The Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club (NNYC) is based in Neenah, Wisconsin and was established in 1864. This makes it one of the oldest yacht clubs in the country. Since its formation the NNYC has been committed to promoting sailing for individuals of all ages through sponsorships of club racing and cruising for a wide variety of boats. NNYC participates in Lake Winnebago events, helping to support the Fox Valley Sailing School and many other community events. When the NNYC was formed it set out to accomplish several goals:
To promote pleasure sailing and racing on Lake Winnebago. To establish a standard code of rules and signals for the Lake. To discourage extravagant expenditure in yachting.
History
The documented history of yacht racing on Lake Winnebago dates from 1859. In that year, the first racing yacht on record at the northern end of Lake Winnebago, the "Mayflower" was built in Menasha for Charles Doty, a son of the former territorial governor of Wisconsin.
The first recorded reference to a Neenah Yacht Club was in 1863 when it was mentioned in the press as having won the lake championship. Lloyd's Register of American Yachts gives the club's founding date as 1864. Between the years 1867 and 1869, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac formed yachting clubs and racing between yachts representing these cities began in earnest.
The pride of the Neenah Yacht Club in the 1870s was the "Minnie Graves." Her most famous race of the decade was won off Oshkosh in July 1873. Large crowds lined the shores the day of the race, others followed the race from lake steamers, sailboats and rowboats. A professional skipper, Eb Stevens, piloted the Minnie Graves, but one of the crew members was Captain Hank Haff, later a defender of the America's Cup. Minnie was shy a hand that day, so the crew dumped a bag of gravel overboard and invited the stranger aboard.
During the eighties, yachting activity on the lake began to wane. Although there were others who had success during the period, Neenah's fortunes were, in J. C. Kimberly's words "down in the trough of the wave."
In the spring of 1893 the one design concept was brought to Neenah by William Z. Stuart. The Yosida, a sixteen-foot catyawl with few pretensions was destined to make yachting history. The Yosida was seaworthy and easily handled, and captivated the interest of local residents. In February 1894, Stuard called a meeting at his home. Those present in addition to Stuart, were John A. Kimberly, Jr., James C. Kimberly, Edward P. Sherry, James H. Wright, Lucius K. Henry and from Appleton, T. W. Orbison and W. L. Conkey. James C. Kimberly was unanimously elected commodore of what was to be named the Nodawa Boat Club. The original list of suggested names for the club came from an imposing list of over 500 yacht names. The name Nodawa was the unanimous choice of the group, and the full title of the club was the Nodawa Boat Club. However, in a few months and without a formal vote, Nodawa became "Nodaway" and that fall, when registration of the club was proposed, "Boat" was changed to "Yacht," so that by the end of the season the official name of the organization was Nodaway Yacht Club.
Even before its first anniversary, however, the club began to broaden its interests. The six original catyawls continued to compete as a class, new members joined, and soon larger boats were acquired. Of these, the most noted was the thirty foot "skimming dish" Nirvana, the first Neenah yacht to win the Felker Cup.
The Neenah Nodaway Yacht Club was formed in 1905, when the two local clubs merged. At that time, activity centered around the class A scows, with J. C. Kimberly winning the Felker Cup in 1905.
With a repeal of the ILYA one entry per club rule, their annual regatta re-blossomed and was held at the Oshkosh Yacht Club. World War I put a damper on yacht racing and the regatta was cancelled in 1917 and 1918. Interest revived in 1921 when new life was injected into the A fleet by three veteran sailors, Will Davis, James C. Kimberly, and Frank Shattuck. A new generation of skippers was introduced that year, including Leo Schubart, Horace DuBois, Lyall and Irving Stilp, Jack Kimberly, and Bill Kellett.
In 1923 the Inland regatta was held in Neenah for the first time. Racing conditions and organization were near perfect for the event. The club sponsored several Inland regattas between 1927 and 1964.