Manila Yacht Club
| File:Ph myc.png MYC | |
| Founded | 1927 |
|---|---|
| Clubhouse | 2351 Roxas Boulevard, Manila. |
| Country | Philippines |
| Website | http://www.manilayachtclub.org |
The Manila Yacht Club (MYC) is a members-only yacht club based in Manila, Philippines and located in Manila Bay. The club is one of the oldest yacht clubs in Asia.
The club is located in one of the major yachting hubs of Southeast Asia, the Philippines, consisting of over 7,100 Islands.
The club organizes numerous competitions internationally and regionally. It also co-organizes events. Its members frequently join major international as well as Philippine yacht racing events. This list includes the China Sea Race, begun by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in 1962. The other Asian regattas that MYC sailors join include the King's Cup of Thailand and Rajah Muda of Singapore.
The MYC also participates in annual "Presidents Cup Regatta", a major Philippine sailing event that spans the entire country. The Current Presidents Cup will be held in Boracay.[1]
History
Through the efforts and the passion of sailing, five devoted yachtsmen, James C. Rockwell, Joseph A. Thomas, Aubrey P. Ames, Stewart E. Tait and A.S. Heyward, the first by-laws of the Club were signed on January 20, 1927. The Club was established to encourage and develop boating throughout the country, The club also strived to teach fair play, and to teach people about yachting, camaraderie and good sportsmanship.
With a rich history of over 75 years, there is no doubt that the Club also went through a lot of rough sailing in the past. The pleasure of sailing was stopped in December 1941 when World War II began. The Americans confiscated the boats docked at the MYC basin for fear that the Japanese soldiers might use them to launch an attack on Corregidor. The boats were sunk and others were set on fire. Sailing then came to a complete halt from 1941-1945 when the United States and the Philippine Commonwealth troops arrived to liberate Manila. The US Army occupied the Club and in March 1947, MYC was able to secure the property where it stands today. Women also started to become members of the Club during that time.
The Club began to join some international sailing competitions in the 1960's. The Philippines was the first Asian country to participate in the Olympics yachting events. Also during that time, eighty percent of club membership was composed of Americans and other expatriates.
In the 70's, expat membership declined and they began to leave the country due to the dictatorship of the Martial Law years. Membership picked up again during the mid-80's until the early 90's. But sailing went down in 1995 because of the Asian Economic Crisis.
Since the Philippines is considered to be prone to typhoons and devastating storms, the boat owners had problems in maintenance and safety of their yachts. The solution came about in 1998 when the height of the seawall was increased to protect the boats anchored at the basin of the Manila Yacht Club. The following year, another major project materialized with the launching of the floating berths which serves as a place of protection for the boats in the basin. From then on, maintenance and accessibility became easier.
In 1998, the Club became a proprietary corporation when members became shareholders. A member can sell his share or pass it on to his heirs.
The Manila Yacht Club is also affiliated with the Philippine Sailing Association and aims to race competitively in local and international sailing events.[2]
