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Mobile Yacht Clubs (U.S.)

Alabama

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 4 July 2022

Description of the flags

See also:

Description of the flags

We're in the 19th century with this/these club(s), the time when people might go out for a walk and suddenly find a yacht club charter lying on the footpath, and similar occurrences. Let's see what it brings us:

The Mobile Yacht Club was not created in one day. Instead, it was a gradual occurrence, like Aphrodite slowly rising up out of the waves.

- In the 1830s, races were held on Mobile Bay.

I

In 1847, the Mobile sailors created the Mobile Regatta Club at Howard’s Landing, Daphne, Alabama. So, basically, this was on the East side of the bay, actually opposite Mobile. Regattas were held far and
wide.
In 1850, someone wrote down something that in later days was, for Lloyd's, considered the start of the as yet non-existent MYC.
Then some people had a disagreement about the concept of joining a union of their own accord, and for some reason this meant there was no sailing
By 1867, it had been determined that once you joined, you were caught, and that was that. So everybody turned back to sailing. Regatta sailing was resumed on the bay, primarily at Point Clair (10 km further south than Daphne).

II

In 1882, the Mobile Regatta Club was created anew, with a club house on the east bank of Mobile.

III

1891 the not-yet existing MYC adopted https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l0235051891/#26 a burgee, a commodore flag and a vice-commodore flag.

Commodore Flag

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 4 July 2022

Vice Commodore Flag

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 4 July 2022

1894 the Mobile Yacht Club was born. They finished the affairs of the Regatta Club, then started with new money.
1897 the old club house was replaced with a new one.
1901 the Southern Gulf Coast Yachting Association was created.
1906 A hurricane drove kilometres of water up the Mobile river. Though the club house survived, the area around it didn't, so a new site was found.
11916 A hurricane removed the complete new yacht club building. More disagreement.

IV

Eastern Shore Yacht Club

image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 4 July 2022

1919, the Eastern Shore Yacht Club is created. I don't think there was anything special about the ESYC over the MYC, just that for some reason they were not allowed to continue using the original name. I've noticed before how yacht clubs on the wrong side of a split will adopt the history of the other side once there's no longer anyone to protest. Before, the MYB had the white over red with a blue hoist bearing an "M". That's what they have now, but what did the ESYC use? This is the only thing I could find (Teen's 1960s Shirt - Eastern Shore Yacht Club Vintage T-Shirt). I'm not sure, as it appears to have 12 stars, rather than 13.
1920 the association became the Gulf Yachting Association. Though the current MYC claims to have hosted the first meet afterwards, up until 1927, the only Mobile club in the results is the Eastern Shore. It's likely that they were the entity hosting.

V

1928 One of the members tripped in the street over a bunch of papers. It so happened that these papers gave them the right to call themselves "Mobile Yacht Club".
1934 The club found an otherwise abandoned club house. This find is supposed to retroactively have changed their name in 1928.
Since, several more storms tried the club house, but though they huffed and they puffed and they sometimes brought the house down, each time it was replaced in the same spot.
https://www.mobileyachtclub.com

And that's how the Mobile Yacht Club was born.

Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 4 July 2022