The Vero Beach Yacht Club is Shipshape at 100

The Vero Beach Yacht Club (VBYC) welcomes everyone walking through its front door with a simple message: “For Fun and Friendship.” Add in a wave of opportunities for boating, community service, and social activities, and that pretty much sums up the atmosphere at the private, members-only social club now celebrating its 100th anniversary.

While much has changed since the club was chartered on January 15, 1926, the clubhouse still occupies the same three-lot parcel north of the Barber Bridge and adjacent to the city marina on the east side of the Indian River Lagoon. The lot was donated in 1938 by Waldo Sexton, one of Vero Beach’s legendary pioneers.

In his book, A Definitive History of the Vero Beach Yacht Club, Walter McCahan writes that in 1938, a group of local business leaders (including Sexton) formed the Vero Beach Yacht Club and approached the City of Vero Beach about building dockage facilities to compete with the Florida East Coast Railway for the transportation of commodities such as fertilizer, feed, and cement via the waterway. Prescott Gardner, who supplemented Sexton’s land contribution with $1,500, was named commodore. Paul Goodridge was vice commodore, Sexton became rear commodore, and E.G. Thatcher was fleet captain. 

The VBYC operated the city docks from 1938 until 1962 on a handshake arrangement. It didn’t have a private building to house its activities until it acquired the grounds at the present location from the city and opened a newly built clubhouse in June 1963. Up until that time, its members held potluck dinners, fish fries, boat races, and activities in a roofed-over pavilion. The new 60-by-40-foot building had a large lounge, a porch overlooking the water, a pool room, a small kitchen, and restrooms.

Over the years, there were multiple additions and renovations. The Burgee Room, housing a lounge and bar, was added in 1981 and expanded in 1993. The Commodore’s Room was created to accommodate private parties. Other enhancements included an expanded kitchen and dining room; a front hall and office; a 24-slip dock and seawall; additional parking across the street; and a large, covered patio with bar overlooking the waterfront.

“We’re a diamond in the rough,” comments Shawn Witmer, who has served as the club’s general manager and COO since 2013 after 30 years of club management in Naples and Key Biscayne. “This club fills a unique niche here in Vero. There are no real physical amenities other than the docks and the waterfront, but we provide an unparalleled year-round dining and entertainment experience that nobody else offers. The whole culture is one of great camaraderie and friendship.”

“Just as golfers tend to join golf clubs, many of our members have some boating experience,” observes Rey Neville, a sailing enthusiast who served as commodore of an Illinois yacht club before joining the VBYC in 2014. Neville, a former vice mayor of Vero Beach and past VBYC commodore, adds, “Even though some may no longer own a boat, nor do they wish to have another boat, they like to be around boats. I think that’s part of the draw. The other part of it is Shawn does a superb job of keeping people entertained.”

Indeed, every month is jam-packed with weekly live music and dancing, world-class entertainment, themed parties, club outings on and off the water, guest speakers, a diverse range of social events, and community service opportunities to keep members active and engaged with one another and the greater Vero Beach area.

Some of the club’s signature community-outreach projects include an annual teddy bear drive for children getting treatment in the Emergency Department at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, an annual food drive for the Food Pantry of Indian River County, and enthusiastic participation in the Vero Beach Christmas Parade with the club’s festively decorated Hurricane Deck pontoon boat.

In 2016, the VBYC adopted Boat Club Island (IR25), a spoil island formed from the dredging of the Intercoastal Waterway during the early 1950s. At least four times a year, members clear the area of invasive trees and plants to create safe, accessible paths on the state-owned recreation island located west of mile marker No. 120. On any given day, you might also spot VBYC volunteers picking up trash along the shorelines of the Indian River Lagoon and barrier island beaches.

