Eastport Yacht Club Begins Expansion with Demolitions

Last month, the (EYC) started clearing land to expand operations and make room for boat storage.

In all, three buildings were demolished, two of which were homes and the third was a yacht broker's office.

"We're expanding our clubhouse in order to enhance our junior-sailing operations and our race operations," said Rick Jackson, the club's commodore.

The two homes involved have been owned by the EYC for quite some time, he said.

"The club bought one of them 15 years ago and the other about 10 years ago," said Jackson.   

With the expansion will come room that's long been needed for the club.

"We've never had adequate facilities for the juniors," Jackson said. "They'll now have a classroom, a dedicated office and storage within the building."

And there will be added space for the club's racing operations.

"The race committee was operating out of a shed," Jackson said. "They'll now have an office, jury rooms and storage within the building."

The club also needed more room for boat storage, he added.

"One of the issues we've always had, we've never had enough room for dry boat parking," he said.

Finally, there's the view, which comes into play for both members of EYC, as well as residents of the Severn 100 building, directly across the street from the club. With removal of the three structures, there is now an unobstructed view to the Severn River.

EYC members also will have more space for the view they already enjoy. 

"We've always claimed to have the best view in town from our deck and part of the process is doubling the size of the deck," Jackson said. "That will allow more members to enjoy the view."

Jackson wouldn't give an exact figure for the cost of the project, but he said it was within a given budget.

"The membership voted four and a half years ago to assess themselves and we're doing it within that budget," he said.

Jackson said the grading work is finished for the time being and will resume in the spring, with an undetermined date for completion of the entire project.

"Next summer," he said. "I've learned not to put a date on it."