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Sailing is the focus at Bayview Yacht Club

The reason sailors join Bayview Yacht Club differs for each member.

For some its the camaraderie, for others it may be the restaurant or its location on the banks of the Detroit River. Most agree, though, that it's the club's rigorous focus on sailing that sets Bayview apart from other clubs.

For Lynn Kotwicki, it was the club's legacy of racing champions.

"I knew the history, I knew the reputation. I knew the America's Cup sailors and sailors across a number of classes that were members," says Kotwicki of Royal Oak, who became a member in the early 2000s. A competitive sailor, she grew up around powerboats, but focused on sailing around age 10.

Kotwicki developed the yearly Women on Water regatta at Bayview in an effort to draw more women to the sport. She says Bayview is known globally because members like herself travel the world's waterways leaving behind the club's flag, known as a burgee.

"When I compete, whether it's in Portugal, Brazil or Sweden, or wherever, I always take the burgee and leave it there at that club. It's one of those things that ties you to home, but then again it makes notoriety for the club around the world, as well."

This year, Bayview celebrates 100 years in Detroit. The six-acre club at 100 Clairpointe, off East Jefferson, offers members access to boat wells, banquet facilities, a bar and restaurant and plenty of social activities. For all the stereotypes that may be associated with yacht clubs — exclusivity, old money, polo shirts — Commodore Hanson Bratton says Bayview aims to be inclusive and welcomes anyone interested in the sport of sailing.

"Bayview, as far as private clubs go, has a pretty narrow focus in terms of sailing," says Bratton, who will serve as commodore for one year, per tradition. "We don't have a lot of powerboats here ... we don't have a swimming pool, we don't have racquet courts and all that, so a lot of it is truly focused on sailing."

Bayview hosts regattas regularly. Besides a Thursday night series, the annual Summer Match Racing Invitational will take place this weekend, and, later this summer, the yacht club will host the Detroit Cup Aug. 27-30. The international sailing competition — which partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit — is spectator-friendly and has onsite commentary to add to the excitement of competition.

Bayview is best known for creating the annual Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race, which began in 1925. Frank Kern, a member since 1996, has collected extensive history on the race. Kern says when Bayview opened, there were only six members. Today there are around 1,000.

"Bayview started 100 years ago in 1915 and it was literally a fishing shack on motor boat row, which today is the boat basin owned by Gregory Marina (two miles west of Bayview)," Kern says.

One of the most popular aspects of Bayview in terms of boating is the adult and youth sailing programs, where people of almost any age can learn the basics of the sport. The Junior Sailing Program is open to youths ages 8-18 and offers a two-week "Learn to Sail" program ($450) or a summer-long program ($1,150).

Sailors are not required to be members of BYC, nor do they need to own a boat; they just need some close-toed shoes, a life vest and sun block.

Jessica Dodge of Grosse Pointe Park started her fourth summer in the sailing class last week.

"When I came in, I didn't even like sailing, but I love it so much now," says Dodge, who will be a freshman at Grosse Pointe South High School after her summer on the water. "The community is so nice and everyone is really helpful. I've learned so much about sailing. They teach you everything."

"And it's not just sailing; we play games and you make a lot of friends."

The final youth sailing class begins Monday, adult classes are under way, and a second wave of the program starts in mid-July.

Bridget Nutter joined Bayview as a junior member of the sailing program in 1997. She said Bayview offers a great way to make lifelong connections.

"I grew up in the junior sailing program and I was lucky enough to meet a lot of people who are still some of my closest friends today," says Nutter of Grosse Pointe Park.

"We've always been a club that prioritizes racing over anything else, although the social aspect is a close second. You can walk into the bar almost any time and see someone dressed up for work talking to another member covered in paint, and they're both equally at home because the love of the sport is what brought them in the door."

In addition to beginning sailors, Bayview also is home to champions, as demonstrated by the many shelves stocked with trophies throughout the club. Bayview even supports Olympic sailors. Two Olympic sailing teams — Bora Gulari and Solvig Sayre, and Alex Hume and Matt Graham — are working with the club to compete in the 2016 summer games.

