C.B. White

The Start of the Club Room

There were two conventions held in 1924, the year the Association was formed – Old Del Monte and in Santa Barbara and these were attended only by men. In 1925 the second year it was decided to include the wives and families. Many of the members from California met in San Francisco and sailed to Vancouver on the old steamer H. F. Alexander, a small luxury liner that formerly plied the East Coast. The 18th ammendment of U. S. Prohi-bition began January 16, 1920 and it was an added attraction to visit beautiful Canada where refreshments were openly available. As the people in British Columbia mostly drank their beer warm,the U. S. contingent solved the problem with a little ingenuity by filling a bathtub with Ice and Beer and this was the start of the Club Room.

The First Regatta

The first Regatta was held in Coronado in 1951 and small sailboats were rented and a course was set out in the water adjacent to the Hotel. Fred Smales, Secretary and the most accomplished sailor in the group gave free instructions during the race and if my memory serves correctly, was the winner. Subsequent Regattas were held at every convention whether there was water available or not. In 1952 at Del Monte, golf carts were used and to make the race as realistic as possible, Hal Von Breton and Larry Culter set sprinklers at strategic points around the course.

C.B. White