Bay-Waveland Yacht Club

     The Bay-Waveland Yacht Club was founded in 1896.  Newspapers
of the day describe its first annual regatta and the name of its
commodore, a gentleman named T. R. Richardson.  The clubhouse,
constructed at a cost of $2,500 and described as a double story
over the water with "water works and departments for accommodations
of ladies as well as gentlemen," was opened in 1897 with “a ball
in grand style.”
     In 1901 the BWYC became a charter member of the Southern Gulf
Coast Yachting Association, but a hurricane destroyed the club's
facility in 1915, resulting in decreased activity and no dues
collection.
     The BWYC was reorganized in 1921 as the Bay-Waveland Yacht
and Athletic Club and admitted to the Gulf Yachting Association in
1922.  Inactivity set in during the Depression years and continued
through World War II and into the late 1940's.
     The club was reorganized again in 1949 by a group of yachtsmen
and civic leaders, with John E. Bell, Jr. serving as commodore, and
the clubhouse was built on the present location.  The 1949 building
was completely destroyed, along with many members’ homes on August
29, 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.  The current, greatly improved
clubhouse was dedicated on July 1, 2008.
     In 1963 BWYC won its first Junior, and also its first Senior
Lipton title.  Today, club members are active regionally and
nationally as both competitors and administrators.  Club members
are proud to be part of the long tradition of yachting on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast, a way of life that has survived hurricanes,
wars, epidemics, and hard times.

Compiled from various sources by Commodore Walter Chamberlain '87
(Revised 8/2008 mdc)
                                                   

1904  John A. Rawlins*          1992  Basil T. Kennedy

1909  E. J. Bowers*             1997  Frank C. Allen, Jr.*

1957  J. Alvin Weinfurter*      2002  Walter G. Chamberlain

1967  Henry B. Chapman*         2009  Judith J. Reeves

1982  Henry G. Chapman

Former & Present U. S. Sailing Association
Board Members from BWYC 

Former & Present   Walter G. Chamberlain

This list was prepared by the Regatta Committee
for the 50th MCYA Chapman Regatta in 1999
and last updated January 31, 2010. Should anyone
have names and information on Commodores
of Bay-Waveland Yacht Club prior to 1949,
please contact BWYC Historian 2010 Woody Santa Cruz
at (228) 224-0112 or by email at ewsantacruzjr@aol.com 

BWYC Former Commodores

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