Bratton stresses that while it can be costly to maintain and house a big boat, sailing can be for people in all economic situations.

"People think that it's a rich man's sport. The fact of the matter is that there are people that have money here and lot of what happens requires that financial support — owning a big boat — but people that don't have a lot of money also are very much welcome here and are needed to support sailing," Bratton says.

"All these boats need people to crew, and everybody here is willing to take on somebody and teach them what to do, and not even in the adult sailing program, just one of the regular boats that go out, we'll take them out and teach them how to sail and see if they're interested in it. Eventually, if they think they can become members, they do, but there's no obligation to become a member."

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Bayview Yacht Club

100 Clairpointe, Detroit

(313) 822-1853

Clubhouse summer hours: 3-10 p.m. Mondays; 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Sundays.

Membership: Adults ages 35 and older: $2,500 initiation fee, plus $145 monthly dues. Lower rates available for ages 25-35. Bayview Yacht Club is seeking new members, especially younger ones.

Adult Sailing: This year's remaining seven-week programs runs July 28-Sept. 1 and July 29-Sept. 2; orientation on July 23.

Junior Sailing: The remaining two-week Learn to Sail program will start Monday.

Visit byc.com to download applications.

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Bayview YC Looks to $5M Clubhouse Renovation to Attract Members and New Interest in Sailing

By Joe Barks | May 10, 2021

(Photo by Element Photography)

The Detroit, Mich. club was incorporated in 1919 during the influenza pandemic, and 100-plus years later is fighting through the COVID pandemic while upgrading its clubhouse that will now feature a second-story deck with panoramic views of both the Detroit and Windsor, Ontario skylines. “In a year of losses, it’s fun being part of a grand opening and a great time to be opening a club,” says new General Manager Matthew Prost, a former local restaurateur who is joining with new Executive Chef Tim Enfield to plan an upscale but casual supper-club concept for the main dining room and a Key West-style vibe for the 40-foot deck, which will be equipped with a full bar and 38-foot couch overlooking the water.

Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, Mich. was incorporated in 1919 during the time of the influenza pandemic, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. Over its first 100 years, the private club on the city’s east side has held steady through low points that have included a devastating fire, the Great Depression and Great Recession and, so far, another global pandemic.

But the greatest existential threat to the club has been in plain sight for the last several decades, Crain’s Detroit Business reported, with the number of sailboats on Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River seeming to shrink every summer. Once a wildly popular pastime in metro Detroit, only a small group of sailing stalwarts now remain. And as sailing goes, so goes the Bayview Yacht Club.

“Sailboat racing in the city of Detroit has dwindled dramatically in the last 20 years,” Chuck Stormes, Bayview YC’s Commodore and a member of the club since 1983, told Crain’s Detroit Business . “Our major pipeline of membership came from the 300-some boats that raced on Lake St. Clair for years and years. [But] a big turnout these days is less than 100 boats.”

Club leadership is now hoping that the completion of more than $5 million of renovations at Bayview’s 86-year-old clubhouse will start a resurgence and help the club reverse a membership decline and the impact of other recent developments, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. The club’s signature Bayview Mackinac Race lost its title sponsor, Bell’s Brewery, after a decade, and then a century-old Queen City tugboat that the club was leasing to be used as a temporary clubhouse during renovations sank in March, leaving Bayview with just a tent to bring members together.

But Stormes believes the tide will turn for the organization once the new clubhouse welcomes back members in June, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. “If we can bring the people in and introduce them to the sport, we might be able to grow, and in that way, sort of lead a comeback of sailing in Detroit,” Stormes said.

In addition to being a shrine to the club’s storied sailing history, the renovated 13,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, which has been expanded by 2,700 square feet, will feature new amenities meant to grow Bayview’s niche while also luring outsiders, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.

