In 1870, twelve Boston gentlemen organized themselves as the Eastern Yacht Club, a club dedicated to the promotion of yachting. Within one month, they had enrolled 110 members with 23 yachts. The Clubhouse on Marblehead Neck was completed in 1881.
From the beginning, the Club became a leader in yacht racing with Puritan, Mayflower, and Volunteer, all flying Eastern colors, successfully defeating their British challengers in the America's Cup in 1885, 1886, and 1887, respectively. The Eastern has hosted a multitude of local, national, and international sailing events from the Sonder class regattas that preceded WWI to the competitive one-design and PHRF races of today, including the Etchells Worlds, Star Worlds, IOD Worlds, Olympic Class Regattas, Viper 640 North Americans, Sonar North Americans, Shields Nationals, and the Soling North Americans, a preliminary race for the '96 Olympics. In 1994 the club received the coveted St. Petersburg Trophy, awarded for the Race Committee's outstanding management of the Star North Americans.
A visit to the Eastern is a walk through yachting history, from the glorious days of the huge racing yachts to the present-day streamlined one-designs. Nearly 130 years of yachting history resides here. Throughout the Clubhouse, you can find trophies and medals marking the Club's illustrious history.
Members can click here to view a video overview of the history of the club.
Follow the links provided below to learn more about the history of the Eastern Yacht Club.
