We lost the clubhouse, not the club

Following the massive structure fire endured by the prominent California Yacht Club in Los Angeles on December 11, the membership and yachting community is asking what’s next. Here’s an update:

California Yacht Club’s Town Hall meeting on December 17 opened with remarks centered on sympathy and resilience, shared with the more than 200 members in attendance at the Marina del Rey Hotel and many others joining online. Though this meeting took place just six days after a fire that demolished much of CYC’s clubhouse, co-owner Jeff Weiss summed it up quite succinctly when he shared, “It’s been a week, to say the least.”

From there, the pivot toward highlighting the strength of the community and commitment to scheduled Club programing came quickly. Commodore Christina Tarantola was direct – “It may not look exactly like it used to, but we are going to sally forth and have a good time.”

A key part of this optimism is that facilities, other than the clubhouse, are relatively unscathed, meaning regatta, junior programs, paddle tennis and pickleball, and many other operations can continue as planned for 2024.

After these opening remarks, SVP of Operations John Myers gave what details the Club has for where their focus will be going forward, with these three key areas topping their long to-do lists: (1) safety, (2) the member experience, and (3) the next 100 years at the Club. Co-owner Colin Shepherd reminded attendees, “We’ve lost the clubhouse, but we haven’t lost the Club,” and that a focus on moving forward together is a top priority.

There are many details that have yet to be confirmed regarding the last week or so at the Club, but Myers was able to share that the fire was likely electrical, and they are still awaiting the results of the fire department investigation. These are still early days in the recovery process, and though some of the next steps are going to take time to complete, he was clear in saying, “I want to assure you 100% – we will rebuild.”

This meeting had originally been scheduled to discuss the upcoming lease renewal and related enhancement projects, though we expect to see significant changes to those efforts given the fire on December 11. Weiss and Shepherd reaffirmed their commitment to getting a significant lease extension in place and discussed their ongoing efforts with LA County staff to begin that process.

The fire has certainly complicated what the path forward looks like today, but it may ultimately be an opportunity to accelerate the lease renewal as well as deliver upgrades to the Club and its membership.

Vice Commodore Sue Service addressed the gathered members with a proverb – “‘From the hottest fire comes the strongest steel’ and I’m not talking about the building right now.”

Though there are certainly challenges ahead for the Club, each speaker at the Town Hall also highlighted the incredible support received from members, other yacht clubs, and members of the community. To paraphrase Shepherd, we will rebuild, and we will do it arm-in-arm with the yachting community.