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Sailing at the Pensacola Naval Air Station had a rather inauspicious beginning. On 12 April 1931 a challenge by the Pensacola Yacht Club was answered on Pensacola Bay by a team of hardy sailors from the air station. This inaugural race was sailed in the venerable "Fish" class sailboat. This class of boat was inaugurated by the famous America's Cup challenger, Sir Thomas Lipton.

On this day of the challenge, the weather conditions were somewhat less than perfect and the race rapidly turned into a Keystone Cops farce. One crew fell over the side prior to the starting gun. He swam across the starting line and claimed a last place finish. Another Navy crew was only able to sail downwind, for some unexplained reason. A third crew, being advocates of the "discretion is the better part of valor" school, sought the refuge of the Yacht Club immediately after the start. The last surviving Navy crew, undaunted, finished the race in a close last place.

On the 19th of April 1932, in an effort to redeem the Navy's tarnished reputation, four Navy Fish boats met four Fish boats from PYC. However, the tide was turned and the Navy managed a clean sweep. At this time, the Navy had four Fish boats as well as two "Star" class boats which were kept at the Yard Craft basin: a historical nautical area that is still in use today. On the 13th of June of that year, PYC hosted a regatta to commemorate the opening of the Pensacola Bay Bridge. The Navy took firsts in the ladies Fish class and the Star class. PYC took a first in the team race. At that time a program was underway on NAS Pensacola to train flight students in the fine art of sailing and rowing. Intramural sailing was instituted by the Navy and a club of semi-formal nature was formed. Application was made to the Gulf Yachting Association for formal membership.

Competition continued in 1932. At stake was the new L. S. Patterson Cup that denoted sailing supremacy on Pensacola Bay in the Fish class sailboat. PYC took home the hardware. That summer, the Navy also entered its first Lipton Cup competition. Travelling to the Sarasota Yacht Club they competed against some of the best sailors in Florida. 1933 through 1936 saw continued sailing activity by the Navy Sailing Team, and in 1937, the tempo increased dramatically. Sailing instruction and informal races were held each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with interclub racing on weekends, The Navy hosted the Gulf Yachting Association at a reception at Mustin Beach and races were held throughout the weekend. In August of that year, the club became the U.Ss Naval Air Station Yacht Club, with an "Admiral of the Club" and other officers as we now know them, including the designation of a Fleet Surgeon.

In 1940, with the Club, now known as the Navy Yacht Club, the Navy finally wrested the Patterson Cup from PYC and swept the race to Ft. Walton Beach in both the Fish and Star class sailboats. 1941 through the end of the War saw a marked decline in sailing activity. Membership in GYA was allowed to lapse and all boats were sold to various clubs, including PYC.

Please note we do not have a narrative of the clubs activities from the end of the war through end of the forties, into the fifties and not until the start of he sixties. If anyone has this information please send it in so we can update the history.

In June of 1962, the first Navy Cup Regatta was held. Since facilities were still not available at NAS Pensacola, the regatta was hosted at PYC. The perpetual trophy, donated by the Navy, was won that year by PYC with Paul Schreck and Leif Ericson taking individual honors. In October, sailing operations moved to the old "ski beach" at Bayou Grande. The first annual Navy Fall Regatta was held and in November and thus the winter Frostbite Series began.

1963 saw a "Lightning" and another "Penguin" sailboat added to the Fleet. Additionally, a catamaran, the Liki Tiki, and a 44-foot yawl were acquired. Operations were now being held out of Barrancas Beach, but during the summer finally moved to the almost completed present marina and clubhouse at Bayou Grande. In 1964, the Navy Yacht Club participated in its first ocean racing regatta, finishing 1st place in the St. Pete to Venice overnight race. Sailing its newly acquired 44-foot yawl, the Challenger, the boat lost her rudder twenty miles from the finish and sailed the rest of the course using her mizzen for steerage.

The 1964 Navy Cup Regatta was sponsored by the Committee, Fiftieth Anniversary of Naval Aviation and saw ten yacht clubs and 57 boats entered. The Navy almost succeeded in taking its own trophy by finishing a close second to PYC. The navy had 19 boats entered in that regatta. In 1964 the Navy Yacht Club rejoined the Gulf Yachting Association and, more recently, renewed active participation in GYA Capdevielle events with the Navy's "Flying Scot."

Today, the Navy Yacht Club still holds the Navy Cup Regatta while also staging the Bikini Regatta, the Spring "Mr. T" Series, and the Fall "Frank Hubbard" racing series. The Spring and Fall Series are combined to award a Commodore's Cup trophy to the overall winner. Boat types have varied, as has participation in club events and regattas, but the Navy Yacht Club of today is an involved sailing and social club for active duty and retired military sailing enthusiasts and their families.

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