"Vastly Overcanvased..."
Some of the boats were fast racers from the east coast and others were fabricated by local builders. Most of the boats were brought from the east and were open sloops, a New York racing type--broad-beamed and vastly overcanvased.

In all but the lightest of winds they had to pile their sandbag ballast along the windward rail to balance the huge spread of sail. Even so, they frequently capsized. When the boat tacked the bags had to be shifted quickly to the other side--a matter that required a crew of about ten men on a 24 ft. boat. For obvious reasons, they were called "sandbaggers."

Organized Racing Begins
In 1874, the competitive spirit was getting to some of the sailors and they started to organize races. Lt. General Philip H. Sheridan visited the area, heard about the races and expressed a desire to see one first hand.

The sailors collected about two hundred dollars for a trophy, to be called the Sheridan Prize, that was to be a perpetual trophy raced for each year. The first race was sailed on August 31, 1874.

Nettie Takes the Prize
The sandbagger NETTIE owned by Julian S. Rumsey won the first race and the contributors decided to use the two hundred dollars for a silver model of NETTIE instead of the cup they originally had envisioned. The trophy, and the three trustees chosen to watch over it, constitute the genesis of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.

In 1875 a second class of boats was formed. Its rules seem to have been formulated primarily to exclude the wealthy summer residents and to give the townspeople a chance to compete without buying a new boat every year. NETTIE again won the Sheridan Prize.

Club Racing Takes Shape
On April 29, 1876, a group of about 25 sailors, almost equally divided between "summer people" and local residents, gathered at the Whiting House Hotel in Geneva and formally organized the Geneva Lake Yacht Club with N. K. Fairbank as its first commodore. In August, General Sheridan returned to present the Sheridan Prize to its third winner, Gen. A. C. Ducat.

The sandbaggers continued their handicap racing on Geneva Lake throughout the 80's and 90's, long after the type had disappeared on the east coast. The local rule that took no account of sail area caused this type to persist, and led to more extreme (and more awkward) boats as years went by.

In the 1890's, the club was racing four or five classes--25 ft. and 21 ft. classes of sandbaggers led the fleet, with other classes of "cat-boats," "finkeelers" and "knockabouts" for less strenuous sailing. In the meantime, the Chicago and North Western Railroad paid the town of Geneva to change its name to Lake Geneva to avoid confu-sion with nearby Geneva, Illinois. The Yacht Club followed suit, but the lake is still properly "Geneva Lake."

Rivalries Challenge the LGYC
A group of sailors at the west end of the lake in 1895 formed the West End Yacht Club. The membership of the two clubs overlapped considerably, and they tended to supplement each other rather than to compete. The two clubs consolidated in 1902.

A worse problem than rival yacht clubs on the lake was the game of golf, which nearly killed sailing on the lake when the Country Club was formed in 1896.

The sandbaggers were on the way out, however, being pushed into extinction by longer, narrower boats whose handicaps were based on sail area as well as length. They were lighter, handier and required much smaller crews.

The ILYA Forms
In the winter of 1898, eighteen clubs from Indiana to Minnesota sent representatives to a Milwaukee meeting which formed the Inland Lake Yacht Association and formulated a set of rules for two classes to race without handicaps in interlake competition. The rules fostered the rapid development of the Inland Lake scows which are the basis of competition on Geneva Lake and throughout the Association today. Both the Lake Geneva and the West End Yacht Clubs were charter members of the Inland Lake Yachting Association.

The sandbagger LORNA, sailed by Julian M. Rumsey, son of NETTIE's owner, was awarded the Sheridan Prize in 1898 for a race in which she was the only contestant. In the 1899 race, six of the new type of boat showed up, and Benjamin Carpenter was the first to win with a scow.

The New Clubhouse
The Lake Geneva Yacht Club had its own building on leased property on Cedar Point from 1906 to 1915. From 1915 to 1925 the Yacht Club had no home and started its races from the docks of interested yachtsmen around the lake.

In the spring of 1926 a group of officers and other members vitally interested in the future of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club undertook to find a permanent home for the club. They obtained a location ideally located on the south shore of the lake directly opposite the mouth of Williams Bay.

The old residence on the property was remodeled to serve as the clubhouse, and the necessary piers, slips and other facilities were installed. They created the Yacht Club Corporation of Lake Geneva, which in turn created the Geneva Lake Boat Company to provide service to members. The property was shared and buildings and facilities were constructed to service the sailboats and motorboats of members and non-members and to provide winter boat storage.

Surviving The War
The Club prospered from the time of the transition to the scow in 1899 and was especially strong after the 1902 merger with the West End Yacht Club, which led to the 1906 clubhouse. About 1913, however, sailboat racing on the lake went into a slump which lasted through World War I.

In 1920 it started a strong resurgence, interrupted only by World War II. During both wars, the sailors managed to launch at least two boats to preserve the tradition of an annual race for the Sheridan Prize.

Founding the Geneva Lake Sailing School
In 1938, Herb Taylor, a Yacht Club member, organized a Sailing School to instruct young people in the art of sailing and thus help perpetuate the sport of sailing on Geneva Lake. The first year the school used a Class A sloop. Later the original Class X, a 24 foot sloop with a heavy centerboard, was purchased and used for several years. When this boat no longer was usable,one of the yacht club members loaned a similar boat to the school.

In 1941, the mortgage was foreclosed and the Club was grant-ed a lease for its former facilities.