The club’s indoor and outdoor waterfront bars are popular gathering spots where everyone seems to know your name, while dining options range from light bites and gourmet meals to Sunday brunch served on the patio or in the Burgee Room or formal dining room. Since his arrival in 2021, executive chef Rodney Smith, formerly a Quail Valley sous chef at The Pointe, has endeared himself to the convivial crowd of sailors and landlubbers by elevating the dining experience with an adventurous twist on a seasonal menu of classically inspired cuisine.

Members enjoy summer reciprocity with other local private clubs that not only include dining but also access to the clubs’ tennis and golf facilities. VBYC members with boats (which comprise 11 percent of the membership) have year-round reciprocity with 36 yacht clubs throughout the state—from the panhandle to the Keys—thanks to the club’s membership in the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs (FCYC). Reciprocal privileges allow boaters free dockage for their first night and access to services at member clubs’ facilities. Outside Florida, VBYC’s membership in the Yachting Club of America affords members reciprocity with more than 700 yacht clubs nationwide. 

Jim Stanley, a 20-year member of the VBYC and a past commodore, fully appreciates the reciprocity afforded by the FCYC when he’s cruising his 33-foot Grady-White Express up and down the Florida coast and through the Bahamas. “It’s one of those nice things. You tie up at the dock, walk into the club, and you feel at home.”

“Every yacht club is unique,” says Stanley, who grew up sailing and racing Blue Jays and Lightnings on Long Island Sound. “But certain traditions are constant, like the Blessing of the Fleet, the Change of Command, and the Commodore’s Ball. Whether you’re from Chicago or Connecticut, there’s always something recognizable and comfortable about a yacht club and meeting others with common interests and experiences.”

One of the things Stanley has been hoping to get off the ground is a senior Sunfish fleet, which could race on Saturday afternoons. “The Sunfish is easy to sail but not easy to get in and out of when you’re in your 60s or 70s,” he smiles. “We’re all afraid our knees will give out!”

“People sometimes ask, ‘Is it a yacht club or a social club?’ I just say, ‘Every yacht club is a social club. Otherwise, it would just be mooring balls with no one talking to each other!’ Yacht clubs are usually more informal than golf or social clubs. If I’ve been on a boat all day and I go into the Burgee Room with boat clothes and sit next to someone in black tie, it’s okay. It’s not socially exclusive.” 

That friendly, unpretentious attitude is appealing to many. Since Witmer’s arrival in 2013, VBYC membership has grown from 427 to 650, where it has been capped for several years. Those on the three-year waiting list are offered summer memberships, which typically run from May to October. While nearly 69 percent of members are couples, a sizable 31 percent are singles, primarily women. With no pool or fitness facilities, the club attracts mainly retirees, some of whom also belong to other clubs.

Jane Booth joined the VBYC in 2018 following the loss of her husband. “I was looking for opportunities to meet new friends and do things I was interested in. My family had always been into boating, and I hoped to meet like-minded people.”

A former director of information technology at Honeywell, Booth was recruited to form an IT committee to review the club’s systems and identify some improvement opportunities. Her work on the committee led to appointments on the board of directors and eventually to the roles of treasurer and vice commodore. This month, she proudly becomes the seventh female commodore in the club’s history.

“I’m very excited to be serving on the board during this milestone year,” enthuses Booth. “We will have 100 days of celebration starting January 9 and continuing through April. There will be multiple concerts in the parking lot, featuring tribute bands from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s; Skipper’s Table dinner presentations by community leaders on our club’s history; a boat parade and Blessing of the Fleet to which the public will be invited; and a grand finale event with fireworks.”

In addition to celebrating its centennial in 2026, the VBYC is embarking on a $1 million project to replace its aging dock. “The composite dock will have all-new lighting, wider finger piers, and larger slips to accommodate bigger boats,” explains past commodore Jim DeSimone, a former oil tanker captain, deputy commissioner of the New York Department of Transportation, and COO of the Staten Island Ferry system, who is heading up that effort.

The VBYC, says DeSimone, lives up to the slogan at its entrance. “We’ve been to other clubs over the years, and this club is, without question, the friendliest.”