The Rothesay Yacht Club was formed in the early 1900s by a group of yachting enthusiasts. Over the years it has become an important facility enjoyed increasing numbers of our residents. The community has certainly grown along with interest in sailing. Today the Rothesay Yacht Club, which is at the end of the Wharf Road on the historic Kennebecasis River, continues to provide for the needs of the boaters in our community.

For many years the club provided for the yachting needs of the founding families. Some of these families are still involved. Over the years new families have become involved. The club today offers a facility that makes our community attractive to all those with boating interests.

During the late 1950’s a junior program was started by Mike Marcus and Doug Parker. A number of families got together and built a number of Cadet class dinghies which were used in this program, which was in full swing until one tragic day on the water when Doug Parker, a well-known and well-liked member of the club and who was very involved with the junior program, died suddenly. After this tragedy, there was little interest in the club for several years. In fact, the clubhouse wasn’t even opened during 1964.

During that summer a small group got together with the aim of bringing the club back to life. Included in this group were David Streeter, Arthur Lee-White, Phillip Oland, Bob Corbet, Bruce Tennant, Roger Aske, Rory Grant, and others. Their first move was to locate as many of the old Cadets, which were scattered, (One was found as far away as Rhode Island.), and get them back to the club where they were restored to good sailing condition. A junior sailing program was operated in 1965 and continues to this day. This group also began the organization of weekly sailing races. These races became so popular that at one point they were taking place as often as three times a week. About half the boats were open dinghies and all the boats were much smaller than what is typical today. The group also organized social activities including steak BBQs and lobster boils for its members, which helped create a more community-like relationship between the members. These activites and others are still in full swing today.