Isles Yacht Club

The Isles Yacht Club was founded in 1976 and accepted into the Florida Council of Yacht Clubs that same year. The membership fee was a $500 negotiable bond and the food minimum was $20. By January of 1979, the Club had already reached its initial goal of 400 members! While in its initial location on West Marion, it went through the usual chapters of growth, improvements and changes that are common to any organization. For example, a Facilities Improvement Program was undertaken in the early 1980s. With voluntary donations providing the financing and labor provided by some of the members, the club acquired two new tennis courts, new telephone and fire alarm systems, and an enlarged Chart Room and office space. As a note of interest, IYC was the first Club in the Florida Council to have a female Commodore--this occurring in the 1996-97 Watch.

While the clubhouse saw many improvements and upgrades through its life cycle, some members began to think and plan in terms of a possible new home. During the 1998-99 Watch, the Board decided to bring in an outside consultant to plan the Club's "future." The consultant's report expressed a need for a long-term plan to keep the club viable and meet member interests. Hurricane Charley in the year 2004 took that ‘agenda' another step with the severe damages inflicted on the original clubhouse. Within days, the membership erected a tent in which they continued to function and bond. Following a determination that the old clubhouse was too damaged to be restored, the membership resolved to build a new Club, and they settled themselves into a modular facility next to the ‘rising' new clubhouse.

November 2006 saw the opening of the beautiful clubhouse we have today. It was during this ‘time of change' that more slips were added to the marina, new HarTru tennis courts were installed, and the modular building was transformed into a well-equipped fitness center, dock master's office, boaters lounge and restrooms, and additional meeting rooms. In another first for IYC—we added a Billiards Room.

With the spirit and sacrifice shown by the members and great new facilities, the club prospers today with nearly 800 members and numerous programs and activities to meet members' varied needs and interests.