History & Purpose

The rebirth of the Inner Harbor in the late 1970's brought recreational boating back to the Baltimore City waterfront. With the building of the Anchorage Marina in Canton in 1983, sailors started to berth their boats there and began sailing the Patapsco River. A few of the sailors were transplants; others were new to the sport. Both groups soon found that the Patapsco was a favorable body of water and the Inner Harbor was becoming the cruising destination of choice.

Over the next couple of years, the increasing number of sailors coming into the area were interested in getting to know each other and the need for a sailing association or club began to germinate. Several of the boat owners would bump into each other at the Anchorage Marina and talk about their boats and their past racing exploits on Middle River, the Magothy or in Annapolis. The stories were embellished with each retelling. It soon became apparent to Dwayne Stevenson, one of the developers of the Anchorage Marina, that perhaps a little racing on the Patapsco River might be the correct antidote. Dwayne decided to put two of his boats out on the river one Tuesday evening.

The first race involved two boats on the second Tuesday in May 1987. Word spread quickly and the following Tuesday, there were three boats, the yellow J-24 Sunswift (this boat was originally owned by Bill Tew and is now owned by Darby & Sean Simmons) skippered by Brad Stevenson, a Herreshoff 29 skippered by Van Myers and the black Tartan 33 Sally Tomato skippered by Bill Hahn. Each succeeding Tuesday brought more boats to the line. By the middle of the June there were twelve boats. The Fleet was a motley group of many different sizes and rigs, and it took the ingenuity of Bill Shippen and Dan Sanburg's patience to figure out an equitable handicapping system. This developed into a club system allowing credits for fixed props and non-spinnaker boats. They say that in ignorance there is bliss, and the Club had a good time that first season. We elected the first Commodore at a mid-summer meeting, Lloyd Haig. At the Awards Banquet at the Waterfront Hotel in November 1987, the Club celebrated having eighteen boats and fifty odd members.

The new Club, now named the Baltimore City Yacht Association, was starting to attract attention. It was decided at the February 1988 meeting to require all members to join CBYRA and to apply for a PHRF rating. We adopted by-laws and started printing a newsletter, The Windward Rail. With the number of boats from the Club applying all at once for a handicap certificate, PHRF and CBYRA became aware of a new group and it drew some scrutiny, since it was the only club on the Bay that was growing at the time. The courses on the Patapsco designed by Bill Shippen and Dan Sandberg were excellent and the river was a superior venue. The proximity of Baltimore City with its thermal updraft generates an evening sea breeze. During the past eleven years only two races have been canceled for lack of wind. Skippers visiting from around the Bay often remark on the favorable conditions during the summer racing series.

By the fall of 1988 the Club now had twenty-five boats in the race fleet. At this point the Club applied for provisional CBYRA certification, which was granted in November 1988. The Club was on its way to becoming a full fledged bay racing club, and the members started participating in CBYRA Highpoint races. Our Club races consisted of four five-race series, including the Mayor's Cup Series started in May 1988, The Red Star Series, The Proctor & Gamble Ft. McHenry Series and The League for the Handicapped Series. In June 1989 the Club began to sponsor the Sail for Sight Regatta benefiting the R P Foundation Fighting Blindness.

The Club obtained full CBYRA membership status in 1989 and was successful in running a provisionally sanctioned race, the Pier 5 Cup, in October. The Awards Banquet followed at Harrison's in December, and it was obvious from the size of the crowd that the Club was growing by leaps and bounds. In 1990, the BCYA incorporated and Al Grimes succeeded Bill Hahn as Commodore. Through Al's hard work, the Club's social activities increased and the Club continued to grow. More of the Club's boats appeared out on the Bay in CBYRA events and the entire Club racing series had sponsors.

Lee Glenn as Commodore succeeded Al for 1991-1992. Lee expanded participation in the Club's Executive Committee and instrumental in having the Club's June charity race become the Club's second CBYRA sanctioned race. 1991 saw the Club grow to 45 boats and membership to 160. Social events included the third annual Bull Roast the second annual Rock Hall Cruise/Race weekend and a wonderful Awards Banquet at the Engineer's Club in Mt. Vernon. In 1992, the success of the 1st Fall Regatta led to its incorporation into the CBYRA schedule as the CBYRA Region II Fall Regatta, and the BCYA sponsored, the Pier 5 Cup became the Harbor Cup to Fells Point.

