Description
Prominent yachtsmen of Baltimore City had formed a Baltimore Yacht Club in 1891; however, a growing membership base was removed from earlier sites such as Curtis Bay due to the rapid development of the Baltimore waterfront. Thus, the original Baltimore Yacht Club had been dissolved in 1930. The present-day Baltimore Yacht Club was created in 1939. This coincided with its acquisition in 1939 of Sue Island in 1939, an historic upper Chesapeake region. Sue Island’s origins are traced to its being a colonial hotbed for illicit activity and scandal owing to its isolated location and waterway access. The Baltimore Yacht Club describes the site as follows:
Sue Island, a jewel of the upper Chesapeake, has a written history older than the country itself. Originally named “Duke’s Discovery” and patented in 1724 to one Christopher Duke, its commanding location has made it the site of many an adventure of fact and legend, both grim and fantastic over more than two and a half centuries. The crackle of gunfire was not unknown over its surrounding waters, even as late as the days of Prohibition. In earlier years, according to legend, dark nights covered the approach of fast, strange craft bearing cargoes which, storytellers whispered, would have chilled the blood of honest folk on adjacent shores.
Sue Island and the early Baltimore Yacht Club soon became a center for commercial, recreational, and political activity for Baltimore elites. In the early years, Sue Island was accessible by water only, with an hourly ferry shuttling its membersbetween the new clubhouse and the mainland. Commodore Susemihl, who served a 1942-1943 leadership term, would have been the last to oversee the Club in this first era and likely contributed to the club’s growing connection with the Baltimore community. In 1944, work began to build a road from the south end to the mainland, creating the first automobile route to and from the Yacht Club thus leading to its further expansion to present.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall wear and handling commensurate with use. Metal plaque with some tarnish oxidation.
References:
“History.” Baltimore Yacht Club. https://www.baltimoreyachtclub.org/History (12 November 2024).
