In 1925, two local bankers, Bruce Sharpe and Charlie Towne, purchased a 14-foot cat boat and began sailing it on Monterey Bay out of Santa Cruz, California.

Sharp, Towne and Leask invited a dozen or so friends to join them for dinner in a balcony room at the Saddle Rock Grill and a lively discussion took place about the possibility of forming a local yacht club.

By the time “last call” was sounded, all those present agreed to become members, thus establishing the Santa Cruz Yacht Club.

[1] The San Francisco boating fraternity welcomed the presence of SCYC members on their top-flight yachts which were crewed by competent and well-disciplined sailors.

The club purchased a pair of 18-foot cub class sloops, the original “Jack” and “Jill” which were moored in the lee of the wharf.

The present 4th Avenue clubhouse was purchased with a down payment put up by a group of members and was rented out until the harbor officially opened in 1964.

In 1977 Bill Lee’s “Merlin” shattered the Trans Pacific Race record and Santa Cruz ULDBs of all sizes became the boats to beat.

These young sailors are taught fundamentals of proper boat handling, rigging, sailing in different conditions, racing, and tactics in El Toros on Pinto Lake.

The Advanced program is for high school sailors who compete independently in other venues such as Lasers and 29ers throughout the Bay Area and around the world.

The Corinthian Program provides a bridge between the Junior and Regular membership and helps to encourage active participation in the club by young adults.

[6] The Santa Cruz Yacht Club has also hosted a wide variety of Local, Regional, National, North American, and World Championship Regattas.

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club hosts casual community rabbit-start regattas on Wednesday night during Daylight Savings.

[10] The Santa Cruz Yacht Club hosts informational seminars throughout non-Daylight Savings weeks and periodically throughout the year.