimistist dinghies. Pleasure boating for adults, families and the public is provided in Club and private member boats.

Competing in international races in the 1980s again demonstrated SYC’s racing skills. Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals were brought home. The SYC burgee flew on One World in the 2003 America’s Cup Race. SYC women have won world championships in rowing and the Adams Cup for sailing.  World involvement is further demonstrated by hosting of the International Council of Yacht Clubs Forum in 2011. This is the first time it was held in the United States and 14 countries were represented by numerous delegates.

To insure “the most fun for the most of us” the SYC committee system allows for diversified interest groups and activities for all members. The Men’s and Women’s groups have luncheons with speakers and programs to educate and entertain. Parties, balls, dinner dances and children’s events occur regularly. The annual Commodore’s Ball with the Grand Fourteen Yacht Clubs in the area is a gala event. Potlatch, a weekend of water games, races and feasting at Port Madison, is an example of the family centered events for juniors, intermediates and regular members.

Seattle Yacht Club has a tradition of pride in its members who come from every socioeconomic level. Many have made significant contributions to navigational science and member volunteerism is basic to the Club. The 1937 Board of Trustees stated: the club should cater to the average class of gentlemen yachtsman” attempting to please the aristocrats and also the members with small boats regardless of financial position. SYC also has pride in its clubhouse and the city it is named after. The beacon light on top of the Portage Bay clubhouse was installed by SYC members and the Coast Guard and its spire is shown on nautical charts as a private stationary aid to navigation. It beckons you to join the fun of a cultural icon and continue to make history.

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An interview with Regan Edwards on the Seattle Yacht Club's 2023 Grand Prix

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Sailors attending Seattle Yacht Club’s Grand Prix Regatta enjoyed three days of diverse and exciting racing in varied conditions.

Sails got worked. Foulies got tested. New names were etched into Seattle Yacht Club’s shiny Grand Prix trophies. And good times were enjoyed by all, as the season’s final multi-day buoy racing regatta for keelboats on Puget Sound went into the books in late October. New for 2021 was the removal of a requirement for qualification, so any boat that wished to register was welcome. A total of 40 boats across eight classes — two ORC, four PHRF, as well as J/105s and J/80s racing one-design — came out for three days of fun wind-powered competition. 

As we rigged up on Friday morning, the chatter was all about Sunday. The rest of the weekend looked pretty good too, but Sunday… holy moly. The tenor of the conversation was excitement and wonder, with just a dash of apprehension for good measure. Better keep the old main nearby, just in case it nukes. 

Soon enough, sailors’ focus shifted from the future to the present, as always happens on the water. Friday gave us an on-time start for some long buoy courses and a really enjoyable moderate southerly with flat water. Two races were scored for each class. 

Saturday gave the most gentle conditions of the weekend. Breezes from 6-14 knots were complemented by less rain than forecast and some sun in the afternoon — even a rainbow during the final race! The race committee ran three races for each class, with the breeze being lightest in the mid-afternoon. 

Sunday was as forecast. The monster wind predictions associated with an historic low pressure system in the north Pacific were unwavering in the afternoon, but the race committee accurately deemed it safe to bring the fleet out for one quick medium-distance race, which started in 14-16 knots and built to 20-25 before the race was finished. Crossing the finish line, racers were shown the flag combination “AP over A” and the boats returned to the marina with a good 90 minutes to get settled before the breeze came in with force. The West Point Buoy clocking 35-46 knots of wind for an hour in the afternoon. Good call, race committee. 

Amongst the fun J/80 class, the regatta kicked off with close competition among High Five , Jolly Green , and Underdog , whose cumulative scores were within a two-point spread after the first day of racing. During the distance race on Saturday, most of the fleet continued along the eastern shore after rounding the windward mark at Meadow Point, whereas Reckless and Underdog jibed early to cross Puget Sound. A favorable shift near the leeward mark at Point Jefferson put the latter well ahead of the other boats, with Reckless crossing the finish line in first place just ahead of Underdog . Underdog won the rest of the races on Saturday, despite rounding the first mark behind several boats.

“We kept working it low downwind while maintaining good speed to maximize VMG,” said Lek Dimarucot, Underdog’s skipper. The flying mascot on Underdog’s chute helped the team measure how much rotation they were getting from the spinnaker. “We like seeing as much of the dog on the windward side as possible, at least one ear and ideally his nose, too,” Lek continued. “On the beats, we worked to stay in phase with the shifts while covering boats behind,” he added.

With a four-point lead in the standings, Underdog was firmly in first place at the start of the final race on Sunday, which became a duel for second place with High Five and Jolly Green only one point apart. High Five won the heavily favored end of the start line, managed to fly their spinnaker on the close reach to Meadow Point, and thus clinched the duel, finishing the regatta in second with Jolly Green in third. Lek and his crew’s victory on Underdog is great to see — Lek has been showing top form ever since he attended the World Championships in Denmark earlier this summer.

