Last Updated: 05 January, 2009
Location and Facilities: The Coos Bay Yacht Club is located on South Tenmile Lake, about three miles from the town of Lakeside, Oregon, or about six miles east of the Pacific Ocean, and approximately 100 miles north of the Oregon-California state border. The lake is nestled in the foothills of the Coastal Mountain Range. Winds are generally northwesterly with puffs and shifts occurring regularly. The lake is serpentine in shape, with low ridges, and rises, creating a myriad of conditions and winds to sail under.
The CBYC facilities include a clubhouse for general membership meetings and potlucks; including kitchen facilities for warming and cooking foods, and refrigerators and freezers for storing foods. CBYC also provides some storage lockers, and space in the clubhouse basement for small boat owners to keep their equipment and gear for their boats. Restrooms and hot shower facilities are provided on the grounds. In addition, members and guests enjoy the use of a newly improved on-site boat launching ramp that can accommodate fixed keel boats like the Santana 20. Dock facilities include slips for our fixed and swing keel boats, and power boats, and pull-up "dry slips" for our smaller boats which include the MC Scows. The Club property also includes travel trailer sites and tent sites for use by members, and a boat and trailer storage area.[Return to TOC]
Boats Sailed:The boats sailed in the Club are the Geary-18's, San Juan 21's, Lasers, Holder Hawks, MC Scows, and a small assortment of other cruisers, and sailing craft. CBYC began with Geary-18's, or Flatties, and this continues to be one of the larger, and more active fleets in the Club. The second largest fleet is composed of San Juan 21's. Both fleets have active and avid sailors and racers, both within their fleets, and in our Portsmouth handicapped club racing program. Interspersed within our club racing are our MC Scows. The Junior Sailing Program utilizes Lasers, and Holder Hawks for Junior Races, and recreational sailing.[Return to TOC]
Social Activities: Social activities for CBYC are almost year-round. During the off-season winter months, we have Membership Musters for social gatherings which include the January Chili Feed, a Valentine's Day Breakfast at the clubhouse in February, the Boat Show at the local shopping mall in early April, Adult Sailing School in late April, Junior Sailing School in early June, and at the end of the season, the Commodore's Annual Awards Banquet in November.
Our sailing season generally begins in late April, or mid-May, and runs through September. The Club sponsors a Spring, Summer, and Fall Racing Series on Sundays which may include separate starts, and a Sundowner Racing Series on Wednesday evenings. Once a month, general membership meetings and potluck luncheons are conducted in addition to the sailing.
Other social activities have included Wine Tasting, Fourth of July Fun Races and Fireworks by the Lakeside Fire Department, a mini-regatta during the Memorial Day weekend, and Ice Cream Socials on the club grounds.[Return to TOC]
The largest event hosted by CBYC is our Labor Day Regatta. This generally involves the whole membership in the preparation and execution. A three-day event held on Labor Day weekend, the program normally include a series of five races over two day period, with a spaghetti dinner on Saturday night, and a barbecued salmon dinner with the Presentation of Awards on Sunday night. Monday is set aside for Junior Regatta Races for the junior sailors.
In addition, boats, and fleets have hosted and participated in regional regattas of the Geary-18 Internationals, the San Juan 21 Western Regionals, and participated in the Memorial Day Regatta on Fern Ridge Reservoir, hosted by the Eugene Yacht Club of Eugene, Oregon over the Memorial Day weekend, and the Howard Prairie Regatta on Howard Prairie Reservoir hosted annually by the Rogue Yacht Club of Medford, Oregon during the last full weekend in July.
The Howard Prairie Regatta on Howard Prairie Reservoir is the second largest regatta attended by the MC Scows of CBYC, as well as other classes from CBYC. The reservoir is located in the southern portion of the Cascade Mountain range, 15 miles east of Ashland, Oregon. Our hosts, the Rogue Yacht Club of Medford, Oregon provides the Race Management, while the Howard Prairie Resort provides the launch ramp, mooring and dock facilities, camp sites, restrooms, and showers. The Howard Prairie Regatta provides a sailing experience on a larger, more open body of water, with relatively steady winds, and some shifts during the afternoon. One major, 180 degree, southerly to northerly wind shift normally occurs about noon, but racing is generally scheduled around that shift.[Return to TOC]
CBYC History: "The Coos Bay Yacht Club was spawned on the bay with a few boats in the late 1930's. The first formal meetings were held in the passenger section of the old Eastside to Marshfield ferry, 'The Tourist' after it was beached a the foot of Newmark Avenue. 'Squatter's rights' moorage at the base of Tower Street on Block #1 in the City of North Bend was offered by the County for free usage during the early 1940's. That arrangement continued until 1947, when the Club purchased the site. Major Club advancements took place in 1941. The Club burgee design was adapted in March, with the charter membership closing on May 10th. The official 'Coos Bay Yacht Club' was incorporated in July, 1941. The first board meeting in the completed clubhouse on the bay was held in May, 1942. The original clubhouse was built on a floating pad of cull mill logs, but by the end of World War II, it was in pretty bad shape. After years of work of driving piling and building a solid dock, the clubhouse was moved to a solid foundation with the help of the high tide.
After many years of sailing and thriving on the environment of salt water, rushing tides, slippery log floats, high and low water, pilings, and heavy winds, the increase of traffic from log rafts to offshore freighters pressed the membership into leaving the hostile environment on the bay, and moving to it's present facilities on South Tenmile Lake. The old logging site covered with a quarter century growth of brush, [Red] alder and [Douglas-]fir was inhabited by an old deserted two-story frame house located where our clubhouse stands today. The warranty deed for the purchase of the greater part of 160 acres was executed on August 31, 1956. The next month, the Club voted to sell the moorage on the bay. The hard work then began. The clearing and burning, road building, dock building, and the installation of trails, power, and water all took place in the winter of 1956, and spring of 1957. The clubhouse was built, with the restrooms completed in 1959. Many improvements have taken place over the years. A boat trailer storage area was established, and trailer RV sites installed. More docks were built and others replaced as the club grew in membership. The clubhouse was enlarged." - - Excerpts from CBYC Yearbook.
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