History

The Dunedin Boat Club was formed on September 3, 1929.  The charter was to promote sailing activities in the local waters near the City of Dunedin. 

There were 35 charter members under the leadership of the first commodore, Dr. H. E. Winchester. Seniority of the charter members was decided by drawing numbers.  The charter member drawing the number 1 was Theodore Kaminsky, in effect making Mr. Kaminsky the first member of the Dunedin Boat Club.  Membership dues were $4.00 per year.

At the time, the Dunedin Boat Club owned the marina and boat slips.  Marina slip fees were $10.00 per year.   Construction projects such as putting in pilings, bulkheads, walkways, channel markers, running water, and electricity were financed by holding fish fries, dances, raffles, and personal loans from members.  

In 1933, a special meeting was held regarding the proposal of a marina basin.  To fund this project, the membership requested that the City of Dunedin apply for a grant from the Public Works Program, knowing that to qualify for the grant, the marina could not be privately owned and must belong to the City.   The members voted to relinquish the rights of the marina to the City of Dunedin with the understanding that the Club would lease back the property from the City.   Together, the Dunedin Boat Club and the City of Dunedin undertook the project to develop the Dunedin Marina boat basin.

The Dunedin Boat Club began the construction of a clubhouse on the leased property in 1936.  The construction was funded by the members' financial resources and hard work, and was completed in 1937.  Our Clubhouse was designated a historical site in 2008.  The picture on the left shows what the Clubhouse looked like in the early days of the Club.  The original building makes up the core of our current Clubhouse.

Over the following decades, the Club had many ebbs and flows.  In 1984, new vigor came into the Club as a younger group of boaters decided to become members.   As a result, sailboat races began to occur regularly, weekly and monthly activities became the norm, and membership began to grow.  Membership has grown steadily over the past several years, and we currently have over 400 active members.

Our original hand-drawn logo was recently rediscovered within our archives. 

Our Clubhouse was designated a Dunedin Historical Site in 2008.