Thomas Lipton Yacht Club
The history of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club is not complete without a mention of the Thomas Lipton Yacht Club which was formed by young sailors about 1932 for the express purpose of racing. This was before the days of the one-design sailboats. Anything that would float and could hold a mast and a sail was eligible to race. At this time, during the depth of the depression, very few young people could afford a "store bought" sailboat. With the protection offered by the rock breakwater, the young people were beginning to experience the fun of sailing and owning a boat. As Herb Garrett and others report, many of the boats were tied to stakes in the water in an area just outside our window here in the Clubhouse. If you look closely at the 1937 aerial photograph of the waterfront before the seawall was built, you can see many small boats in that area. Access was gained by wading out from the mouth of the bayou, which now drains South Bluff Park, through the big submerged culvert along the Yacht Club Parking lot.
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