Last weekend, on the berths across from the fuel dock in Alamitos Bay, I spotted a group of boaters that looked like they were celebrating: It was one of those perfect fall weekends where we are wearing flip-flops and drinking iced beverages.
There was a big banner that identified the happy boaters as the West Coast Yacht Club.
They’re a paper club.
That means they don’t have a clubhouse. Instead, they truly enjoy being on their boats, spending time at sea and other ports of call and meeting fellow boaters. WCYC member vessels call Southern California ports from San Diego to San Pedro home.
Members of the West Coast Yacht Club, which will soon celebrate its 95th anniversary, was spotted chilling in Alamitos Bay last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Richard J. Hepner)
Members of the West Coast Yacht Club, which will soon celebrate its 95th anniversary, was spotted chilling in Alamitos Bay last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Richard J. Hepner)
Members of the West Coast Yacht Club, which will soon celebrate its 95th anniversary, was spotted chilling in Alamitos Bay last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Richard J. Hepner)
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Members of the West Coast Yacht Club, which will soon celebrate its 95th anniversary, was spotted chilling in Alamitos Bay last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Richard J. Hepner)
The West Coast Yacht Club was founded in Dana Point in 1931. This coming year, WCYC will celebrate 95 years of “cruising and friendship,” according to its website.
WCYC is focused on cruising the SoCal coastline and, of course, to Catalina Island. They also participate in sailing regattas and host an annual fishing tournament.
I emailed membership chairman Richard J. Hepner and asked him about the Long Beach visit. He reported that club members visited Alamitos Bay from Friday to Sunday, Oct. 17-19. Eight vessels joined the cruise, with additional members taking land transportation to join the festivities.
“This cruise featured visits to our friends at Long Beach Yacht Club, Seal Beach Yacht Club and Cerritos Bahia Yacht Club,” he wrote in an email. “A dinghy tour of Alamitos Bay, Naples Island and Spinnaker Bay was a highlight of the weekend. In addition to enjoying several local eateries, WCYC held a Welcome Potluck on the Dock, and served breakfast and eye-openers to members.”
For more information about West Coast Yacht Club, go to westcoastyachtclub.com.
Rowing
The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest three-day rowing regatta, held annually on the Charles River in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts — and many Long Beach rowers were in town.
Founded in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta is a head race, meaning boats start at intervals and race against the clock over a winding three-mile course.
The course runs upstream from Boston University to Harvard, passing under six bridges and featuring sharp turns that challenge even elite coxswains.
“Our most seasoned crews competed in composite boats (combinations with other clubs),” Long Beach Rowing Association President Hanne Chupik said in a text. “Some of the women are still on the East Coast competing in regattas next weekend as well.”
The 2025 edition marked its 60th anniversary, hosting more than 11,750 athletes from 24 countries, ranging in age from 11 to 90.
Open water swimming
The Open Water Swimming Championships took place last weekend at Marine Stadium. This was the third annual edition of the event, and there were nearly 200 collegiate swimmers from 20 universities competing — making it the biggest field in the event’s history.
The Saturday, Oct. 18, event is seen as a stepping stone toward major competitions like the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships and the 2028 Olympics, both of which will be in Long Beach.
Falls of Clyde
The Falls of Clyde was deliberately sunk on Oct. 15 about 25 miles off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Falls of Clyde was once a museum ship and a National Historic Landmark. The Falls of Clyde was special because it was the world’s only surviving four-masted, iron-hulled sailing oil tanker and a rare relic of 19th century maritime history.
During its time as a freight and passenger vessel for Matson Navigation Company (1898-1907), the Falls of Clyde made occasional stops at West Coast ports, including San Pedro, as part of its Hawaii-California trade route — so we felt a certain connection to it.
While in Honolulu this past summer for the Transpac finish, I persuaded my husband and fellow Long Beach boaters Anna Karin and Greg Kight to Uber by the historic vessel one last time to bid it farewell.
I also wanted to locate some items that were removed from the vessel before it was submerged
The Kights went with us to find the salvaged bowsprit from the Falls of Clyde, which is now displayed at Skull & Crown Trading Co. The bar is a “dark tiki” experience with haunting decor, including skulls, nautical relics and a strange mermaid sculpture above the bar.
Fortunately, Leonard Chan, owner of Long Beach’s Midnight Oil, was able to connect us with Noa Laporga, the founder of Skull & Crown. Midnight Oil has a similar vibe as Skull & Crown – if you want a creepy speakeasy-tiki feel.
I’m sad the Falls of Clyde is now a reef in Hawaii, but I’m thankful a bit of its history remains in a tiki bar.
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 6:00 AM PDT