Bayview Yacht Club


Bayview Yacht Club is private, sailing-focused yacht club located in Detroit, Michigan. Bayview is famous for hosting the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race as well as a number of other regional and local regattas.
Bayview is a member of the Detroit Regional Yacht-racing Association.

History

Bayview Yacht Club was founded in 1915 by four sailors, E. Lloyd Kurtzwarth, P.C. Williamson, Floyd Nixon and Paul Diedrich. In 1915, the club had only one boat, the Wrinkle, which Williamson sailed with the three other founders.
Bayview's first clubhouse was a two-story tin shanty built atop a floored-over boat well at the foot of what was then known as Motor Boat Lane, adjacent to Water Works Park. Bayview moved to its present clubhouse and harbor, at the foot of Clairpointe, in 1929-30.
Bayview Yacht Club's Port Huron to Mackinac Race has sailed annually since 1925.
Bayview is known as the Midwest's "Shrine to Nautical Culture".

Facilities

Bayview occupies about along the Detroit River. Its facilities include two harbors with over 100 wells for vessels of varying length and beam. The club also has a crane for launching boats up to, as well as storage for dry-docked boats. Bayview has shower facilities and a pump-out station.
The grounds include an club house, complete with a dining room, bar, and banquet space accommodating up to 250 guests. April 9, 2019 members learned at a "Renovation Reveal" party that the club house would be rebuilt. Work is underway.
Bayview also has a separate small-boat sailing center with several fleets of dinghies, a teaching center, and an observation deck overlooking the Detroit River.

One-Design Fleets

Bayview Yacht Club is home to a number of competitive one-design fleets around the DRYA, including:
Formerly home to the very active L boat fleet until the early 70s