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FBYC History exposé: Trouble in Rivah City....

The Unpleasantness of 1958-59

by Jere Dennison

Yes, fellow members, beneath the veneer of a modest sailing club with a successful racing program that grew and flourished throughout the decades of the 40’s and 50’s, there also lurked a sinister side in that age of innocence that has long been repressed in our collective subconsciousness. Now, the unpleasant truth will finally be retold...

But the stage must first be set. While FBYC was known for its competitive sailing events and its coterie of skilled racing skippers, it also gained notoriety for its spirited after-race parties with live entertainment where alcoholic beverages flowed freely into the wee hours of the morning. The August 1959 Log proclaimed that “if the past twenty years are anything to judge by, there may be a bit of merriment in the clubhouse on Saturday night of the Regatta. In the interest of clear eyed (or at least a bit more clear eyed) competition on the starting line on Sunday morning, the revelry will cease at 1:30 Sunday morning.”

FBYC Teenagers during the 18th Annual Regatta in 1957
Jim Greathead, Claire Gibson,Sam Dunn, Eddie Shield,Pete Miller, and Carol McCue (from left)

This was also the era when Rock and Roll was ascendant, with bands and combos catering to the frenzied musical tastes of the burgeoning teenager class of War Babies and Baby Boomers who were entering their prime reveling years. And with youthful testosterone on the rise, fights often erupted. Along with an unprecedented amount of media coverage of its sailing events in the Richmond newspapers, the Club also received an inordinate amount of coverage on the society pages as well. This publicity may have attracted the attention of some misguided youths, neither members nor guests, who gravitated toward the Club solely for its bacchanalian atmosphere. FBYC was fast making its name as the place to be and be seen, particularly during the Annual Regatta weekend in August when the biggest party blowout of the year would occur.

In the Spring 1959 Log, an article ominously entitled Law and Order cited that during the summer of 1958 “a number of complaints were lodged with the ABC Board and Middlesex County Sheriff concerning rowdyism at night in the clubhouse and on the grounds of the club, minors drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages, and violation of the club’s ABC License by consumption of alcoholic beverages outside of the area designated for this purpose.” The Log was pleased to report “that no further trouble developed and it is hoped that no complaints will be received this year.” How misplaced this hope turned out to be!

In August 1959, the Fishing Bay Yacht Club proudly hosted its 20th Annual Regatta, a cause for celebration and jubilation that careened out of control. The Sheriff of Middlesex County made several visits to the club on the nights of August 21 and 22 to restore order. Peter Roughton, 1959 and 60 Past Commodore, recalls the disturbances being initiated by members of a high school football team (ultimately determined to be Thomas Jefferson HS) that showed up in mass to crash the party. He also recalls that one of the football players had his leg broken during a donnybrook that took place later in the evening when the young crowd moved up Stove Point to extend the festivities. Sheriff Shelby was unable to get out of his car on one occasion because he feared for his life. The author (who, as just a young lad, vigorously asserts his innocence during these shameful events) remembers eyewitness accounts of how the Sheriff’s car was subjected to the battering of whisky bottles during the fracas. What occurred was more closely akin to a riot than a party.

An abridged version of an article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch of Thursday, October 15, 1959, about the incident appears below:

Middlesex Sheriff Raps Conduct at Yacht Club

Middlesex County Sheriff C. M. Selby, in informal statements before the County’s board of supervisors complained Wednesday of what he described as intoxication and misconduct at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club. The supervisors several months ago had granted his request for appointment of a special officer to aid in preventing rowdyism in the area, but subsequently withdrew their authorization. They took no action after his remarks Wednesday.
The Commodore of the club, Peter Roughton, asked Wednesday night for comment on the shefiff’s remarks, said a gang of “young hoodlums” from Richmond had made unauthorized visits to the club last August and had caused trouble. He added that the club was working to prevent similar disturbances and was cooperating with Sheriff Selby.
Selby told the supervisors that the club was a scene of disorder, fights, and drunkenness on several weekends during recent months. Many teenagers were among those involved in fights and other misconduct during a sailing regatta at the club in August, he declared.
The Sheriff said the club had awarded the 16 year-old winner of a boat race a fifth of whisky. Called by club officials to restore order on one occasion, he said he was unable to do so. “They (those causing the disturbances) just surrounded my car and dared me to come out,” he said.
Roughton said a gang of youths – “20 or 30 of them” – invaded the club property during a late August regatta and caused a disturbance. Officials called for aid and Selby came to the club, he said. Roughton said former club official, Roger Moorman of Gloucester, was working on a plan to prevent disturbances to keep a check on the presence of unauthorized persons.

Moorman said rules recently adopted “will require each member to wear an identification button when he visits the club, and a guest register will be strictly maintained.” He added that a bottle of whiskey had been awarded to a minor but that officials hadn’t known the youth was under age.”

Changes wrought by these “unhappy events” were sweeping. The post of Security Officer was created on the Board of Trustees, and a Security Committee was formed. Raymond M. Munsch, who later became Commodore, was chosen as the first Security Officer to lead the Club out of its embarrassing predicament. The work of the Security Committee culminated in the institution of new rules, regulations, and procedures governing the operation of the Club:

Gates with locks were installed on entrances to the grounds.
Security guards were hired for the sailing season.
Special badges were issued for members and guests of members to be worn at all times on club grounds.
Stickers were issued to members to be affixed to cars parking on club grounds.
Members were required to assume full responsibility for the actions of their guests and Junior members.
Associate and Junior Members and Guests between the ages of 10 and 21 were permitted to attend regatta parties only if accompanied by a parent or host.
Parties were toned down, and musical entertainment restricted.

While these efforts were successful in curtailing disorderly conduct at future club events, in the opinion of your author, it was many years before parties approached the level of “merriment” that had characterized events during the 1950’s. However, we should all be grateful that the riotous behavior of 1958 and 59 has not since been repeated to tarnish the reputation of the Fishing Bay Yacht Club.