Original Photos of Western Michigan Yachting Association Regatta from the 1930's

Description

Approximate size overall is 10" x 14"
with each photo approximately 7 1/2" x 4 1/2".
Regatta on Spring Lake & Torch Lake WMYA History
Forming the Western Michigan Yachting Association
The Western Michigan Yachting Association was formed in December 1929 as a result of an informal agreement between representatives of the three original member clubs; the Spring Lake Yacht Club, the Muskegon Yacht Club and the White Lake Yacht Club. The driving force behind the organization was C.D.R. Mulder, who was a member of both WLYC and SLYC.
The fledgling association held their first regatta at Muskegon Lake in 1930 as a two day event. The regatta included only three classes of boats: A Scows, C Scows and E Scows, and involved only a single race in each class. The Muskegon Lake Regatta was so successful that the three clubs decided to formalize their relationship and promote intense inter-club competition. All interested parties were invited to attend a luncheon at the Century Club in Muskegon on September 22, 1930. Delegates from White Lake, Muskegon Lake, Spring Lake and Black Lake (Macatawa Bay) were on hand. Within a short time the Grand Rapids Yacht Club and the Torch Lake Yacht Club also joined. The organizers chose C.D.R. Mulder (SLYC) Commodore, William R. Munroe (MYC) Vice-Commodore, John G. Guerin (WLYC) Rear Commodore, Clarence E. Pitkin (WLYC) Secretary, and C.A. Crowe (MBYC) Treasurer. By 1938 Pentwater and Crystal Lake had also joined.
The White Lake Yacht Club invited the other members of the association to hold its. first official regatta at White Lake in August of 1931. Hoping to improve upon the earlier efforts at Muskegon Lake, the organizers of the White Lake Regatta decided to extend the event to three days (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) and to have the three classes of boats sail in heats, one for each day of the event, which would supposedly improve the competition. They also added a social side with Sailors Lunch every day and a grand ball to end the regatta.
During the 30.s and 40.s the WMYA experimented with another type of regatta known as the Skippers Regatta. The idea was that each club would send a skipper and crew for each of the three classes (E, C, and Crescent). Each crew would rotate from one boat to another until each had sailed each boat, negating advantages of speed or quality on other boats. The winner was based on a point system with the winner having the most points overall. In 1936 the Association decided to let the host club provide all the competing boats. This posed a problem when not all clubs had all the fleets racing on their lake.
Original photo's mounted to paperboard with tape. No stains showing on the photos from this. Photo's do show some damage. The second photo has spots on the left side.
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