The Club was founded by a group of Orient sailors in 1933, and incorporated in 1940. The original hand sewn burgee is displayed in the present Clubhouse. In the Club’s early years, meetings were in living rooms, social events on beaches and races conducted from the apron of the wharf. The brass saluting cannon still in use today dates from this period.
In 1952, following years of inactivity during World War II, the Club leased the former potato sorting barn at the outer end of the Wharf from the Orient Wharf Company to serve as its Clubhouse. The present building dates from 1939, having replaced an earlier structure destroyed in the 1938 hurricane. It has been gradually improved over the years.
The sailing program began – in a very informal way – at this period with a steward conducting the lessons and has evolved into a professional instructional program with its own staff and boats.
Over the years, the Club has run many different sorts of races for one-design and handicap boats reflecting the changing interests of its sailing members. Some of the trophies are on display. It has also run many different sorts of social or non-boating programs with perhaps the most enduring being the series of Thursday night dinners, a fixture of the Club life for over three decades. The oldest continuously awarded trophy is the Loon, given for a particularly outstanding nautical goof.
In 1994, the Club purchased a majority of the shares of the Orient Wharf Company, which owns, operates and maintains the Wharf and slips. The Wharf Company operates largely independently of its majority shareholder.
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Photo from the collection of Larry Adams, son of Ned Adams who owned Halyoake