Our History
1976
The SeaGate Yacht Club was conceived and formed at Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, on Saturday, October 30, 1976. Charter members were Sandy and Dewey Rudolph, Yvonne and Pat Kelley, Rusty and Chuck Strigl, Elsie and John Kohler, and Olive and Gordon Bishop. The purpose of the Club was friendship and boating opportunities.
1977
By February 1977, four meetings had taken place and the Club had grown to 50 members. Membership was made open to anyone who resided in SeaGate. A letter to the property owners' board resulted in approval of the SeaGate Yacht Club. From that time on, meetings have been held in the SeaGate Clubhouse.
2003
At the end of Jim Wood's 2003 term as Commodore, membership stood at 120 families. During this year a By-Laws Committee was formed to review and update our by-laws. Very few changes were made attesting to the forward thinking of our founding fathers.
SGYC membership in the SCYA was moved from interim to permanent associate status by vote of the SCYA membership.
2011
In 2011 all of the club house events were well attended and membership reached 150 with 269 individual members headed by Commodore Les Kelly. There were numerous fun events, but the two that stand out were the 35th Anniversary Party and Opening Day which were attended by our co-founding Commodore, Dewey Rudolph and First Mate Sandy, and record numbers of members! The year ended with a huge rush when SeaGate YC won Sweepstakes in the annual Huntington Harbour Boat Parade for only the second time in its history. The design was based on the creative efforts of Sandy Atherton and Bob McCormick, the float was constructed by many SGYC members and hosted on Robin and Jean Clark’s boat the Fin-Tastic!
2014
In 2014 our membership reached 163 with total individual members of 298 under the term of Commodore Josef Davydovits. Opening Day reached a new high for the club as the attendance was augmented by dignitaries being part of the ceremony such as the Mayor of Huntington Beach (Matthew Harper), Coast Guard Auxiliary Commander, uniformed Fireman and a ceremonial Color Guard. SGYC sponsored and organized the first charity boat parade with sister club, American Legion YC for the Orange County Downs Syndrome Association children. In 2014 we also added another convenience for our membership by having the option to pay the events with PayPal. Staff Commodores Josef Davydovits and Ray Nagele were instrumental in adding this feature for the club.
Today
The Club is now in its 43rd year. Newsletters and web pages over these past years reflect many enjoyable social events and exciting boating adventures.
The social calendar has grown to provide activities in each month of the year. Board meetings are held monthly, and a general membership meeting is held in October of each year.
