The land on which the club was built was owned by the Florida East Coast
Railroad Company and sold to the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge District sold
the property to Monroe County, at which time the newly include the present area,
i.e. the ramp was removed from the club ownership and released to the County
for public use. In 2002, with the formation of the City of Marathon, the lease was
assigned
to the City with no restrictions on use. The Marathon Yacht Club was formed on April 24. 1951, with 24 present, and
Chet Tingler was elected first Commodore. An avid and knowledgeable sailor
and a member of the Florida Sailing Assoc., Tingler participated in training junior
members in handling and racing various types and styles of boats. Rivalry
between the Key West Outboard Club and MYC started an overnight ocean race
in 1952 and the following year the Tingler Perpetual Trophy for the Marathon to
Key West Ocean Race was placed in competition. Construction was started on the clubhouse in 1954, membership topped 100 in
1955, and a kitchen was added in 1956. In 1960, Hurricane Donna reduced our
wooden docks and little kitchen to rubble. The wooden docks, a leftover from the
railroad days, were replaced in 1967, under Commodore Bill Fotheringham and
the present seawall was put in place. In 1982 the patio was built, along with the
south end of the seawall by the basin, and 1984-85 30 pilings were driven along
the seawall edge to enhance dockage. In 1986-87 the club began permit
requests for two principal docks, an L and a T with five finger piers, with the
capability of berthing vessels 25 to 80 feet in length. This was done under the
leadership of Commodore Bill Langan and engineer and member, Glen Boe. Then actual dock work completed in 1989, by member Bob Casey, Marathon
Sea Walls and Docks, under Commodore Harry Smith. In 1976 the BELL, our monthly newsletter, was born. Ushered into this world by
Cul Cady, who first pushed the idea around with Commodore Fred McCleery,
when they were lifting one, one evening, Cul was the editor and historian, and
established the format. He didn’t like to do lettering so he wanted a short name
for the publication, and in those days when a bottle of spirits ran dry, a bell at the
bar was rung, and the lucky imbiber got a free drink. And the
bell is still at the bar. In 1983 MYC joined the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs. This has proved to be a
valuable connection among yacht clubs, both for sociability in cruising and the
sharing of information on governmental regulations. In 1983 a group of past commodores spearheaded the entrance of MYC into the
International Order of the Blue Gavel, an international fraternal organization
honoring past commodores and when MYC received its charter, 12 past
commodores were inducted. This vital group has given to the club a weather
station (on the west wall near the bar), a standard flagpole for our flag and club
burgees, and a platform for the 250 years old, 600 lb. The kitchen, which started out as a lean-to in 1954, was gradually expanded with
electric machines being installed in the 1960’s, to help out the lady volunteers
who were preparing whatever meals were planned. As the number of meals
increased each week, upgrades in the kitchen would occur periodically. In the
late 1980’s under Commodore Zemon, our first and only manager/chef was
hired. In 2011 club member Andy Misocic spearheaded the effort to replace the docks
that had been built in 1989. All pilings and docks were replaced. We now have
22 slips. There is pump out, electric, water and cable TV at every slip. Three of
the slips are kept for the use of visiting FCYC boats. In 2015 under Commodore Ralph Girkins a heated pool and tiki huts were added
in the courtyard. Today, the same spirit of cooperation and fun among our members prevails
as it did 50 years ago. The leaders of the past will never be forgotten and are
an inspiration to the members now serving.
