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Alameda, California - Alameda Yacht Clubs Invite Bay Area Sailors to 1st Annual Summer Sailstice Open House

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Any sailors in the San Francisco Bay Area during Summer Sailstice weekend have a great opportunity to take a look at the six yacht clubs that call Alameda their home. The Aeolian Yacht Club, Alameda YC, Ballena Bay YC, Encinal YC, Island YC and the Oakland YC will be open to the public on Saturday, June 18, from 2-6 pm to celebrate the Summer Sailstice holiday. This will be the first ever cooperative Summer Sailstice event held by the community of Alameda yacht clubs. If you've ever thought of joining a yacht club as a way to meet a great group of boaters who enjoy the Bay, the Summer Sailstice Open House may be the best way for you to survey the scene. All yacht clubs focus on sailing, boating and enjoying the Bay Area waterfront, but they also have their differences.  By touring the clubs you'll see different locations, styles, prices and activities. All these clubs bring a lot of great energy to the Alameda waterfront, and there's surely one to suit your sailing interests.

Following is a brief profile and contact information for all 6 of the participating yacht clubs:

Aeolian Yacht Club

	The Aeolian Yacht Club, name for Aeolius, the Greek god of wind, was founded in 1906 by a group of 32 enthusiastic young men meeting on the ark Bugaboo. With an initiation fee of $5 and dues of $1 per month, along with theater parties, enough money was raised to buy a small parcel of land at the location of the current clubhouse. This clubhouse has remained relatively unchanged since its completion in 1909. Since the beginning, Aeolian members have been active in all forms of yachting around San Francisco Bay. In 1910, an Aeolian yacht, the Molilou, entered the Transpac Race. In 1923, Larry Knight, still one of the club's most active members, published the first Northern California Yachting Year Book, which has been published annually since 1923. Today the Aeolian Yacht Club has approximately 250 members, and has an active gathering at its back porch nearly every day, meals in the clubhouse, cruise outs, cruise ins, work parties, and other activities. AYC is located at 980 Fernside Drive, Alameda, CA 94501. They can be reached at (510) 523-2586, or you can visit their website http://www.aeolianyc.com
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Alameda Yacht Club

The Alameda Yacht Club was founded in 1985, and provides membership for both sail and power boats. The club’s goals are to promote recreational activities that will interest many of its members.  The clubhouse offers the members and guests a comfortable and friendly meeting place for a variety of activities.

There is a member-operated full bar and a functional commercial galley. There are many BBQs and picnic tables on the deck overlooking the marina. The clubhouse is open nearly every day of the year.  The AYC clubhouse is located in historic Fortman Marina, home to the Alaska Packers Fishing Company in the early 1900's. The Marina offers guest berthing for visiting boaters, and there are clean modern bathroom and shower facilities.

AYC is located at 1535 Buena Vista Ave., Alameda, CA, 94501. They can be reached at (510) 865-KNOT (5668) or you can visit their website www.alamedayachtclub.org.

Ballena Bay Yacht Club

Ballena Bay Yacht Club is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization with approximately 180 members. Established in 1969, the club is located in Ballena Isla Marina on the western side of Alameda. The goal of BBYC is to enhance its members’ boating experiences with a wide range of social and educational activities. BBYC programs and events include cruise-outs to Bay Area yacht clubs and visits from other clubs, fabulous dinners most Saturday evenings, The Whale’s Tale monthly newsletter, and an active racing program.

BBYC is located at 1150 Ballena Blvd., Alameda, CA, 94501. You can call them at (510) 523-BBYC or visit their website at www.bbyc.org.

Encinal Yacht Club

Encinal Yacht Club is the third oldest club on the San Francisco Bay. The Club's mission is to foster and encourage a love of yachting and racing, aquatic and other sports, and to promote the health and pleasure of its members through social interaction.

The Encinal Yacht Club was founded in 1890 by a group of boating enthusiasts to insure the continuation of recreational sailing and boating on the San Francisco Bay. The original burgee portrayed the single blue star on a white triangular field with red swallow tails. About 1910, the burgee was changed to the current pennant shape.

From its inception until the mid 1950's, the club was located on the bay side of Alameda Island on a pier.  Post war landfill operations forced a relocation. In about 1960, the current two-story building was built. It has been extensively remodeled over the past ten years. The club recently finished a complete remodeling of its kitchen, dining room and meeting facilities in February, 2003.

EYC is located at 1251 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA, 94501. They can be reached at (510) 522.3272 or you can visit their website at www.encinal.org.

Island Yacht Club

Island Yacht Club was founded in 1970 as an affordable, all-volunteer yacht club. The club provides many opportunities for members; racing, cruising, social, community service, and all for an affordable price.

Members of the Island Yacht Club can participate fully in the incredible sport of yacht racing, since IYC is a member of the Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay. IYC also has an active women's sailing program for women who enjoy sailing or would like to learn more about the sport, with regular dates reserved for women's sailing and events like the Northern California Women’s Sailing Seminar to assist women at all levels.

Island Yacht Club makes every effort to be within the budget of every boater. For this reason, their rented facility does not have “extras,” such as a heated pool, tennis courts or a full service restaurant. The club’s goal is devote its resources solely to boating, friendship, and a myriad of social events.

IYC is located at Alameda Marina, 1853 Clement Ave, Alameda, CA, 94501. The club can be reached at (510) 521-2980, or you can visit their website at http://www.iyc.org/.

Oakland Yacht Club

The Oakland Yacht Club was founded in 1913. Current membership is approximately 300 families from Northern California and Nevada, as well as a number of members off cruising.  The club has an extensive racing program, and hosts cruises to locations on the San Francisco Bay, Delta and to destinations outside the Gate.

The club is within walking distance to shops and resorts as well as to Jack London Square in Oakland Facilities and amenities include a dining room and bar overlooking the marina, a library and meeting room, showers and restrooms with built-in hairdryers, and 200 slips, guest docks and dinghy storage.

The club currently owns its own harbor, as of 1998, and is one of only four area yacht clubs to own all its own facilities.  

Oakland Yacht Club is located at 1101 Pacific Marina, Alameda, CA, 94501-1157. You can reach the club at (510) 522-6868 or visit their website at www.oaklandyachtclub.com.

As you can see, there is a yacht club for every style and budget. So come on down to Alameda, “the only island in the Pacific with 6 yacht clubs,” and celebrate Summer Sailstice with your favorite club.