Lakewood Yacht Club

Lakewood Yacht Club

Burgee
Short name	LYC
Founded	April 24, 1955 (1955-04-24)
Location	2425 NASA Parkway Seabrook, Texas 77586  United States
Website	www.lakewoodyachtclub.com

Lakewood Yacht Club is a yacht club located in Seabrook, Texas. The club sits on 38 acres with four sheds and seven docks. There are nearly 100 covered slips for power boats ranging in size from 44’ to 100’. There are also over 200 open slips on fixed and floating piers ranging in size from 40’ to 100’.

Lakewood Yacht Club has been recognized in the Robb Report as one of the 10 most prestigious yacht clubs in the United States.

History

Lakewood Yacht Club was founded on April 24, 1955. The three members were Sterling Hogan Sr., Captain W. R. Parker and J.D. Kirkpatrick, they decided to build a yacht club that would cater to powerboat owners. Sterling Hogan owned 40 acres of land adjacent to Ben Taub’s old Rouger Hotel property on Clear Lake but it did not have water access. Mr. Hogan made a deal with Mr. Taub to swap his 40 acres to Taub for his 28 acres with the provision that Captain Parker would dredge a channel between the two properties giving Taub access to Clear Lake. Mr. Kirkpatrick built the clubhouse, pool, and marina. In early 1954 he started building. Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of Texas on May 4, 1954. The three membership classes were Class A, Governing Board Membership, voting; Class B, Resident Membership, non-voting; and Class C, Non-resident, non-voting.

By mid-April 1955, all construction was complete except for the clubhouse which was approximately 75% complete. Lakewood Yacht Club held an opening day party on April 24, 1955. The club’s first manager was Mr. Waymon Armstrong, formerly Assistant Club Manager at the Houston Yacht Club. The first flag officers were Commodore C. S. Wallace, Vice Commodore Sterling Hogan, Rear Commodore Milo Maule, and Fleet Captain C. B. Delhomme.

Lakewood continued to evolve with the guidance of Flag Officers and a Board of Directors. The 1960s saw the club survive Hurricane Carla which slammed into the club in September 1961 with 125 M.P.H. winds and a tidal wave. The club suffered little damage. The “Sea Devils” were also formed in 1961 as a program to teach teenagers water activities. When President Lyndon Johnson moved NASA to the Clear Lake Area at the request of several influential Texas Democrats, Lakewood Yacht Club offered its cabanas to house the astronauts until facilities could be built at NASA. The first astronauts lived at Lakewood in 1964 and 1965.

During the 1970s, Terry Chapman was selected as Assistant Manager, the town homes of Lakewood were built and the condos were purchased and financed by a group of Lakewood members. The town house purchasers added two tennis courts, the northwest harbor and a large plot of land between the condos and the townhouses. A street called Lakewood Lane was built for the club entrance. 1977 was a notable year because it was determined that Lakewood Yacht Club would allow sailboats to be docked at the club and Terry Chapman became General Manager.

Lakewood continued its expansion in the 1980s with the purchase of a former bait camp on Offatts Bayou in Galveston in 1983. Construction began in January 1984. This became “Lakewood South” and is still used today by members for cruises to Galveston and beyond. The ballroom was added in 1985 and piers F and G were rebuilt in 1988.

During the 1990s the membership rejected a recommendation to sell Lakewood South and voted to spend additional funds to build a bathhouse and a shaded picnic area. The restrooms of the clubhouse were modernized and the bar and lounge were “nauticalized.” In honor of Lakewood’s 40th anniversary, Commodore Corwin organized the first Commodore’s Cruise to Cozumel, Mexico in 1995. In 1998, Commodore Fuller instigated the first Concours d’Elegance, “Wooden Keels & Classic Wheels,” event.

In the mid-90’s, Lakewood made considerable improvements to the shed and piers and completely rebuilt C shed and replaced D with a new, concrete floating pier.Three new floating piers were approved for the West Harbor in 1999 and installed in early 2000. In 2008 the area was hit hard by Hurricane Ike which brought approximately 12ft of tidal surge with it. The 2008 and 2009 Commodores and staff worked hard to rebuild damaged areas and utilized high quality concrete floating docks for the west harbor. In 2015 the club made a substantial investment to improve the dining room and also created two additional meeting room spaces.

Lakewood Yacht Club has continued to build a very respectable sailboat racing fleet. Its members have been very successful in regional and national level events. Numerous national level events have taken place at LYC in recent years such as the J/70 and J/105 NA'S . Each year LYC hosts the Harvest Moon Regatta which began in 1986 and is now a 200 mile offshore race from Galveston, Texas to Port Aransas, Texas.

Lakewood Yacht Club has made significant investments in its youth sailing program. Experienced full time staff and assistant personnel have been very successful in teaching the sport of sailing to the youth members. The Optimst, Laser, FJ, I/C 420 fleets successfully compete in local,national and international events. Many of the programs graduates have gone on to compete in college and beyond. ^[1]

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