The renovated clubhouse will boast a new grand entrance that will display trophies and plaques, a new second-story deck with panoramic views of the Detroit and Windsor (Ontario, Canada) skylines, and revamped bar and dining areas led by local restaurateur Matthew Prost, who was hired as the club’s General Manager in March, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.

More than 85 percent of the clubhouse had to be demolished and rebuilt, and the cost swelled by $1 million due to rising water levels and flooding in the foundation, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.  Around 40 percent of the project cost was funded by member donations and the rest by a loan through Flagstar Bancorp.

“The clubhouse was falling apart,” said Brad Kimmel, a Bayview member who oversaw the renovations done by Farmington Hills, Mich.-based architect Nordstrom Samson & Associates and Rochester-based general contractor Frank Rewold & Sons. “[The renovation] was born out of necessity, and number two, to cater to our next generation and their demands and wants.”

That meant evolving the club from a sailor’s hideaway to a place where members can drop in for a business meeting or relax with family, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.  After the Great Recession, membership at private clubs and country clubs throughout the state contracted, and for many, including Bayview, membership never recovered. That’s forced many clubs to shed their “good old boys” aura and provide amenities that cater to families and a more diverse pool of potential customers.

Bayview currently has around 350 active full-time members, down more than 25 percent from its pre-recession peak, while most members are around 50 years old and up, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. The club, which operates as a 501(c)(7) nonprofit social club, does around $4 million in annual revenue. That declined somewhat last year due to the pandemic, but membership did not dip.

While the club is financially viable, Stormes told Crain’s Detroit Business , it needs more members to remain that way. The goal is to reach 400 in the next 18 months.

Sailing remains at the center of the club’s mission, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. Bayview YC has 10 boats spanning 20 feet and offers boat slips and storage. It also hosts a highly regarded junior sailing program, collegiate sailing, winter seminars and a variety of races, including international matches and the popular Bayview Mackinac Race, also known as the Port Huron to Mackinac Race.

Costs of a full active membership for ages 35 and up include a $2,500 admission fee, $200 monthly dues and a $150 quarterly minimum spend, Crain’s Detroit Business reported, and there are incentives for younger members. The admission fee is $100 for those ages 27 to 35, and monthly dues are less than half that of older members. A junior class membership has no monthly dues or spend minimums. Those ages 22 to 26 pay $171 annually, while 21 and under pay $81 annually.

“We need a definite new influx of young people who want to get into the sport of sailing, because the sport of sailing is dying,” Kimmel told Crain’s Detroit Business . “We’re really trying to promote the sport of sailing by offering the best amenities that cater to the next generation.”

The best way to strengthen its sailing program in the long run was to invest in other areas, the club’s management decided. To that end, Crain’s Detroit Business reported, the renovated clubhouse will be outfitted with half a dozen flex-space meeting and conference rooms with Wi-Fi, printing and other office amenities. Besides sailing, offerings include kayaking, golf leagues, winter hockey, bowling leagues, a book club, music and live events, as well as holiday parties, weddings and rentals for other special events.

Among the most notable changes—and perhaps the biggest draw for younger prospective members—will be the kitchen and bar, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.  Prost is planning an upscale but casual supper-club concept for the club’s main indoor dining room, featuring comfort dishes such as steak and prime rib, with some twists.

Upstairs, Prost envisions a Key West-kind of vibe for the 40-foot deck, which will be equipped with a full bar and 38-foot couch overlooking the water. Tiki cocktails and shellfish appetizers will be offered, with a wood-fired outdoor pizza oven to handle a heartier meal.

“We’re driving that narrative to attract that newer, younger member,” Probst said.

Prost ran the bar and lounge at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts for 12 years before coming to Detroit, where he managed restaurants at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit and Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, Mich. as well as Social Kitchen and Bar in Birmingham, Mich., Crain’s Detroit Business reported. Before Bayview, he worked for more than three years as regional manager for Delaware North, managing food and beverage at Little Caesars Arena and the Hockeytown Café in downtown Detroit.

