Bay Waveland Yacht Club

Welcome to Bay-Waveland Yacht Club. The club was founded in 1896. In 1901 BWYC became a charter member of the Southern Gulf Coast Yachting Association, and admitted to Gulf Yachting Association in 1922. Club Members are active regionally and nationally as both competitors and administrators. Club Members are proud to be part of the long tradition of yachting on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. BWYC is a private club for members and their guests. BWYC members may have reciprocal membership privileges at other GYA-member yacht clubs and many yacht clubs throughout the United States.

The Bay-Waveland Yacht Club was founded in 1896. Newspapers of the day describe its first annual regatta and the name of its commodore, a gentleman named T. R. Richardson.

The clubhouse, constructed at a cost of $2,500 and described as a double story over the water with "water works and departments for accommodations of ladies as well as gentlemen," was opened in 1897 with “a ball  in grand style.”

In 1901 the BWYC became a charter member of the Southern Gulf Coast Yachting Association, but a hurricane destroyed the club's facility in 1915, resulting in decreased activity and no dues collection.

The BWYC was reorganized in 1921 as the Bay-Waveland Yacht and Athletic Club and admitted to the Gulf Yachting Association in 1922. Inactivity set in during the Depression years and continued through World War II and into the late 1940's.

The club was reorganized again in 1949 by a group of yachtsmen and civic leaders, with John E. Bell, Jr. serving as commodore, and the clubhouse was built on the present location. The 1949 building was completely destroyed, along with many members’ homes on August 29, 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. The current, greatly improved clubhouse was dedicated on July 1, 2008.

In 1963 BWYC won its first Junior, and also its first Senior Lipton title. Today, club members are active regionally and nationally as both competitors and administrators. Club members are proud to be part of the long tradition of yachting on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a way of life that has survived hurricanes, wars, epidemics, and hard times.