EYC @ 20! Anniversary History

by Linda Hughes with Fred Hecklinger

October 13, 1980: The Grateful Dead performed before 30,000 fans at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco. Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States of America, after a landslide victory over Jimmy Carter. Top tunes included: Call Me by Blondie, Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd and Rock with You by Michael Jackson. Prime Time TV included: The Dukes Of Hazzard, Love Boat , Dallas and M*A*S*H. Box office successes included: Kramer vs. Kramer, Norma Rae, The Empire Strikes Back and Airplane!

Also, that year Mount St. Helens erupted killing 36; Bjorn Borg defeated John McEnroe in his 5th successive Wimbledon title, the 22nd Olympic Games were held in Moscow and were boycotted by more than 50 nations; John Lennon was assassinated in New York and the Eastport Yacht Club (EYC) opened its doors for the first time.

A small group of people who worked in and around the boating business started EYC October 13, 1980. The club is internationally known for its high-visibility racing, philanthropic and social events, including and certainly not limited to:

• the globally acclaimed party welcoming the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1998 and host of the Volvo Ocean Race welcoming party in 2002;
• the founders of the Leukemia Cup;
• the biennial Annapolis to Bermuda Race;
• the Solomon's Island Race;
• the prestigious women's match racing regatta, the Santa Maria Cup; and,
• the Annual Lights Parade.

History-in-the-Makin'

The EYC dream had been considered since the early 1970s. The actual organization resulted from an informal Friday night social gathering at the Severn Avenue offices of Kaufman & Ladd, naval architects. In the spring of 1980, 11 regulars of this august assemblage formed a steering committee with the intention of forming Eastport Yacht Club. By October, these 11 founders invited 200 people for possible charter membership. Providing an alternative to other area yacht clubs, race, religion, creed or gender was not a consideration for membership.

The initial 200 invitations were based on the number of people who could actually fit into the upstairs rooms of Marmaduke's Pub where EYC held its first meeting Oct. 13, 1980.

At that meeting, members voted to seek a permanent clubhouse and created the club burgee. The burgee represented the Eastport bridge in an open position and its colors reflected the club's beverage of choice, Mount Gay Rum.

Three years later, its members continued to seek a permanent clubhouse and found temporary quarters on the 4th floor of a building at Annapolis City Marina.

On April 23, 1989, the club found property and the new clubhouse opened Oct. 3, 1992. In June 1999, EYC acquired additional property adjoining its present site.

EYC has accomplished a great deal since its creation 20-years-ago. Its membership base has now swelled to 500 with a wait list of nearly 100.

Read the speech that started it all, an address by our first Commodore.

Get the Real Scoop! Read EYC Historian Fred Hecklinger's Musings & Minutes about the History of EYC.

Read about the 20th Anniversary Gala