THE BEGINNING
By 1952, the group of men were meeting at various bars in Christiansted for sociability such as the Jungle Casino off of Sunday Market now called Times Square and Joe Rosenau's bar at the comer of Strand Street and Queen Cross streets (which became Frank's Restaurant and was eventually destroyed by Hugo). Anton Teytaud's native sloop "Intrepid" and Joe Rosenau's "North Star" competed against Bomba's charter sloop in the waters between Christiansted and Buck Island.
The Club's facilities were established in a two-room apartment above the Cable Office (now Chase Manhattan Bank) on King Street next to the Scale House. The apartment had a spacious gallery overlooking the harbor, lunch was available, and to the joy of the group, restroom facilities were present. There were monthly meetings and the Club maintained an informal ambiance and was occasionally referred to as the "Cruzan Cruisin' and Boozin' Society."
In addition, financed with a loan from one of the members, the Club leased the land at the end of Queen Cross Street with the aim of constructing a dock to allow a place for small boats so that the member's children would have a place to sail and swim. Due to limited funding this was never accomplished nor was the opportunity to build a pier north of the King Christian activated.
Membership in the St. Croix Yacht Club was open primarily to males only with dues set at $15 per year for resident members and $10 for nonresidents. There also was a category called Women Auxiliary Members at $10 and Junior Membership was $5. The initiation fee was $10 for any membership category. The policy of male membership only remained in effect until the 70s when wives achieved their rightful status and the bylaws were amended.
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