Panhandle · Panama City Beach
Private nonprofit yacht club chartered 1986 along the Gulf Coast in the Bay Point community at the Marriott Resort, Panama City Beach. ~200 members; calendar weighted toward cruising and social events rather than active racing.
The club took its charter from the state on October 16, 1986, and started life in the least glamorous premises imaginable: the former poolside snack bar of the surrounding Bay Point Yacht & Country Club, converted into a yachting facility. It sits on North Lagoon with access out to the Gulf. The founding purpose was “to encourage the sport of yachting, with emphasis on safety and proper boat handling,” which tells you the founders were boat handlers first and hosts second.
The racing history is worth knowing if you are weighing this club as a sailor. Bay Point joined the Gulf Yachting Association in 1988 and spent the next seven years in the GYA’s Flying Scot regattas. Then, in the club’s own words, “as the club grew, its sailing focus declined.” The membership got larger and the racing got smaller, a common arc on this coast, and one the club is unusually candid about in its own history.
The clubhouse moved into a renovated former marina office in 2000 and took damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018. The club still runs from that building.
Bay Point Yacht Club is a private club. Membership is subject to the club's approval. For current membership costs and how to apply, contact the club's membership office. Members of reciprocal yacht clubs can usually arrange visiting access with advance notice.
Featured Private Panhandle · Pensacola · est. 1908
Originally organized 1908 as the Pensacola Yacht and Motor Boat Club; chartered 1910. Charter member of the Gulf Yachting Association and a US Sailing affiliate. Deep junior fleet with Optimists, 470s, Lasers, and catamarans.
Private Panhandle · Crawfordville · est. 1969
Big Bend sailing club off Shell Point, organized in 1969 by sailboat racers. Cruising and buoy racing on Apalachee Bay, the annual Stephen C. Smith Memorial Regatta, and youth sailing through Apalachee Bay Community Sailing.
Community Panhandle · Fort Walton Beach · est. 1992
US Sailing certified Community Sailing Center, a 501(c)(3) founded 1992, running youth camps, race teams, and four high-school sailing programs on Choctawhatchee Bay out of Fort Walton Yacht Club. Open to the public, program-fee based, with scholarships.