DYC is a young club compared to others in this area. The origin is penned as a meeting held by a small group of boating enthusiasts in March 1962, in a building on the corner of Ochterloney and Wentworth Streets. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Dartmouth Chamber of Commerce, chaired by Mr. Cyril G. Hubley, who was to become the club's first Commodore.
On the 10th day of December, 1962, we received our Charter, and the name Dartmouth Yacht Club was incorporated as a non-profit organization under Provincial law. On the 9th day of January 1963, the Club held its inaugural meeting with the following twenty-five persons named as Chartered Members:
- Akerley, I.W.
- Hubley, Cyril G . (appointed to be the club's first Commodore)
- Akerley, Robert H.
- Keddy, Clarence
- Casavechia, Walter J.
- Kent, Borden P.
- Cluett, Alfred T.
- Lahey, J. Walter
- Crooke, William H.
- Langille, Walden K.
- Davies, Robert L . (the club's first Fleet Captain)
- Meredith, James W.
- Douglass, Peter (the club's first Rear Commodore)
- Newport, Harry H . (the club's first Treasurer)
- Eisener, Donald D.
- Nichol, J. Crawford
- Guilford, Alex D.
- Nicholl, Gerald G.Jr.
- House, Fonce A.
- Sellars, Raymond W.
- Horne, Floyd K. , the club's first Secretary
- Young, John A ., the club's first Vice-Commodore
- Hubley, Milton A.
- Zatzman, Joseph
The first meeting of the Management and Trustee Committee was held at the site of the former Dartmouth Businessmen's Club on Newcastle Street, in the City of Dartmouth the 24th day of January, 1963. Even at the first meeting in March of 1962, the significance of having a Constitution and set of By-Laws by which to govern the Club's future operations was considered to be of prime importance. In furtherance to this directive, the nucleus of what later became the Management and Trustee Committee held many meetings throughout the year in an effort to draft and complete our first Constitution and By-Laws. During these meetings, the Constitutions of other clubs were examined, some as far away as Boston, trying to glean from all a model suitable to our own operations.
One notable addition to our first draft is the inclusion of provisions for Junior membership. Much of the spirit and wisdom for the incorporation of these junior provisions must go to the untiring efforts Commodore, Mr Peter Douglass. Without a doubt, the future of any yacht club is dependent on the strength of its junior program. As someone once wisely put it, the future of the future is determined in the present.
Club Historian
Don Backman