The racing in the J/105 class was as tight as ever, with five boats scoring a first place in six races. Class winner aboard Creative , Al Hughes, shared the following report: 

There were seven J/105s on the line for Friday, which starts in the afternoon with a couple of buoy races. Winds were 8-18 knots from the south. The first race went to Creative who fended off a stiff challenge from Moose Unknown all around the course and then Insubordination who passed Moose in the last bit of the beat to the finish. The second race had a little more wind, which was more shifty as well. Creative made a nice move to the west on the run to close up with the early leaders More Jubilee , Insubordination and Moose . On the beat to the finish Creative played the shifts well to finish first again followed by Moose and then a tie between Insubordination and Jubilee . Saturday brought continued southerlies but a little more east in them and a wider range of speeds with a few showers. These new conditions brought some different players to the front. Jubilee took the first race from the crew of Liftoff who crossed second ahead of Moose . The second race had Puff leading early before being overtaken by Moose and the Insubordination . The last race of the day saw Liftoff lead most of the race until being nipped at the leeward mark by the downwind train of Peer Gynt . It seemed like the whole fleet was rounding the leeward mark at once. On the beat back to the finish, Insubordination played the shifts very well to pass all four boats who rounded ahead of them to cross the line first, followed by Liftoff and Peer Gynt . But the dreaded protest room later that evening took down Insubordination for a room-at-the-mark violation. In six races, the J/105s saw five different boats win a race. That’s close competition! Photo by Jan Anderson. Starting the final day, things were very tight with Moose and Creative tied at 9 points each after counting throwouts, and More Jubilee and Insubordination within reach. The final day saw a delay in starting over concerns about a very low barometer and high wind forecast. The RC did what they could with an ESE breeze but it was a bit of a parade with a huge premium on a port-tack-only start; continuing with very close reaching to the turning mark, beam reach to the leeward mark which was in a bit of a wind hole, and then tight reach back to the windward mark and repeat. Passing lanes were hard to come by. Puff got the best start but they were passed on the tight reach by Insubordination and then Peer Gynt . Creative got by Peer Gynt at the leeward mark hole and were followed by Moose . Another lap followed with no changes, but Jubilee took the low road on the last leg to sneak by Moose for third. Final tally was Creative first, Moose Unknown second, and the Insubordination crew third. Without the DSQ, Insubordination had the best record over the three days. But it was good stuff for the local fleet that every boat had a turn at the front, the competition was always stiff, and I think everyone had a good time. 

The fastest boats on the course were a pair of TP52s, who wound up match racing in ORC Class 1. Smoke and Glory had some great battles. The longer buoy courses allowed for racing to test both boat speed and tactics. It’s fair to say that Glory had the speed advantage aided by a couple of shiny new sails, but Smoke sailed savvy and absolutely earned the top spot for the weekend. 

Glory had a one point lead going into the final race on the breezy Sunday, but with the tie break rules in such a small class, it was one race for all the marbles. The race committee sent the 52s upwind to West Point and then on a reachy downwinder to a mark a bit beyond Spring Beach and back. With just two boats on the start, you’d think there’d be plenty of room and clean air to spare. Well, with a seriously pin-favored starting line, there was only one place to be, and Smoke positioned themselves brilliantly, gassing Glory off the line. Glory was able to reel them in on the beat, and attempted to hold Smoke out at West Point but Smoke got a nose in and earned mark room, retaining the lead around the mark.

Both boats put kites up in the southeasterly, and quickly were making way west of the ideal course. Simultaneous douses left the two boats jib reaching for the mark, where Smoke once again rounded just ahead again. Back on the breeze in winds now topping 20 knots, Glory clawed back, stretching their legs and climbing on top to cross the finish line a few boat lengths ahead of Smoke , but after the handicaps were applied, Smoke won with a margin of almost 30 seconds. It is pretty amazing how much fun competition two well sailed sleds like this can have in a class all by themselves. 

Around the fleet, great battles abounded. Both ORC Class 2 and PHRF Class 3 had to employ tiebreakers to determine the winners: Jonathan McKee’s Riptide 44, Dark Star , just edged Dougherty and Andrews’ J/125 Hamachi who made a late charge in Sunday’s big breeze; and Charlie Macaulay’s Farr 39 Absolutely pipped Iain Christenson’s Farr 36, Annapurna , in the final race to top the class of the fastest PHRF boats. 

Tolga Cezik’s J/111 Lodos , Bill Buchan’s Peterson 44 Sachem , and Nick Andrewes’ Davidson 29 Madame Pele rounded out the class winning honors. Full results here .

Thanks to SYC for another terrific Grand Prix Regatta. It was fun to know it was open to all this year. And, as always, those that attended were treated to the region’s swankiest regatta dinner at the Seattle Yacht Club for the awards ceremony on Sunday Night. What a great weekend! 

All images are courtesy of Jan Anderson Photography . Special thanks to Lek Dimarucot and Al Hughes for their assistance with this story. 

Joe Cline has been the Managing Editor of 48° North since 2014. From his career to his volunteer leadership in the marine industry, from racing sailboats large and small to his discovery of Pacific Northwest cruising —Joe is as sail-smitten as they come. Joe and his wife, Kaylin, welcomed a baby girl to their family in December 2021, and he is enjoying fatherhood while still finding time to sail, make music, and tip back a tasty IPA every now and again.

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