Under Commodore Bill Tew's tenure during 1993, the Club continued to expand with the addition of the Limited One Design class aimed at small (Sonar & J-22) keelboat racers. In addition, The Harbor Cup became the largest CBYRA Region II event, attracting 129 entries for the race and over 600 people to the post-race party.

In 1994, under Richard Taylor's Commodore ship, CBYRA race participation showed some decline, but BCYA continued to grow in participation, skill and results. Both the Tuesday night “Big Boat” series and the Thursday night Limited One Design series were highly competitive. Glenn/Williams a.k.a. Diamond and Howdy Stroterhoff’s Intuition taking Region II PHRF A and B High-Point trophies highlighted BCYA members’ participation in CBYRA sanctioned events, respectively, with the Wiemers’ Airwaves capturing second in B Class. The highlight of the season was the Fall Race to Oxford: a.k.a. Diamond captured A-I and the Aloha Cup for Handicap Overall, while Richard Taylor's Dark Horse and Intuition took first in A2 and B, respectively, and George Good's Stringer took 2nd in B-fleet . . . it was a great day for BCYA. Virgil Hobbs' innovation and the Tuesday night post race parties were a huge success and gave our members and their crews the opportunity to socialize and get to know one another better than ever before. The spirit, pride and competition are growing.

In 1995, Commodore Gordon Fronk engineered the Club's move to East Harbor Marine Center at Lighthouse Point. The move gave the Club members a central location for parties and meetings. In conjunction with the Downtown Sailing Center and Getaway Sailing, the BCYA coordinated the Limited One Design Thursday night competition.

Commodore Fronk started an aggressive campaign to sign up crewmembers as Associate members. This resulted in a gain of sixty-five new members to the Club.

Howard Butz took the helm in 1996. His leadership style was punctuated by attention to detail and focused on the successful maintenance of the financial strength and strong membership status quo. Howard brought a sense of business to the Club’s operation and successfully carried on its heritage of high caliber racing. Howard and vice commodore Virgil Hobbs cranked up the bull roast resulting in a healthy bank deposit.

The charismatic 1997 commodore, Virgil Hobbs, led the Club with great energy supported, in part, by his close network of family, friends and crew. BCYA continued to sustain its membership and active participation in Bay wide CBYRA races with its members competing in the most competitive of regattas. At this point in time, BCYA successes in achieving podium positions are a regular occurrence. 1997 saw the Harbor Cup party moved indoors from its prior outdoor tent venue by vice commodore Cliff Hardwick that was a great success. A new CBYRA sanctioned race series was christened, The Harbor Challenge, a three-day “mini” race week guided by Cliff Hardwick and Cuddy Kane.

BCYA hit the ground running in 1998 with hard charging Cliff Hardwick carrying the commodore’s torch. It was the year of the Whitbread, and BCYA basked in the limelight. Cliff, Gordon Fronk and Keith Millard served substantively as Whitbread syndicate liaisons while these spectacular sixty foot racehorses put Baltimore on the world’s sailing chart. As part of the Whitbread celebration, BCYA, in cooperation with the Downtown Sailing Center sponsored a well attended showcase one-design regatta in the basin of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on a blustery 20 knot sunny Saturday afternoon taking center stage at Baltimore’s firs Waterfront Festival. Making this race so unique was the participation of the Maryland Special Olympics and their coaches and athletes.

The club’s executive board set an ambitious fiscal and social agenda that proved overwhelmingly successful. Catered parties became the standard accomplishing the goal of growing the membership and strengthening the budget. The fleet was healthy. One design racing was solid and expanding. Vice Commodore Tony Culotta successfully embarked upon a mission to re-write the club bylaws in recognition of growing numbers of members and dollars as well as the future goal of developing a cruising division. BCYA’s creative website under the tutelage of Tom Behrle became a mainstay for dissemination of information. Targeted club member involvement was at an all time high. The club was movin’ and shakin’ in 1998.

In 1999 BCYA mourned the loss of one of its founding fathers, Jim Fox. Jim was instrumental in the birth and development of this club. BCYA would not be what it is today without his guidance and tireless commitment. Jim and his family are hallmarks of BCYA. The first summer series thereafter bore his name in his honor. We will miss him and his easy smile at the helm of the big red sled called FOX.

