Community Corner
Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club Is Worth Checking Out
This group has much to offer potential members.
Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club is on Marina del Rey’s main channel with a superb view of the harbor. The club combines racing, cruising and events for its members that include dinner parties, Sunday barbecues and seamanship seminars. There are also Wednesday night buffets and Friday night bands and dinners.
Its odd name is due to its history. The Santa Monica Yacht Club was founded on April 22, 1941, with a total membership for four led by Commodore Jack Taylor. World War II did not stop the club’s activities. After the war the club built a clubhouse in San Pedro. When Marina del Rey got established, the club saw many of its members move their boats to our harbor in the 1960s. By 1970, the club moved to a new location on Mindanao Way. In 1986 the current clubhouse was built.
In 1961, MacCameron Jones and several of his racing friends founded Windjammers' Yacht Club. Six years later WYC opened a clubhouse on Bali Way where it stayed for 32 years.
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Realizing that both clubs were competing for the same potential membership pool, the two voted to merge on April 1, 1999, moving into what had been the Santa Monica Yacht Club facilities.
The club has been a longtime supporter of women’s sailing. It is the monthly meeting host for the .
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“We’re grateful that Santa Monica Windjammers opens its clubhouse to us,” WSA Commodore Christina Tarantola told me.
The club also hosts an active juniors program to introduce children to the sport of sailing.
Sad to say, the club recently lost its slips to LA County. I hope to have more on this part of the story at a later date.
Today, the facilities include a fully equipped galley, an accommodating patio, inviting dining room and bar. Unfortunately the drinks there are not like those at other yacht clubs and are more like those at the Chart House, expensive and weak. If you drink there, I suggest sticking with wine or beer. The sunsets from the bar’s windows are worth watching, and maybe the bartenders’ intent is to not dull our appreciation of them.
The yacht club’s next event is the Commodore’s Cruise, held over Labor Day Weekend from Sept. 2-5.
“Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club is our designation for a fun-filled holiday weekend,” said Commodore Besim Bilman.
The key to joining a yacht club is finding compatible fellow members and enjoyable activities. SMYC is worth exploring.
