CLUB HISTORY

Beginnings of the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club

The idea of a yacht club began one lovely afternoon in August of 1935 when Arthur and Marjorie Johnson took Max Barbour canoeing at Long Pond. The Johnson's wanted to fully show Max this beautiful sheltered haven with its many arms just 15 miles from St. John's, and yet without a summer home on it. According to Arthur Johnson, Max's mind took off like a rocket and he said, "Our maritime people must have a yacht club."

The following spring on a cold day in April there was a meeting at Noseworthy's beach, on the south side of Long Pond attended by Dinty Moores, Max Barbour, Gib Parsons, Arthur Monroe and Charlie Bell where they met for the first time young Ned Noseworthy who lived nearby. In a short while money was raised for a club by issuing shares and substantial land was purchased from the Noseworthy's where a clubhouse 20 x 40 feet was built with washrooms, a kitchen, and a room where members could meet. Thus the Avalon Yacht Club was born.

According to a Daily News article of the time, the official opening of the Avalon Yacht Club took place on July 22, 1936. Dr. Will Roberts the first president of the club in his opening speech mentioned that amongst the activities would be boating and yachting, mackerel fishing and boat races etc.

The first boats to join this club were four small speedboats powered with 32 hp. outboard motors. Max Barbour, though, was a sailing enthusiast who soon came up with the idea of a fleet of small racing sailboats. George Giannou remembers that "the following summer due to Max's efforts about six snipes 15 1/2 ft. long, 5 ft. wide and each weighing about 500 lbs. appeared on the pond. Racing buoys were put down in 4 corners of the pond and whatever the wind conditions, we raced around three of them". In just a few years these six snipes grew to sixteen with races on Wednesday afternoons, which was a regular half-holiday in those days. Competition was keen and very successful. Later there was also a Deep Sea Trophy for an annual snipe race around Kelly's Island.

By 1938 the Avalon Yacht Club was operating within a much more impressive building on the same site. This was Oxley's Pavilion a grand facility built by Harold Oxley, which had a swimming pool, dance floor, a large outside deck, a roof garden, wharf, dining room and a room for members of the Avalon Yacht Club. It soon encountered financial hardship and in 1940 Arthur Johnson took over management of this 'Yacht Dance Club'. In 1942 it was occupied by the Department of Civil Defense and laid out as an emergency hospital in the event of an air raid on St. John's. In the early hours of April 8, 1943 a fire broke out near the kitchen area and with fuel stored inside, the building was destroyed within minutes. Soon a group of men put up the money to construct a second Avalon Yacht Club, which was later modified and extended. It is presently the summer home of Art and Nora Cahill. The first Avalon Yacht Club prior to Oxley's Pavilion had been divided for summer homes with Arthur Johnson taking one half and Dinty Moores the other.

Meanwhile in 1950 when St. John's harbour was getting quite crowded, it was decided by government to turn upper Long Pond into a secondary harbour where a large wharf was built and within a few years talc was shipped out. This created an opportunity for those who wanted to get involved with larger pleasure boats and within a year there were 10 power cruisers in the upper pond. George Giannou remembers, "We couldn't join the Avalon Yacht Club as we couldn't get down there."

It was 1955 when the drawbridge, close to the site of the present Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club was removed to prepare the way for dredging. This act created ill will between the boaters and local residents who had previously had longtime access to the beach for caplin and for recreation. The following year in 1956 the upper harbour was dredged to make it larger and through the efforts of Ches Pippy and Jim McGrath who was the Federal Member, the channel to the lower pond was also dredged. This enabled larger boats to come down to the lower pond and by 1957 this powerboat group decided to establish a headquarters there. There was a small piece of land available on the point in the channel and it was purchased from Ewart Pratt and James Halley who had bought it a few years previously from the Bishop Estate. Shares were sold, other people joined and a building was constructed 20 ft. wide and 30 ft. long. This was the nucleus of the present building and the home of the Newfoundland Yacht Club whose first Commodore Dr. Dinty Moores served from 1957 to 1959.

For the next few years two clubs existed on the pond until 1960 when Arthur Johnson of the Avalon Yacht Club proposed that the two clubs merge into the Newfoundland Yacht Club, which they did. In 1961 the swimming pool was built and it was in 1964 through the efforts of Cal Pratt and the offices of Federal Minister Jack Pickersgill that the title of 'Royal' was granted to the club.

Written by Deanne Peters, April 2002, from a number of sources but primarily from the research of Mr. George Giannou and the late Arthur Johnson.