“Quite frankly, COVID was a devastating time to be an employee at the arena,” Prost told Crain’s Detroit Business . “It was a great opportunity to see what was out there, and Bayview came calling.”

Prost has hired Executive Chef Tim Enfield from The Henry Hotel in Dearborn, Mich., and is looking to hire 50 full- and part-time employees by the June opening of Bayview’s renovated clubhouse, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. But he is worried about finding enough people, given the ongoing shortage of workers in the hospitality industry. “All of my friends and colleagues in the industry have had a really hard time finding help,” he noted.

While renovations on the clubhouse wrap up, Bayview’s leadership is busy organizing the 97th iteration of the Bayview Mackinac Race, scheduled for July 24 th , Crain’s Detroit Business reported. The Lake Huron race likely won’t be the big party it usually is, but the club hopes it will be more traditional than in 2020, when social gatherings were prohibited and the race moved forward with little fanfare.

Atwater Brewery took the place of Bell’s as the race’s main sponsor right before the pandemic began, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.  The deal with Atwater, which extends through 2022, is smaller than the one with Bell’s, but financial terms were not disclosed. Bell’s Brewery founder Larry Bell and Bayview parted amicably and left open a chance for a partnership in the future.

“Our analysis on the return on investment as title sponsor didn’t make financial sense to us anymore. It was a huge outlay of cash,” Bell told Crain’s Detroit Business . “We have a friendly relationship [with the club and the event]. We enjoyed the heck out of it. We hope that at some time we can be their beer sponsor again. That hasn’t worked out yet.”

For now, Bayview Yacht Club is ready to say cheers to a new start, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.

“It’s a great time to be opening a club,” Prost said. “In a year of losses, it’s fun being part of a grand opening.”

About The Author

Joe Barks contributes to Club & Resort Business magazine working out of Wayne, Pa. (suburban Philadelphia). He has been covering the club and resort industry since the launch of C&RB in April 2005 and during that time has written cover-story profiles of over 150 club and resort properties, as well as many additional articles about specific aspects of club management and profiles of leading club managers. Barks has been a writer and editor for specialized business publications for over 40 years, covering a wide variety of industries and professional disciplines over the course of his career. He is a four-time winner of Jesse H. Neal Awards from the American Business Press, known as the “Pulitzer Prizes” for industry trade publications. He has also been a freelance contributor to many leading national consumer and business publications, and served as Marketing Manager for the Hay Group, a leading worldwide management consulting firm. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

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Bayview Yacht Club

100 Clairpointe

Detroit , MI 48125

(313) 822-1853

Situated on the banks of the Detroit River, Bayview is known as the Midwest’s “Shrine to Nautical Culture”. Many graduates of their junior sailing program have gone on to sail at the high school and collegiate level and some have even reached the Olympics. Their Adult Learn to Sail Program, offered to members and non-members alike, has been so successful over the past few years that they have had to increase the number of classes to accommodate the demand. The club also offers courses in Race Management, US Sailing Judging, and Safety at Sea.

In past years Bayview Members have brought home awards in the Moth Worlds, Richardson Cup, Cal 25 Nationals, Pineapple Cup, Beneteau 36.7 Nationals, U20 Nationals and DN Ice Boat Worlds. The club is responsible for organizing and sponsoring over 15 regattas throughout the course of the year, including the famous Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race, now known as the Bayview Mackinac Race.

From the Commodore:

“Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, Michigan has a motto that all its members live by, ‘Sailing, it’s who we are. It’s what we do’. This is why we are so proud to become one of the Founding Member Clubs of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. This endeavor to preserve the history and to promote the sport of sailing is something that is long past due in the United States. Sailing is an integral part of our American Heritage which will now be preserved forever within the Hall of Fame. The Sailing Center will also enable individuals from all walks of life to be introduced to this sport that we at Bayview Yacht Club are so passionate about. We are very excited to have been provided  the opportunity to play a role in this wonderful project and look forward to being involved in this endeavor to promote our sport for years to come.”

