The Douglaston Club building and the grounds on which
it stands have an interesting cultural and long running history. Prior
to the building of the house in 1819 the property around it was in the
possession of such notable Queens families as the Hicks, Van Zandts, and
Van Wycks. The Van Zandts built the house after acquiring most of the
property included on the peninsula.
The next major occupant, George Douglas, bought it in 1862 and added it
to property to the south that he had purchased in 1835. After his death
the property moved to his son William P., an international traveler,
sportsman and sailor. He defended one leg of the Americas Cup race in
1871 in the Yacht Sappho. The current burgee (pennant) of the Douglaston
Yacht Squadron is an adaptation of William P.’s personal symbol.
In 1918 the Douglaston Country Club became the Douglaston Club and in
1921 with 144 members the Douglaston Club bought the Douglaston Inn for
$61,000. The by-laws stated that the Club is a members only non-profit
organization to promote and stimulate cultural, educational and
recreational activities for the benefit and participation of its members
and to provide a clubhouse for such purposes.
In 1927 the Douglaston Yacht Squadron was formed with 77 members and
became the Douglaston Yacht Squadron of the Douglaston Club of
Douglaston, Long Island, New York. Its objective was to encourage the
sport of yachting, to promote the science of seamanship and navigation
and to provide and maintain a suitable anchorage and facilities for the
recreation and use of its members.
Over the years the club has been involved in activities with the Douglas
Manor Association and other community organizations. Some are the July
4th games, the Country Fair, dinner dances, meetings and socials, as
well as many happy family affairs such as weddings, birthdays and
special occasion celebrations.
Built in 1819 the club house has a long and colourful history. Presently
it has 5 tennis courts, a full size pool, 3 bowling lanes, dining/bar
service and a new state of the art kitchen, and the Douglaston Yacht
Squadron remains an integral part of the Club and provides nautical and
land based programs for the club’s seafaring members.
Sappho
One of the great racing schooners of the day and an America's Cup
defender in 1871, Sappho was a 145' LOA, 121'LWL keel schooner built in
Green Point, Brooklyn, in 1867. A development of the yacht America, she
was first owned by Richard Poillon, her builder, who built her on
speculation. The next year, looking for a buyer in England, he took
Sappho to Cowes, and she sailed in an Around-the Island Race there and
finished last. SAPPHO's efforts in 1868 may not have been successful for
her then owner, but she helped restore friendly Anglo-American sporting
relations, which had been fractured during the Civil War. James Ashbury
soon issued the first challenge for the America's Cup since it was put
into play in 1857.
Sappho was sailed back to New York in 1868 and acquired for $50,000 by
24-year-old
William Douglas. "A spirited and wealthy young yachtsman,"
according our great yachting historian, W. P. Stephens, he put her in
the hands of a successful builder and skipper named Bob Fish, who made
alterations that turned her into a winner.
In 1869 SAPPHO returned to England under Douglas and Fish (making the
passage to Queenstown in only 13 days, 9 hours), and in May 1870, she
raced Cambria in three races - two of which were highly unusual 60-mile
one-legged courses to windward. She easily beat the English yacht.
Ashbury somewhat smudged these contests with complaints of one sort or
another about conditions and handicaps. Sappho sailed back to New York
to some acclaim.
Willie Douglas served as rear or vice commodore of the NYYC between 1869
and 1874, but declined invitations to be commodore. He was a generous
donor of expensive racing trophies and built a defence candidate for the
1885 America's Cup, but as his money grew thin, he stepped back from
yachting.
Sappho was sold in 1876 to Prince Sciarra de Colonia who raced her in
the French Riviera. Upon the prince's death, Sappho was acquired by
George Marvin who sailed her until she was scrapped at Cowes in 1887.
|
