History of the Fidalgo Yacht Club
By Yale Gifford, 2008
The initial impetus in forming the Fidalgo Yacht Club arose from the desire of Richard Sands to establish a new yacht club in Anacortes at the west end of the town. Of greater importance, he envisioned a club with social, recreational and educational activities for all boaters, both power and sail.
He discussed his idea with Alice Perry, the owner/operator of ABC Yacht Charters. Alice was very enthusiastic about the idea, and she agreed to be a co-founder.
The first step was to incorporate the new club. Richard prepared the initial Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws based upon documents from other yacht clubs. Following a review by Honorary Member and attorney Earl Angevine, the Articles were filed in Olympia on December 10, 1976 and the Fidalgo Yacht Club was in business.
The direction of FYC is established by Article III : “The purposes and objects of this corporation are: to encourage the knowledge, use and appreciation of the marine recreational advantages of the Pacific northwest; to engage in social and recreational activities, further the sport of yachting and yacht racing, and to promote safety at sea and good seamanship”.
In 1982, the Fidalgo Yacht Club invited the Capital City Yacht Club, Sidney, B.C., to join them in a gathering of the two clubs. The meeting was enjoyed by all, and the following year FYC was invited to Sidney. Thus was born the annual highlight named “Capidalgo”, which celebrated its 30th year of annual festivities in 2007.
November 15, 1995 also marks a significant event. FYC had long sought a suitable location for its own Clubhouse. On that date, the membership overwhelmingly voted to establish a Clubhouse in space available at 6047 Sands Way. After months of hard work by Commodore Jim White and many other club members, the new clubhouse was formally dedicated on September 22, 1996.
The Fidalgo Yacht Club continues to fulfill its mission of a very active boating and social organization located at the gateway to the San Juan Islands.