In 1949 the Yacht Club purchased three Cub Class sloops (present Class X) and a fourth Class X was provided in 1951. The school continues to use Class X for training.

In May of 1953, the Sailing School was reorganized as the Geneva Lake Sailing School, Inc. (a non-profit educational corpo-ration), which continued to use the facilities of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. The Geneva Lake Sailing School provides an ideal opportunity to students of all ages to learn to sail or improve sailing and racing skills under competent instructors with thorough sailing and racing experience.

The Evolution of Scows
The racing boats in use on Geneva Lake since 1902, when bilge boards and double rudders came into general use, have undergone refinements but little basic change. Of the two original classes, A and B, Class B faded out in less than fifteen years. Other classes have been added, and a few of these have died out.

The rig was changed from the gaff-rig of the turn-of-the-century, and the fittings and construction have increased in refinement and complexity, but the scow remains the same lively and exciting boat that delighted the sailors of the 1890's, and the type has spread widely throughout the country.

During the 1930's, 16-foot Cub boats were developed to be safer and more suitable for the sailors under 16. In 1940, the Lake Geneva Yacht Club was host to the first ILYA regatta for this class. As the scantling rules were made more restrictive, the boats became known as the "X" class.

Relocating in the '60s
The lease of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club for part of the premises owned by the Geneva Lake Boat Company expired at the end of 1967 and the Yacht Club and Sailing School had to find a new location.

Many sites were sought but none could be found with proper facilities, adequate lake frontage and proper zoning. The late Ernst C. Schmidt came to the rescue by donating a strip of lake shore property 112.5 feet wide adjoining the Boat Company property.

The members of the Sailing School and the Yacht Club adopted a plan for a substantial two-story building with a patio and second story bservation deck, both facing the lake. Commodore Don Harring appointed as a building committee Jack Terry, President of the Sailing School; George Happ, an experienced builder; Harvey Williams, a sanitary engineer; Bill Freytag, an attorney; and Howard E. Fiedler, a businessman. George Happ, whose services were invaluable, supervised the actual building begun in April, 1968.

Other members assisted in planning and fitting out the waterfront with its 200-foot pier, boat slips, sea wall and two cranes to provide fast launching from trailers. The building and grounds were ready for the 1969 season.

Celebrating the Centennial
In 1974 the Club celebrated its centennial by holding championship regattas for five ILYA classes. The 100th race for the Sheridan Prize took place on August 31--100 years to the day after the original race.

Property Expansion
A bold step into the future was taken by the Sailing School and Yacht Club members in 1989 when the Geneva Lake Boat Company to the west was put up for sale. The members decided under short notice to purchase the property. Their reasons were both practical and visionary.

The members wanted to protect their limited lake front use in the short term and create a family oriented lakes area sailing center as a legacy to the 21st century. Membership categories were revised to accommodate a variety of existing and potential members.

Land developers were interviewed to determine the potential of the site. A fund raising drive was organized to develop the necessary funds for improvements. The Yacht Club and Sailing School began to feel the excitement and the frustration of the massive project.

Phase I of the development of the new property began in the fall of 1989 with the removal of the underground gas tanks and dredging for the seawall. The following spring the dredging and seawall were completed; two new hoists, a dinghy ramp, and a new launch ramp were added. The blue metal lakefront building which formerly housed the boat company was replaced by a small white "annex" building. Since 1991, expansion of the summer dryland mooring area, major roadway improvements, storage building maintenance, and landscaping projects have added to the development of the total property. In 1996, ownership of the property was transferred from the Sailing School to the Yacht Club.

Additional space and facilities have resulted in the addition of three keelboat fleets, J-24, Sonar, and Melges24, in addition to an International Optimist Dinghy fleet and a Laser fleet. The Sailing School added the International Optimist Dinghies to encourage very young sailors and owns two Sonars for adult education. In 1996, two new Class X boats were purchased and another donated, thereby making a fleet of seven.

Thanks to donations to both the Optimist and X fleets, the number of boats available for instruction as well as lease has grown. A Zodiac was added to the fleet of five whalers to enhance instruction as well as safety of the young sailors. In 1998, five Vanguards were donated to encourage both young and old in the sport of sailing. The Yacht Club and Sailing School have continued to grow and expand into a fine Sailing Center.

In the years since 1874, the Lake Geneva Yacht Club has progressed from a small group of boat owners, many of whom used professional helmsmen, to a club known nationally for producing sailors of formidable ability. The record of the club members in competition in the scow classes within the ILYA, and nationally, is impressive.

The Heritage of Champions
Two members, Harry C. (Buddy) Melges, Jr. and Jane Pegel, repeatedly have received national awards emblematic of the highest standing in the sport of sailing. Buddy Melges and his crew, Bill Bentsen, have two Olympic Medals--a Bronze in 1964 and a Gold in 1972 shared with a third crew member, Bill Allen.

In 1987, Buddy Melges, skipper of the "Heart of America" challenge for the America's Cup, showed that a viable campaign could be launched from the Midwest. Buddy joined Bill Koch's America3 syndicate and went on to win the America's Cup in 1992, thereby making Buddy the first to win the America's Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Buddy is also the first-time winner of the prestigious W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. Trophy for sportsmanship presented in 1987 by the United States Yacht Racing Union. A new generation of sailors continues to achieve recognition beyond the Lake Geneva Yacht Club -- including Buddy's sons, Harry and Hans, along with Brian Porter, John Porter, continue the heritage of excellence in ILYA fleets as well as in other national and international fleets.