User:Minard38/Sheldrake Yacht Club (Mamaroneck, New York)

Sheldrake Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in the world without a clubhouse. Despite this deficit, the club has continued to organize regattas as well as its signature Whalers Race.

History
The club was formed in 1907 and formally incorporated in 1909; its first officers were Frank P. Coxe and William A. Hanson of White Plains, William Thomson, Arthur Fauser, Paul Wiel, and Edward T. Griffith of Mamaroneck. The name is derived from the Sheldrake River in Mamaroneck. When it began, most of the boats in its fleet were motorboats.

Members met on and around Harbor Island in Mamaroneck until 1952 when the organization lost its lease from the village government and was compelled to move. Subsequent attempts to find a permanent clubhouse did not succeed but the membership continued to perform all the functions of a yacht club including participation in officially sanctioned races, election of officers and commissioning of the fleet.

Environmental advocacy
When a proposal to build a bridge from Oyster Bay to Rye was proposed and threatened the ecology of Long Island Sound, Sheldrake Yacht Club led by Martin Marcus partnered with American Yacht Club to lead a "boatercade" in protest.