The Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead

was established in 1885 by C.H.W. Foster and Benjamin W. Crowninshield. Their goal was to attract sailors that owned boats between sixteen and thirty feet. Word is Eastern Yacht Club was not interested in boats less than thirty feet.

The Mission of the Yacht Club

The mission of Corinthian Yacht Club was to encourage sailboat racing by amateurs. This set the stage for the future success of Marblehead being known for sailboat racing. Actually, in 1960 my father joined the Corinthian Yacht Club. The harbor had far fewer boats so getting a mooring was not a big deal.

Memories of being at Corinthian Yacht Club:

Wearing a coat and tie after 6:00 pm - not a lot of fun as a kid

Watching a movie on Sunday nights on the outdoor screen that stretched over the pier. Trouble is I had to wear a tie and sit in a very uncomfortable folding chair on the pier in a coat and tie. Other kids that were not members sat in their rowboats below the pier in shorts

The swimming pool had an outrageous high diving board. When you used it the goal was to bounce as high as possible and annoy the parents

The real annoying time was when the kids had to get out of the pool to allow adult swim only. Seemed like forever.

The snack bar was great because you did not need money. All we had to do was sign the bill and add our membership number. I always caught up with my parents at a later date!

In the early years, people did not have radios to call the launch service for pick up. Had to blow a horn. Each yacht club had a defined number of blasts. I believe Corinthian was three blasts. When the wind was strong and blowing away from the club it was a challenge for the launch driver to hear the horn. In the first few years we had to actually blow through a horn. Later compressed gas horns with canisters were added.

Racing was conducted on Saturday afternoons. There were three different starting lines…inside line…outside line…and a high-performance line. It was one design racing where all the boats that were alike were put into the same fleet to race only against each other. The faster boats started first. Overtime the fleets died and grew in popularity over the years. It is a fascinating history of all the fleets. Classes include: US One Design, One Design, 210, Shields, 110, Rhodes 19, Sonar, Etchells, Soling, Town Class, Tempest, Day Sailors, Turnabouts, Widgeon, 505, 420’s, J24….just to name a few. The challenge now is even if you wanted to race it is nearly impossible to obtain a mooring for your boat. Plus to get out to it in the morning requires joining a yacht club that can provide launch service.

Additional Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA

Additional yacht clubs include Boston Yacht Club, Marblehead Yacht Club, Dolphin Yacht Club, and The Pleon Yacht Club. Saturday racing was a major event each week where you would see dozens and dozens of sailboats in most fleets. A majority of the fleets have died or are only able to attract less the six boats. It is really a shame. On any given day or weekend a vast majority of the boats never leave their moorings. Far too many moorings simply have boats on them so the owner of the mooring can retain ownership.