Club History
How It All Began
North Palm Beach Yacht Club can trace its roots back to 1959 when the developers of North Palm Beach set up a yacht club as part of the overall village plan. They elected officers and designed a NPBYC burgee — for the uninitiated that’s a triangular-shaped yacht club flag — which they registered with Lloyd’s Register of American Yachts. Their burgee was blue, with the block letters NPB in white laid out vertically along the hoist and a design that later became the Club crest in white in the center of the flag. They envisioned building a clubhouse on the east side of U.S. Highway #1, near the site where the North Beach Marina now stands, and went so far as to name the street on which it was to be built “Yacht Club Drive”.
What Didn’t Happen
Like so many other good ideas, the clubhouse just didn’t happen; the developers couldn’t drum up enough interest in the project and eventually sold the marina property to private investors. The yacht club building became another “might have been’, and although the name Yacht Club Drive remained, no clubhouse was ever built. Without a real home, the Club itself struggled on for about a dozen years, and then quietly dissolved. But a yacht club had been born in North Palm Beach, and the desire for a club was too strong to just go away.
The Second Time Around
In 1975 Edwin F. Schwarzer, who then owned the North Palm Beach Marina, and his brother Fred M. Schwarzer who managed the place, joined with some village residents and incorporated the North Palm Beach Cruise and Yacht Club under the Florida Not-for-Profit Corporation law. Among the founders were Jack Folk and Henry VanNimwegen, both of whom held important positions over the years. Not only was the club’s name different, but to further distinguish it from its predecessor the members adopted a burgee designed by Robert Unger: It had a blue and gold triangular field superimposed with a white “N”. Ed Schwarzer was the Club’s first commodore and most of the functions, including some major fishing tournaments, took place at his marina. The Club’s newsletter, The Beacon, was published out of the marina office and especially in the early years, consisted mostly of advertising for the marina’s products and services. In 1982, the members voted to change the name of the Club from “North Palm Beach Cruise and Yacht Club” to “North Palm Beach Yacht Club” and a few years later registered under that name with Yachting Club of America.
The Doldrums
Even the best clubs sometimes get caught in the doldrums and eventually time caught up with NPBYC. Ed Schwarzer sold the North Palm Beach Marina to Old Port Cove Holdings in 1988 and once again the club found itself without a home. In spite of everyone’s best efforts, activities declined and members drifted away. The Club’s corporate status and its registration with Yachting Club of America both lapsed and people began to talk of quietly folding once more.
Rebirth
In 1997, the eighteen remaining Club members made a commitment to renewal. They re-incorporated under Florida law, passed by laws for the first time in the Club’s history and adopted a new burgee which combined elements of both earlier burgees. They set up a strong Board of Governors and opened new lines of communication within the club by publishing a new monthly newsletter, The Ship’s Wheel. They registered the Club with Stars Register and began establishing relationships with other clubs in Florida and around the country. In August 1998, the Board of Governors established the Herb Watt Building which had been vacated by the North Palm Beach Recreation Department as the club’s official headquarters. In December of the same year then re-registered with Yachting Club of America and applied for membership in the International Order of The Blue Gavel.
Postscript: Looking Back –and Forward
Our club has evolved over four decades in North Palm Beach. We’re the end result of people who started the North Palm Beach Yacht Club as much as we are the end result of those who created the North Palm Beach Cruise and Yacht Club. We’ve weathered some tying times, but as we are still hear and we’re growing. And now — Onward!
