Milton Yacht Club Looking Ahead with New Lease

More than 100 years after its inception, the Milton Yacht Club remains a "working" organization, where members trade low dues for their own sweat and toil.

At the same time, the 135-member club is a forward-looking place, where clean water rules and just recently a Jet Ski powered past the historic marine railway that still brings boats into the Neponset River.

After a months-long process negotiating with the town over insurance requirements, the Milton Yacht Club recently renewed its lease, guaranteeing at least another five years at its perch next to the Residences at Milton Landing in Milton Village.

The club also just won a coveted award and plans to help rowing teams, possibly from Milton High School, get into the water at the town's landing.

The annual award, from the Massachusetts Boating & Yacht Clubs Association, honored the Milton Yacht Club for its all-around excellence, said Bill Haynes, the club's rear commodore.

Haynes said the club contributes to efforts helping the Neponset River get "cleaner every year." The organization also pushes for access to public waterways, a goal that lines up with the recent surge of interest in the typically Ivy League sport that involves long, thin rowboats cutting through the water.

"There seems to be a sudden renewal in interest in row racing," Haynes said.

The lease renewal hit a speedbump when the club decided a portion of its members could not afford a $2 million liability insurance plan for their boats, some of which were home-made.

"It was just beyond the market," Haynes said.

In the end, the town agreed to a lower figure well below $1 million, the rear commodore said. The club also switched from a general insurer to one more specifically covering marine activies.

With those negotiations over, and a squabble with the neighboring condominium developers over remaining at its current location several years in the past, the Milton Yacht Club is poised to continue its bootstrapping ways for many years to come.

The club, formed in 1902 and officially founded in 1912, keeps about 35 boats on its property. Members pay only $100 per year in dues (plus various other fees), and in exchange they are required to pitch in with maintenance efforts. Last year labor costs would have added up to $55,000 if the club would have had to hire contractors to do the work.

"We're very economical," Haynes said.

Prospective members must send a letter of interest, get a sponsor and undergo an interview. In response to the letter, Haynes said, the club sends information about the club.

"We sort of try to talk you out of it, tell you all the negatives first," Haynes said, only half-joking.

Honorary members include state Sen. Brian Joyce, D-Milton, and "a guy from Canada" actually named "Milton Yacht."

Along with its conservation efforts and providing access to the river for kayakers, fishermen, boaters and the occasional Jet Ski, the Milton Yacht Club supports a weekly farmer's market with electricity, bathrooms and storage.

In a bit of town trivia, before the club's headquarters housed yachtsmen, it was Milton's police station. The small, high windows of its jail cells can still be seen on the side of the building.

Since the condominiums were built, the landing has actually seen an uptick in use despite the initial fervor from those worried about the old boats docking next door, Haynes said, a sure sign that the club remains adaptable as ever.