If births of yacht clubs were recorded in courthouses, then Voyagers Yacht Club would be registered as having been born twice, five years apart, in two counties, under different names.

It was on Sunday, February 23, 1941, that the gleam in the eyes of eleven sailing enthusiasts resulted in the birth of the Viking Sailing Club at Vikings Port, Newport Beach, Orange County, California. The avowed purpose of the new Club was "to foster an active interest in sailing and sailboat racing." There were no provisions made for rocking chairs nor land-based decks on which to rock them.

During the 1941 season, the club held 22 races with 149 boats crossing the starting line, including 3 cruising races to Catalina Island.

Roll call at the first Annual Banquet and Election of Officers, at the Paris Inn, February 27, 1942, showed the Viking Sailing Club having 47 members owning 44 boats ranging in size from a 48 - foot schooner to a 13 - foot cat. History records that the Paris Inn's steak dinner cost $150 per plate, and members danced until 2"00 A.M.

During the years of World War II, many Voyagers went off to the military, and those that remained behind decided to form the 25th Flotilla in the Coast Guard Reserve.

The second birth of the Voyagers Yacht Club occurred in the cockpit of Dr. Paul Van Degrift's, TETON, a 35' cutter, at the Isthmus on Sunday, June 16, 1946. Some of the original; fathers, still with that gleam in their eyes, were again present. Dr. Van Degrift was elected Commodore.

It was unanimously decided that the revitalized club should have a new name, and from several suggestions presented to the membership, Voyagers Yacht Club was selected. The original burgee was retained and officially registered at Sacramento.

Among the activities held during 1946, was a luau at Fisherman's a rejuvenation meeting at Sam's Seafood Restaurant; and races for penguins, prams and rental boats, and the initiation of membership in SCYA (they had been turned down several times before). Finally, in 1948 the Club was granted Regular Member status, and joined the official fraternity of recognized yacht clubs in Southern California.

In 1947, the newly recognized Voyagers Yacht Club went for the glory, with Voyager Hal Ramser (now a Staff Commodore at Newport Harbor Yacht Club) mounting an assault on the San Diego Yacht Club's Lipton Cup. Ramser's 46' PCC, ANTIQUA, wrestled away the prestigious Lipton Cup and brought it to Newport Beach in the Voyagers possession. The story goes, although not verified, that this was the first time that the Cup had left San Diego.

Also that year, Commodore Paul Van Degrift sailed TETON to Honolulu with a crew of five, including his two daughters, Mary Jean, 18 and Joanne, 16. It was the smallest boat in the race with the minimum waterline of 28 foot I inch.

That year local races were held off of Cagey's Island (Collins Island) and Shark Island as well as ocean races. Fifteen percent of the boats in the first Ensenada Race were Voyagers, nine finishing under sail and six under power in that blustery inaugural.

In 1949, Voyagers started the San Clemente Island race for the purpose of getting the larger yachts into overnight racing. The newer lightweight boats with prohibitive time allowances have since diminished the impressive sight of the "Big Ones" booming across the starting line. This race was won by Humphrey Bogart's Santana, in 1950, 51,and 52, thus retiring the Trophy. In 1957, upon Bogart's untimely demise, Lauren Bacall deeded the Cup back to the Club that "Bogey" enjoyed racing and drinking with. This trophy was later to establish the Humphrey Bogart Series that is raced today under the auspices of Voyagers Yacht Club.

In 1960, Voyagers, known as the oldest non-land owning yacht club in the area, decided to allow "rocking chairs" and a deck to put them on. They opened their new facilities at the Lido Building.

In 1975, the Voyagers Yacht Club threw caution to the wind and decided to buy a permanent facility. No sooner had the ink dried, than lawsuits, which dragged out for six years, plagued the new facility. The Club did not prevail. During the interim of 10 years, Voyagers moved to a temporary facility at 28th Street Marina.

In 1985, Voyagers went back to the founding fathers original belief, that they would not be "landed" and the Club would be wherever we dropped our hook.

In 1986, we became "landed" at the Lido Village for a few years. Again it was discussed whether to follow the founding fathers belief that home was where the hook is or retain a facility. In the early 90's, it was decided to move to a new location at Shark Island Yacht Club, on Bayside Dr., until that building was sold the end of 1997.

Club races and other activities continued during this period, with more recognition of female members, including a vote in 1996 to change the By-laws eliminating the Ladies Auxiliary. In 1993, Linda Elias served as the first female Commodore of Voyagers. That year, she raced her third Transpac to Honolulu with friends on the coed crewed, JOSH, a Macgregor 65.

Bonnie Gibson, Skipper of ANTARA, a Cal 40, which carried the second all-female crew to complete the Race since 1906, also represented voyagers Yacht Club in the 1993 and 1995 Transpacific Yacht Races. Crewmates included fellow Voyagers, Betsy Crowfoot, Linda Abram, and Terry Monson.

In 1998, Zubie's on Old Newport Blvd. became our new meeting place and clubhouse location, with a view of the ocean and a deck for rocking chairs. What the future holds is unclear, but members of Voyagers Yacht Club will be around for a long time, still having fun!    

In 2003, Mike Dwight led the efforts for the joint venture between BCYC and VYC.    He negotiated the use and resources for the operation of VYC to help keep the club alive and to preserve their historical race calendar. His efforts have been a success and the Voyagers Yacht Club is alive and pressing forward constantly recruiting new members to support sailing and boating activities along the Orange County Coast line.