Dave Wiemer took over the helm as Commodore in 2000. Dave brought a lot of racing knowledge to the club. His J29, Airwaves, has been consistently a CBYRA High Point winner and always places high in our own B fleet. During Dave’s tenure, the club continued to solicit new members and initiated a Corinthian class for the less experienced racer.

In 2001 Mary Lees Gunther was elected Commodore and again in 2002. ML grew up racing on the Chesapeake with her parents on Tally Ho and then in more recent years crewed for her brother, founding member Jim Fox. After Jim’s passing, she bought a J/27 with Rick Franz (Thin Float). ML started the October Pursuit Series and the Annual Sonar races in the Bay Café basin. With the decline of the ”A” fleet in the Northern Bay and with some BCYA members buying new boats, we saw our “A” fleet grow to a very competitive group of ten.

Lewis Kimball skippered the Commodore’s spot for 2003 and pioneered the “hakuna matata” style of leadership. Bringing his beautiful Elite 36, Corybantic, to the line during the spring and summer, Lewis personified the Beer Can Racing Commandments: “Thou shalt not take anything other than safety too seriously. Don’t worry. Be happy.” Under Commodore Kimball, the Club ran smoothly with no worries for the rest of the year. Executive Board meetings at the Kimball mansion in Ruxton came to mean a Monday evening repast of beer, cheese, nuts and berries, and, of course, a little Club business. Thanks to the initiative of Lewis and his Executive board, BCYA’s Non-Spinnaker, Corinthian Class saw resurgence during Tuesday Night Handicap racing. Lewis wore several hats during his term, including the Wind E Rail editor’s cap and at least one other, pictured below [picture withdrawn at the request of authorities].

In 2004, the Club decided to hand the reigns over to a pair of Young Turks, Commodore Hugh Bethell and Vice Commodore Jason Cosler. The new management team made a push to recruit more associate members, offering crew prizes, club t-shirts, and burgee stickers as incentives. Still, the tide was running against them as several A division boats were sold, disabled, or were drawn south by the Sirens of Annapolis. The Club also had to contend with a shortage of race committee personnel after the retirement of long-time volunteers Chuck & Ginny Voeltner, which led to a system of “volunteer” assistants drawn from each boat in the fleet. Despite these challenges, the Club enjoyed a fine season of racing on Tuesday nights. In fact, several races were completed in which no competitor filed a protest or was “five horned” by commercial traffic. On other nights, Bethell showed Solomonic judgment in resolving such issues as “what is a skipper?” and “when was that membership form dropped in the mailbox?” On a more positive note, the Club expanded its community involvement by supporting Hood Kids Sailing and Destination Bright Future, and in welcoming the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as the new beneficiary of the Harbor Cup. The Club also closed the season with a sumptuous, if lightly attended, Commodore’s Ball at the Belvedere Hotel, where Bethell and Cosler handed out silver to the usual suspects.

• 1987 - Lloyd Haig

• 1988-89 - Bill Hahn

• 1990 - Al Grimes

• 1991-92 - Lee Glenn

• 1993 - Bill Tew

• 1994 - Richard Taylor

• 1995 - Gordon Fronk

• 1996 - Howard Butz

• 1997 - Virgil Hobbs

• 1998 - Clifford Hardwick

• 1999 - Anthony Culotta

• 2000 - Dave Wiemer

• 2001-02 - Mary Lees Gunther

• 2003 - Lewis Kimball

• 2004 - Hugh Bethell

• 2005 - Jason Cosler

• 2006-07 - Bill Shinn

• 2008 - Raymond Peroutka

• 2009-10 - Dylan Stewart

• 2011 - James (Randy) Gray

• 2012 - Nate Tower

• 2013-14 - Christine Compton

• 2015 - Abe Yoffe

• 2016 - Jessica Morrison

• 2018-19 - Ian Craig

• 2020-22 - Madeleine Schroeher

• 2023-25 - Scott Kirwin

Past Commodores

Lewis Kimball (2003)

James R Gray (2011)

Madeleine Schroeher (2020-22)

Left to Right: Tony Culotta (1999), James R. Gray (2011), Raymond Peroutka (2008), Bill Hahn Founding Commodore (1989), Mary Lees Gunther (2001-02), Hugh Bethell (2004), Cliff Hardwick (1998), Virgil Hobbs (1997), Christine Compton (2013-14), Nate Tower (2012), Bill Shinn (2006-07)