Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

I 

went clubbing 
this week. 
No, I did not 
abandon my 
mask and hit the 
dance floors in 
local night clubs. 
I’
m not much of 
a dancer anyway 
— ask my wife, 
Pam. Instead, I went “club-
bing” in the William Davidson 
Digital Archive of Jewish 
Detroit History.
Recently, I wrote about the 
Jewish Phoenix Club that 
created the Redford Golf 
Club (today’
s Franklin Hills 
Golf Club) because most golf 
clubs of the era discriminated 
against Jews. In this respect, 
Audrey Saperstein wrote to me 
suggesting that the Great Lakes 
Yacht Club had a good story. 
The Great Lakes Yacht Club 
— commonly known as the 
“Jewish Yacht Club” — is cited 
203 times in the Davidson 

Archive and was the topic of 
several feature stories. It began 
much like the Redford Golf 
Club: Jewish Detroiters decid-
ed to form their own boat club 
after facing discrimination 
when attempting to join other 
boating clubs in Detroit. 
They formed the Island Boat 
Club on May 7, 1952. A year 
later, it was renamed the Great 
Lakes Yacht Club. Although 
formed by Jews, and still a 
largely Jewish organization, the 
Yacht Club never discriminat-
ed against anyone who wished 
to become a member. 
The Yacht Club quickly 
became a success. Less than 
two years after its founding, a 
story in the Jan. 19, 1954, issue 
of the JN, “Community Sailors 
Organize Yacht Club on Lake 
St. Clair,” showed its plans for 
a new clubhouse. The article 
also discussed its three “club 
cats;” that is, the boats the club 
owned for member use. One 
of them, the yawl Aventura, 
was entered in the famous Port 

Huron to Mackinaw race that 
year. 
The list of early members 
was illustrious, with prominent 
figures such as Judge Avern 
Cohn and Irvin Yackness on 
the roster. The first female 
commodore (president in nau-
tical terms) was Eve Kommel 
in 1983.
There are excellent stories 
about the club in the historic 
pages of the JN. For example, 
“Smooth Sailing” was written 
on the 50th anniversary of the 
Yacht Club in the Aug. 6, 2002, 
issue. “
Anchors Aweigh” in the 
July 3, 2008 issue speaks to 
the Yacht Club’
s efforts to raise 
$35,000 to battle leukemia, 
a good example of the club’
s 
many charitable efforts. The 
club’
s youth summer program 
is featured in the Aug. 21, 
1992, issue, and “Chai Flying” 
in the Oct. 10, 1987, issue is 
about the Yacht Club inspiring 
an aeronautical club, the “Chai 
Flyers.”
Sidebar — while “clubbing” 

in the Archive, I also found 
370 citations for another 
“Great Lakes Club,” which 
appears to have existed, c. 
1930-1980. This social club 
was much like the Phoenix 
Club, and many Detroit Jews 
were members. 
The Great Lakes Club fea-
tured speakers, some famous 
like Shimon Peres, hosted 
many dinners and parties, and 
was especially active during 
WWII when it hosted USO 
events at the Belcrest Hotel in 
Detroit for American military 
members. 
The story of the Great Lakes 
Yacht Club is indeed interest-
ing. Even if you do not sail, it 
is good to know the important 
role that the “Jewish” Yacht 
Club and other social clubs 
played in Jewish Detroit his-
tory. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN 
Foundation archives, available for free 
at www.djnfoundation.org.

Great Lakes Yacht Club

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

62 | AUGUST 27 • 2020 

