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Catskill Yacht Club (U.S.)

New York

image by Rob Raeside, 10 December 2018

Description of the flag
Catskill Boat Club Burgee 1956 - 1970

See also:

Description of the flag

Estb: 1954. Location: Catskill, NY.
Burgee 1970 - date.

Pennant 4:6 (print image). White field charged with two red equilateral triangles based on hoist with apexes at the 3-unit point on fly edges, and a blue capital letter C on the white field 2 units from hoist.
Source: accessed 8 December 2018,
http://catskillyacht.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DTheBurgees.pdf

"The end of WWII saw the country start to return to peacetime normalcy. Many local citizens turned to boating as a revival of previous experiences or as a first time recreational endeavor. A group of these people gathered in the pleasant cove on the West side of Catskill Creek at Floyd Deyo’s Boat Yard at 160 West Main Street (now Hop-O-Nose Marina). They moored their boats out or sought rental dock space. In early 1953 the boat yard offered a building and dock space to the group. On September 9 of that year, the group (23) strong met at Perkins Gas station and organized as the Catskill Boat Club electing Douglas Bush as its first commodore. The new club incorporated on January 11, 1954 as the Catskill Boat Club and in April leased (for 10 years) a 45′ X 50′ lot in the boatyard and erected a 20′ X 40′ clubhouse (now part of the restaurant at Hop-O-Nose). . . .

NOTE: At this time another boating club existed on the East side of the Catskill Creek in the Catskill Creek Marina and Plusch Marina Sales (now Catskill Marina) at 240 Main Street. This club was chartered as the Catskill Yacht Club. The club started 1955 with $239 in the bank, had a $20 initiation fee and had obtained its beer license. Twice that year the members defeated a motion to give women membership. The ladies countered by forming a women’s auxiliary."
Source: http://catskillyacht.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/F1953-1959.pdf
Peter Edwards, 9 December 2018

Catskill Boat Club Burgee 1956 - 1970

image by Rob Raeside, 10 December 2018

Pennant 4:6 (print image). Two blue equilateral triangles based on hoist with apexes at 3-unit point on fly edges. Remaining diamond shaped area equally divided: (dexter) white charged with a blue capital letter C, and (sinister) red.

"In 1956 the first club burgee was adopted and the club hosted a meeting of an association of boat clubs. This probably was the Mohawk-Hudson Council of Yacht Clubs and the Catskill Club may have already been a member."
Source: accessed 8 December 2018,
http://catskillyacht.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/F1953-1959.pdf
Peter Edwards, 9 December 2018

The reason for that name change was that end of 1969, they had obtained the charter of the Catskill Yacht Club, at that time defunct.
http://catskillyacht.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/G-1960-%E2%80%93-1969.pdf

As the other club already existed at the time the Boat Club was founded, the name change would give them the coveted "yacht club" name as well as preserve an older heritage. How much older? A CYC is mentioned in the media in 1938, as a club in formation, and until 1942. After that, that incarnation is no longer mentioned, but it seems unlikely that yet another CYC was created after the war but had already wasted away by 1953 to the point where people would rather prefer to create a new club over trying to rescue a sinking one. Thus, it appears the name and burgee adopted in 1970 were in use since 1937/1938.

But, there was even more to it: From 1906 until 1910, the papers mention an even earlier Catskill Yacht Club. In 1906 it's pictured for the first time in Lloyd's Register of American Yachts, and the last time it's included, that I know of, is 1912. The burgee they picture, is the same design as that of the Catskill Boat Club. The only difference between the drawings is that the burgees pictured by the club show rather blocky C-s, even more so for the images sent to the list, whereas the letter in Lloyd's is almost a circle with a gap.

I can only assume that the current Catskill Yacht Club changed their burgee together with their name to preserve the burgee of the older club, but in doing so, it would seem they gave up an even older burgee: that of the original Catskill Yacht Club from the start of the 20th century.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 8 February 2019