.i.hoist ^ - •••• ■■ 110...—• 4 t_N L E-4 0 CHANGING T Paul Goodman and Eve Kommel are pleased with their club. Has a Jewish bastion on Lake St. Clair been too successful in fighting discrimination? BY LARRY PALADINO Special to The Jewish News 14 Friday, June 20, 1986 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS he popular Ivanhoe Cafe in Hamtramck is known by many as the "Polish Yacht Club." There is a popular place on Lake St. Clair, just north of Nine Mile Road in St. Clair Shores, that is known as the "Jewish Yacht Club." In fact, discounting the tongue- in-cheek PYC, the Great Lakes Yacht Club is the only one of more than two dozen Detroit-area boat and yacht clubs that can be considered "ethnic." A restaurant guide once jokingly said the Polish Yacht Club discrimi- nates against anyone who owns a boat. The GLYC exists because of dis- crimination against Jews. Its found- ers were barred from joining other area clubs well into the 1960s. Things have changed, though. Jews have been accepted into other yacht clubs, and the GLYC has ac- cepted Gentiles for two decades. In fact, there is some concern now that the Jewish nature of the club may fade. That's the paradox. The GLYC wouldn't think of discriminating against non-Jewish applicants. Yet it Would like to maintain its Jewish heritage. "There is an ethnic herding in- stinct" said member Chuck Sachse, "I may be able to get into the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club but I wouldn't even consider it." Camaraderie among those of similar beliefs is a prime benefit. But the overall appeal of the club is sim- ply good, family fun — principally for those who love boating and the exhil- aration of sailing. The sport is terrific," said Com- modore Paul Goodman, a medical doc- tor from Huntington Woods. The wind blowing and the boats going along at seven miles an hour — it feels like you're flying at 100 miles an hour or more. The sun and the out- of-doors and the getting-away-from- it-all . . . the ambiance is very pleas- ant." The club has picnic areas, swings, a swimming pool and 125 boat wells with a hoist. The club house includes