SBYC — About Us

South Beach Yacht Club is a volunteer organization dedicated to our members' greater enjoyment of sailing and boating. The Club was established in 1988 and has grown to over 500 members. Our new Clubhouse overlooks South Beach Harbor, and our yearly calendar is packed with races, cruises and social events and a lot of good fellowship.

On Saturday, April 30th, 1988, Harbomaster Carter Strauch invited South Beach Harbor tenants interested in forming a yacht club to meet at the Longshoreman and Warehouse Union Hall across the street from the marina. Fifty-six boat owners attended what turned out to be the initial meeting of South Beach Yacht Club. The group selected 10 attendees (Sue Angus, Bob Brigante, John Coe, Frank DeTeen, Leah Kenworthy, Ed Mackin, Bland McCartha, Keith Moore, Lome Ryan, and Devonee Welch) as the Club organizing committee. By June 11 at the second general meeting, the organizing committee presented a cruise and social calendar, announced the first Friday night race, distributed draft by-laws and spoke of possible club house facilities.

By the beginning of 1989, this active group had elected officers, adopted Rules and By-Laws, filed the articles of incorporation (Bland McCartha and Susan Angus), acquired needed licenses and permits, distributed a monthly newsletter, held the first Friday night race series, designed a club burgee, had a grand Christmas Gala, and hosted the first membership drive aboard Bob Brigante's boat, Bonnie Jean. These dynamic founding members with their amazingly ambitious schedule set what has become the norm at South Beach Yacht Club.

In June 1989, members started work on Club facilities on Pier 40 overlooking South Beach Harbor. Construction on the double-wide trailer, always considered a temporary clubhouse, was performed solely by member volunteers. On December 18th, 1989, at 1356 hours, the Port of San Francisco issued the permit to occupy the clubhouse. We had a home!

Since the inaugural meeting in 1988, South Beach Yacht Club members worked to make South Beach Yacht Club a premier one in the Bay Area without ever losing focus on the all-volunteer spirit of the Club, boating and the community. Members take their community responsibility seriously which is demonstrated by having forged a close relationship as host club for the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors, by developing the Junior Sailing program, and by offering use of the clubhouse as a polling place and meeting location for the Rincon Point/South Beach Citizens' Advisory Committee to the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission.

And, the Club with its active membership hosts a robust schedule of social,cruising, and racing events annually. South Beach Yacht Club is the organizing authority for Friday night summer series and the Spring Forward regatta. In 1989, its second year of operation, South Beach Yacht Club initiated and continues to co-sponsor with Benicia Yacht Club the annual Labor Day weekend Jazz Cup, a downwind race from Treasure Island to Benicia which attracts as many as 125 boats.

In 2004, the Club was selected as host club and to provide race management for the Catalina 30 National Championship. 2005 brings a new regatta to the Club as sponsor, along with Bay View Boat Club and the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors, the 470 North American Championships.

2003 brought another milestone for the Club; on August 7, Commodore Pete Hamm executed the lease for our new facility with the Redevelopment Agency. In 2005, SBYC members saw construction start on their new permanent home with an expected completion date of mid-2006.

The future of South Beach Yacht Club continues to become more promising and exciting with each new member who joins and brings new energy, insight, and imagination to the solid foundation already in place.

South Beach Yacht Club welcomes enthusiastic people who provide strength and diversity to the Club. Don't miss the boat. Whether you're a beginning sailor or an expert, a racer, a cruiser, own a sailboat or a powerboat, or even if you have no boat at all, as long as you have an active interest in boating, South Beach Yacht Club welcomes you as a potential member and a contributor to the Club's future!

Our members come from all over the Bay Area (and some from far beyond). Many members have boats; some do not. But the one thing we all have in common is an interest in boating and a willingness to enjoy good times together.

As mentioned, we are a volunteer organization. While our volunteerism keeps our dues down and the food and drink prices reasonable, volunteerism's main benefit is to promote a close relationship among the members. As a member you don't have to volunteer for anything, but those who do volunteer invariably feel paid back many times over for their efforts.

We have a variety of membership categories catering to most people's needs. Please click one of the following links for an application or rate information.

Membership Application Membership Categories & Dues

The Clubhouse is the center of our activities. Races and cruises start and end here, our monthly dinner meetings and numerous parties are held here, and our great mahogany bar is always conducive to a friendly chat. Since the new Clubhouse faces out over the Harbor and Mission Bay, our big deck gets lots of use on sunny days.

Staffed by volunteer "officers of the day", the Club is open Friday evenings, Saturday afternoons and evenings and Sunday afternoons and early evenings.

The Club is available for rent to members for private events. Please be aware that other members will still have access to the Club during your event. You can contact the Vice Commodore for complete details and, under most circumstances, you will have to schedule an additional OOD.

Per ABC regulations, no alcohol can be brought into the Club and all alcohol purchased in the Club must be consumed on the premises.

We race year round. During the Boating Season we have Friday Night Races; off-Season we have Saturday afternoon races; on Labor Day we sponsor (along with the Benicia Yacht Club) the Jazz Cup Race. The Jazz Cup is more than a race for members. It's a race, it's a cruise, it's a party before and after, it's a great way to spend Labor Day weekend.

There is an organized cruise somewhere most months. Destinations are usually other yacht clubs, but we go south as far as Monterey and north as far as the Delta. Traditionally we have three very well attended long weekend cruises; Half Moon Bay for Memorial Day, Jazz Cup to Benicia for Labor Day and Angel Island for Thanksgiving.

On the second Friday of every month we hold our membership meeting with dinner and we'll occasionally have a guest speaker.

You name the holiday and we seem to have a party for it. The big parties are Valentine's day, St. Patrick's Day, Opening Day on the Bay, Memorial Day at Half Moon Bay, 4th of July, a Labor Day weekend kickoff dinner for the Jazz Cup, the Annual Auction, Thanksgiving at Angel Island, and Christmas.

We also provide meeting space and complimentary membership for members of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors and our club house is a meeting place for community organizations and serves as a polling place on election days.

South Beach Yacht Club offers a comprehensive Junior Sailing program for youths 8 to 16 years of age.