Founders

The Portage Lakes Yacht Club was founded March 29, 1936. Its founding officers were: D.K. MacBride, Commodore; James Crossley, Vice-Commodore; C.A. Moore, Rear­ Commodore; L.W. Gaylord, Secretary-Treasurer; 0.A. Shuler, Fleet Captain; and William G. Burkhardt, Chairman Regatta Committee.

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n 1938, PLYC petitioned the Inter-Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) for membership. The oldest and largest yachting association in the world, ILYA now consists more than 140 clubs from the eastern shore of Lake Erie, West to the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair.

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Name and Burgee

Our name was selected so that we could be based on any one of the Portage Lakes, although Turkeyfoot Lake quickly became our permanent home.

 

In Corinthian yachting circles, it is not considered good form to use letters on a burgee, so our founders chose the symbolic figure of a Native American portaging a canoe. This image was copied from the historical bronze plaque (by sculptor Walter A. Sinzon) that is displayed on a boulder at the southern point of the old Portage Path, north of Long Lake. Later, a replica of this bronze plaque was produced and presented to our club by two of our members. It now rests in a niche over the fireplace in our award room.

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Purpose

The purpose of our club is to foster sailing and racing.  At our founding, there were no sailboats on Turkeyfoot Lake. The Turkeyfoot Island Club (TIC; a social organization) had a location desirable for our yacht club activities, so a cooperative plan was worked out that allowed PLYC to operate on TIC grounds using part of TIC's facilities. This relationship has persisted ever sense.   

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In our first few years, Akron's Junior Chamber of Commerce encouraged the promotion of sailing, and with our combined efforts, we promoted regattas on Turkeyfoot Lake that had as many as 130 entries. The Turkeyfoot Lake Regatta continues to this day with mixed-class sailboat racing held annually with PLYC and the South Shore Yacht Club (SSYC) alternating host-club duties.

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Interlake Fleet No. 6

In 1940, Robert Rutherford brought an Interlake to our club, and soon after, a few members of the Snipe Fleet decided to order Interlakes and Fleet No. 6 was formed. Fleet No. 6 is a member of the Interlake Sailing Class Association and has grown in size and participation over the years.

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Following 18 years of active participation in Inter-Lake affairs by our club, we were honored in 1956 by having our first Commodore, D.K. MacBride, head the Inter-Lake Yachting Association with George McCord as Secretary-Treasurer. George again held this office in 1966. In 1973, our club was again honored when George McCord served as Commodore and James Burkhardt as Secretary-Treasurer. George McCord also was a Trustee of the Inter-Lake Yachting Association Yachtsman’s Fund and served in many other capacities in the organization.

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Snipe Fleet No. 110

Around 1938, Hilton Lafaye joined PLYC with his home-built Snipe, and in 1939 our Snipe Fleet No. 110 was formed. The fleet grew and became very active in the Snipe circles. PLYC member Carl Zimmerman was a Past Commodore of the Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA), and member W. Birney Mills succeeded William Crosby as Executive Secretary and Treasurer of SCIRA.

 

PLYC has given three trophies to SCIRA: For the Champion Crew member in the Snipe Nationals; for the annual winner of the Ohio State Snipe Championship; and the Birney Mills Memorial Trophy for the Olympic Trial Championship at Cork, Kingston, Ontario. Past Commodore Carl Zimmerman also donated a trophy for the best total score annually of the three races of the Snipe Florida Winter Circuit.

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PLYC Snipe Fleet No. 110 has done a lot of traveling over the years, spreading the name of PLYC into other competitive waters. Sam Mollet III participated in the Bermuda International Race Week Invitational Snipe Regatta, where he has won three times. In 1994, Sam won the Snipe Class Senior Masters World Championship in Gamagori, Japan.

 

Dick Hand placed 3rd in the 1987 Snipe US Apprentice Masters Championship for skippers 45 to 48 years of age. In 1991, Dick placed 5th in the US Nationals Wells Series.

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Rob Frechette won the Snipe District 3 Junior Championship in 1987 and 1988, and also placed 3rd in the Snipe National Junior Championships.

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Rick Wood won the Snipe District 3 Championships in 1985, 1990, 1992 and 1994. In 1985, he placed 4th in the top Heinzerling Division of the Snipe National Championships.

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Women within PLYC

Women have always played an important part in PLYC, skippering their own boats, sailing as crews, and contributing to various club endeavors. In 1975, Pamela Hall, a Snipe owner, was accepted as the first female member with full voting status. Next, came Linda Kersker, also a Snipe sailor, who in 1992 became the first woman to be elected Commodore of PLYC.

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