Golden Gate Yacht Club
![]() | |
Short name | GGYC |
---|---|
Founded | 1939 |
Location |
|
Commodore | Jim Flaherty |
Website | www.ggyc.com |

The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) is a San Francisco, California, U.S. based yacht club founded in 1939. GGYC is the home port of Oracle Team USA, the winners of the 2010 and 2013 America's Cup yacht racing competition [1]
History
[edit]In 1939 the first members built a clubhouse on a barge in the San Francisco Marina. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake severely damaged the club, members pulled together and rebuilt it.[1]
GGYC is a popular cruise and regatta venue on the San Francisco waterfront. The club is located on the jetty directly east of the St. Francis Yacht Club and north of the Marina Green, at the end of Yacht Road.[1] The most well-known of current members is Oracle Corporation founder Larry Ellison.
The Club entered the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup, the America's Cup challenger selection series, represented by the BMW Oracle Racing team.[2] BMW Oracle Racing were eliminated in the semi-finals. The team challenged for the America's Cup in 2010 and won a Deed of Gift match 2–0 against the Société Nautique de Genève's (SNG) Alinghi team, making GGYC the first American yacht club to hold the cup since 1995.
America's Cup Management announced on July 5, 2007 that the protocol for the 33rd America's Cup had been agreed between the Defending yacht club, SNG, and its Challenger of Record, the Club Náutico Español de Vela of Spain.[citation needed] GGYC sued, successfully arguing that Club Náutico Español de Vela was not a valid challenger. The challenge was upheld, and BMW Oracle Racing sailed against Alinghi in February 2010 in Valencia, Spain. The competing boats, Alinghi 5 and USA 17 were both 90-foot multihulls. The rigid wing sail of USA 17 provided a decisive advantage and GGYC won the 2010 America's Cup by a considerable margin.[citation needed]
GGYC successfully defended their title at the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco in 2013, but finally lost the trophy in the 35th edition against the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.[3]
Commodores
[edit]To date there have been 66 commodores of the Golden Gate Yacht Club.[4]
Name | Years Served |
---|---|
Jim Flaherty | 2025 – present |
Maurice Quillen | 2022 – 2024 |
Leslie Lacopi | 2019 - 2022 |
Norbert Bajurin | 2010 - 2018 |
Marcus Young | 2007 - 2010 |
David Haskin | 2005 - 2006 |
Ned Barrett | 2003 - 2004 |
Norbert Bajurin | 2001 - 2002 |
Linda Pierce | 2000 |
Mary Sancimino | 1999 |
Nancy Wesley | 1998 |
Joseph Bambara | 1997 |
Michael McGlothlin | 1996 |
Michael Hobson | 1995 |
Jim Brennan | 1994 |
Chuck Pierce | 1993 |
Karen McManus | 1991 - 1992 |
Douglas Carroll | 1990 |
Hans Randrup | 1989 |
Oral Moore | 1988 |
Cal Person | 1987 |
Dana Pettengill | 1986 |
Gordon Engel | 1985 |
Bud Fuller | 1984 |
Dave Miller | 1983 |
Jeff Litke | 1982 |
Dean Collins | 1981 |
John Kenny | 1980 |
Mike Mann | 1979 |
Ralph Lewis | 1978 |
Roy Koski, D.M.D. | 1977 |
Louis Rossi | 1976 |
John Roveda | 1975 |
William Dodge | 1974 |
Ed Nylund | 1973 |
Roy C. Berner | 1972 |
Anthony G.Vlantis | 1971 |
Wes Smith | 1970 |
Bruce Paulk | 1969 |
Wally Solloway | 1968 |
Cliff Melder | 1967 |
Douglas C. Carroll | 1966 |
Richard Carroll | 1965 |
Walter Vendetti | 1964 |
James Heatlie | 1963 |
Harry Lieberman | 1962 |
John Benone | 1961 |
Kenneth Carlson | 1960 |
Leo Cone | 1959 |
Dan Regan | 1958 |
Ray Carpenter | 1957 |
Bob Kelly | 1956 |
Otto Bueren | 1955 |
Max Koch | 1954 |
Len Fleischman | 1953 |
Max Williams | 1952 |
Manuel Fagundes | 1951 |
Jeff Capell | 1950 |
Paul Dember | 1948 - 1949 |
W. Muggenthaler | 1947 |
W.H. Capell | 1946 |
J. Arvid Johnson | 1945 |
Robert A. Davies | 1944 |
H. McMullen | 1943 |
H.A. Livingston | 1942 |
Bud Schaffnit | 1941 |
H.P McKean | 1940 |
See also
[edit]America's Cup title holders
- New York Yacht Club, defeating the competition's founders, the Royal Yacht Squadron, 1851-1983
- Royal Perth Yacht Club, 1983-1987
- San Diego Yacht Club, 1987-1995
- Société Nautique de Genève, 2003-2010
- Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron; 1995-2003, 2017-present
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Golden Gate Yacht Club official website". Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ "GGYC Win America's Cup Court Case". sailing.org. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
- ^ Tom Cary and Miles Dilworth (26 June 2017). "New Zealand bury the demons of San Francisco in crushing America's Cup victory over the USA". Telegraph Media Group.
- ^ "Golden Gate Yacht Club official website". Retrieved 2019-10-01.
Further reading
[edit]- John Branch (4 September 2013). "In San Francisco, It's Rich Club, Poor Club". New York Times.
External links
[edit]- Official website: http://ggyc.com/