Commodore John C. Burke Bayview Yacht Club

While the sport of sailing is the main focus of the Bayview Yacht Club today, the Club was founded in 1915 by four men, only one of whom might be called a sailor.  The history of the Club starts in Detroit, then spreads, not only throughout the Michigan area, but to the Atlantic Ocean then around the world.

Bayview has been a place where accomplishments on the water were more important than those off, where the mission of promoting the sport of sailing and those who sail, guides and informs everything about it. It is a Club whose members are there for one reason: to sail competitively.

So, how did Bayview start? With four men – Floyd Nixon, Lloyd Kurtzwarth, Perc Williamson and Paul Dietrich – who were looking for a place to fish and have fun on the water. They established Bayview in a corrugated-iron shack, on a dock about a mile downstream of the present location. The first sailboat to call Bayview home was Perc Scott’s “Wrinkle”, 18 feet at the waterline and capable of taking the entire membership out for a cruise.

By 1924, Bayview members extended the reach of the Club to the Atlantic Ocean by winning their class in the Bermuda race. Then in 1925, the Club launched its signature event that spread its fame and influence, the Bayview Mackinac race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island. This has become the longest continually run freshwater long distance sailboat race.

By 1928, the membership was outgrowing the corrugated-iron shack, and the Club purchased a strip of landfill along Conner creek, the place Bayview calls home today. Grand plans were drawn up with an Italianate design with large overhanging eaves and a tile roof with a wide lawn and swimming pool. Those plans were discarded as the fundraising fell short with the 1929 depression.  The spar shed was completed, but the clubhouse was completed as a cinderblock shell that was finished piecemeal by members over the years.

For more information on Bayview Yacht Club’s Centennial Book, “Rounding the Mark: A Century of Memories at Bayview Yacht Club”  Contact Them !

HISTORY YOUTUBE:  Bayview Yacht Club Footage (c. 1959)

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The Sailing Museum & Hall of Fame

365 Thames Street

Newport, RI 02840

401.324.5761

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Menu for Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI

• Contact: (313) 822-1853

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Wi-fi , membership required , wheelchair accessible entrance , wheelchair accessible parking lot , read more friendly staff quick service -->.

Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI, is a American restaurant with average rating of 4.7 stars. See what others have to say about Bayview Yacht Club. Make sure to visit Bayview Yacht Club, where they will be open from 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Don’t risk not having a table. Call ahead and reserve your table by calling (313) 822-1853 . Ready to try them out? Other attributes include: membership required. Looking for other options with similar menus? Check out Brown Bag & Eatery and Govinda's Catering Service . Have you eaten here before? Leave a review!

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100 Clairpointe St, Detroit MI 48215, USA

www.byc.com

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Great views, comfortable clubhouse and beautiful marina.

A member invited us over for a cruise, cocktails and appetizers. It was our first chance to tour the new club house! Exactly ... what one would expect from one of the most extraordinarily competitive sailing clubs in the states: sleek, functional, welltuned and very inviting. Unfortunately, there are no social memberships offered but YCA reciprocity is recognized. Read more

Nice place was here for a celebration of life for my uncle. Staff was nice and if I had a boat I would consider being a member. ... Thank you Read more

I was welcomed and treated like family. I took an adult learn to sail class and fell in love! I?m now a member and keep my boat ... here. It?s an awesome place with great people! Junior sailing is absolutely awesome for the children as well. It keeps them busyand out of trouble allllll summer long! :):) Read more

The renovation came out really well. The building looks great. The food was suburb (best burger I've had in a while) and the ... service was great too. Read more

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Bayview Yacht Club is open on the following days: Monday: 03:00 PM - 09:00 PM Tuesday: 03:00 PM - 09:00 PM Wednesday: 12:00 PM - 11:00 PM Thursday: 12:00 PM - 11:00 PM Friday: 12:00 PM - 02:00 AM Saturday: 11:00 AM - 02:00 AM Sunday: 11:00 AM - 09:00 PM

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