Bayview Yacht Club incorporated in 1919 during the time of the influenza pandemic. Over the last century, the private club on the east side of Detroit has held steady through its lowest points, which include a devastating fire, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and, so far, another global pandemic.
But its greatest existential threat has lurked in plain sight for the last several decades. The number of sailboats on Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River seems to shrink every summer. Once wildly popular in metro Detroit, the nautical pastime has fallen by the wayside. A small but mighty group of sailing stalwarts is aiming to rescue the sport from extinction and return it to its former glory. As sailing goes, so goes the Bayview Yacht Club.
"Sailboat racing in the city of Detroit has dwindled dramatically in the last 20 years," said Chuck Stormes, commodore of the club, who joined in 1983. "Our major pipeline of membership came from the 300-some boats that raced on Lake St. Clair for years and years. A big turnout these days is less than 100 boats."
Club leadership hopes the completion of more than $5 million of renovations at the 86-year-old clubhouse on Connor Creek will start a resurgence and help the club emerge from a perfect storm. Membership has been shrinking. Its signature Bayview Mackinac Race limped forward last year amid the pandemic and it lost its title sponsor Bell's Brewery after a decade. In another cruel twist, its century-old Queen City tugboat, being used as a temporary clubhouse during renovations, sank in March, leaving the club with just a tent to bring members together.
Stormes said he believes the tide will turn for the organization once the new clubhouse welcomes back members next month. It can't handle many more blows.
"If we can bring the people in and introduce them to the sport, we might be able to grow, and in that way, sort of lead a comeback of sailing in Detroit," Stormes said.
The new 13,000-square-foot clubhouse, expanded by 2,700 square feet, is a shrine to the club's storied sailing history with new amenities meant to grow its niche and lure outsiders.
It boasts a new grand entrance that will display trophies and plaques, a new second-story deck with panoramic views of the Detroit and Windsor skylines, and revamped bar and dining areas led by local restaurateur Matthew Prost, hired as the club's general manager in March.
More than 85 percent of the clubhouse had to be demolished and rebuilt, and the cost swelled by $1 million due to rising water levels and flooding in the foundation. Around 40 percent of the project cost was funded by member donations and the rest by a loan through Flagstar Bancorp.
"The clubhouse was falling apart," said Brad Kimmel, who oversaw the renovations done by Farmington Hills-based architect Nordstrom Samson & Associates and Rochester-based general contractor Frank Rewold & Sons. "It was born out of necessity, and No. 2, to cater to our next generation and their demands and wants."
That meant evolving from a sailor's hideaway to a place where members can drop in for a business meeting or relax with family. After the Great Recession, membership at private clubs and country clubs throughout the state contracted, and for many including Bayview, membership never recovered. That's forced many clubs to shed their "good old boys" aura and provide amenities that cater to families and a more diverse pool of potential customers.
Bayview has around 350 active full-time members, down more than 25 percent from its pre-recession peak, while most members are around 50 years old and up. The club, which operates as a 501(c)(7) nonprofit social club, does around $4 million in annual revenue. That declined somewhat last year due to the pandemic, but membership did not dip. Stormes said the club is financially viable, but it needs more members to remain that way. The goal is to reach 400 in the next 18 months.
Sailing remains at the center of the club's mission. It has 10 boats spanning 20 feet and offers boat slips and storage. It hosts a highly regarded junior sailing program, collegiate sailing, winter seminars and a variety of races, including international matches and the popular Bayview Mackinac Race, also known as the Port Huron to Mackinac Race.
Costs of a full active membership for ages 35 and up include a $2,500 admission fee, $200 monthly dues and a $150 quarterly minimum spend. There are incentives for younger members. The admission fee is $100 for those ages 27-35, and monthly dues are less than half that of older members. A junior class membership has no monthly dues or spend minimums. Those ages 22-26 pay $171 annually, while 21 and under pay $81 annually.
"We need a definite new influx of young people that want to get into the sport of sailing because the sport of sailing is dying," Kimmel said. "We're really trying to promote the sport of sailing by offering the best amenities that cater to the next generation."
Management figured the best way to strengthen its sailing program in the long run was to invest in other areas. The new club will be outfitted with half a dozen flex-space meeting and conference rooms with Wi-Fi, printing and other office amenities. Besides sailing, offerings include kayaking, golf leagues, winter hockey, fowling leagues, a book club, music and live events, as well as holiday parties, weddings and rentals for other special events.
Among the most notable changes — and perhaps the biggest draw for younger prospective members — will be the kitchen and bar. Millennials love a good cocktail and small plate.
Prost, a longtime restaurant manager, is planning an upscale but casual supper club concept for the club's main indoor dining room. Think comfort dishes, steak and prime rib, with some twists. Upstairs, he envisions a Key West kind of vibe for the 40-foot deck equipped with a full bar and 38-foot couch overlooking the water. Tiki cocktails and shellfish appetizers to start, and a wood-fired outdoor pizza oven to handle a heartier meal.
"We're driving that narrative to attract that newer, younger member," he said.
Prost replaced Tim Gardella, who left the club late last year as it laid out its new direction. Prost ran the bar and lounge at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts for 12 years before coming to Detroit, where he managed restaurants at the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit and Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, as well as Social Kitchen and Bar in Birmingham. Before Bayview, he worked for more than three years as regional manager for Delaware North, managing food and beverage at Little Caesars Arena and Hockeytown Café in downtown Detroit.
"Quite frankly, COVID was a devastating time to be an employee at the arena," he said. "It was a great opportunity to see what was out there, and Bayview came calling."
A couple weeks ago, Prost hired away executive chef Tim Enfield from The Henry Hotel in Dearborn. The food and drink menu is still being developed. In the meantime, Prost is looking to hire 50 full- and part-time employees by the June opening. He is worried about finding enough people given the ongoing shortage of workers in the hospitality industry.
"All my friends and colleagues in the industry have had a really hard time finding help," Prost said.
While renovations on the clubhouse wrap up, club leadership is busy organizing the 97th iteration of the Bayview Mackinac Race, scheduled for July 24. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and planning challenges, the Lake Huron race likely won't be the big party it usually is, but the club hopes it will be more traditional than last year, when social gatherings were prohibited and the race moved forward with little fanfare.
Atwater Brewery took the place of Bell's as the race's main sponsor right before the pandemic began. The deal with Atwater, which extends through 2022, is smaller than the one with Bell's, but financial terms were not disclosed. Bell's Brewery founder Larry Bell and Bayview parted amicably and left open a chance for a partnership in the future.
"Our analysis on the return on investment as title sponsor didn't make financial sense to us anymore. It was a huge outlay of cash," Bell told Crain's. "We have a friendly relationship. We enjoyed the heck out of it. We hope that at some time we can be their beer sponsor again. That hasn't worked out yet."
For now, Bayview is ready to say cheers to a new start.
"It's a great time to be opening a club," Prost said. "In a year of losses, it's fun being part of a grand opening."
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