This month’s spotlight is on the Oakland Yacht Club (OYC). They call themselves The friendliest yacht club in the Bay Area. But why is the Oakland Yacht Club in Alameda? Founded in 1913, the club’s original location was Oakland’s Brooklyn Basin. In 1977, when their clubhouse was demolished for the Embarcadero Cove project, OYC moved across the estuary to assume the lease of the 196-slip Pacific Marina. They moved into their current clubhouse in 1990.

The club maintains a schedule of activities for both sail boaters and powerboaters. These range from monthly cruise outs, to their Oktoberfest Regatta, to the annual Lighted Yacht Parade they co-host with the Encinal Yacht Club. The 2021 parade included the 165-foot USS Potomac and an entry from the San Francisco ferry fleet. In 2021 they also co-hosted the Women’s Sailing Seminar with the Island Yacht Club. They have two racing series to keep members sailing through most of the year. During the longer days of spring and summer they hold the Wednesday night Sweet 16 Series. When the days get shorter, they keep people happy with their Sunday Brunch Series.

Of course, it’s the people who make the club, and a steady stream of colorful characters has graced their halls. One of the club’s most famous personalities, author-adventurer, Jack London, was a founding member, and remained a member until his death in 1916. But today, among Bay Area sailors, Jim Jessie may be the most significant. Jim joined the club in 1956, at age 24, and is still in the club and winning races today, at age 89, after multiple circumnavigations and a long career doing marine surveys—including the 1994 survey of the boat on which this article was written. Jim was commodore of the club during the mid-1960s. But times evolve…

Today’s commodore is Julie Cheng. Julie is only the sixth female commodore and is the first person of color to hold the title. Julie was introduced to the club while racing with the late Doug Perry. Learning to sail on Coronado 15s at Reed College, Julie continued sailing afterward. She was a founding board member of the Alameda Community Sailing Center in 2013, and holds a 50-ton Coast Guard Master’s license. In 2017 she bought OYC member, Tom Sator’s, Ericson 35 Mk III, inheriting its slip at OYC. Tom was 94 at the time. He was Hungarian by birth, becoming a US citizen during World War II, driving tanks for General Bradley. Like we said, lots of colorful characters, but also to our oft-said point that sailing can be enjoyed from age 5 to 95.

The story would be incomplete without mentioning Ben Yamanaka. Ben is the club’s general manager, running its professional staff. Managing the club since 2016, Ben does his part to help them live up to their friendliness claim. Not sure? See for yourself. On June 18, the Sailing Science Center will be holding its Summer Sailstice Exhibition in the OYC parking lot. Come see the SSC and check out the club while you’re at it.

On May 14, six SSC volunteers met at San Francisco's South Beach Harbor to experience sailing science in action. The group sailed aboard Joe Rockmore's C&C 40, Föhn. It was a perfect day with perfect conditions. The SSC holds regular sailing events for its volunteers as a way to bring people together and say Thank You.

Jim Cullen's Gold Star beats toward the Golden Gate Bridge in the 2019 edition of the Great San Francisco Schooner Race. The bridge is a common waypoint for racers, day sailors, and long-distance cruisers alike. Many a sailor has marked their circumnavigation's beginning and end by passing under the Golden Gate Bridge.