ABOUT THE CLUB 1865 - 1984

The Admiralty Warrant

The friendly atmosphere and spirit was quite extraordinary when compared to other sailing and yacht clubs in those days. The man responsible was undoubtedly Col. Pierce the Commodore. He was a remarkable man, an old Etonian with connections in the highest circles including royalty, yet he disliked any kind of class snobbery and was always ready to debunk it. He could be described as the typical English sporting gentleman with the common touch and was always ready to be genuinely friendly with the working man. He was greatly loved and respected by all. His early influence in promoting the warm and friendly atmosphere of the Club must surely continue to this day and hopefully in the future. Together with Ken Morgan, the Hon. Secretary who worked so hard and loyally for the club, great efforts were made to attract and encourage more members amongst yachtsmen from near and far. One reason was to build up the total tonnage of yachts belonging to members in order to be able to apply for an Admiralty Warrant. This would give the Club the right to use the Blue Ensign which was a rare privilege amongst clubs in the U.K. The minimum Thames tonnage required was 2000 tons so it was extremely difficult to reach that figure. Only one other club locally had this distinction, the Royal Motor Yacht Club. For a while, Hamworthy and Bournemouth Sailing Club could only muster about 700 tons, a long way from the target. The Commodore had invited Tom Sopwith, that famous sailor to open the extension of the Club but he was unable to be present. The Commodore and Ken Morgan then had the brilliant idea of inviting Sopwith to accept honary membership of the club and, being an old friend of Col. Pierce, he gladly accepted. It meant, of course, that his large yachts, including the famous Endeavour, brought the total tonnage to over the required 2000 tons. Application was made to the Admiralty later in 1938 and the Warrant was granted.

It was undoubtedly a shock to some of the local yachting fraternity and other Clubs that the relatively small Hamworthy and Bournemouth Sailing Club should have the important Blue Ensign. The surprise and envy delighted the Commodore immensely.

Not being a Royal Club, the Ensign was required to be defaced. This took the form of a circle on the blue background containing the cross of the Club's burgee and a gold coloured fir cone in the centre. This fir cone represents the name 'Bournemouth' in the name. It is still our emblem but the ensign can only be flown on yachts that are registered and the owner a club member. It is also a requirement that the Ensign must be flown under the Club's burgee and only when the owner is on board or in the near vicinity. At all other times only the Red Ensign is allowed to be flown.

By this time, the original Poole Yacht Club was no longer an active sailing club in the true sense of the word, although many of its members were yachtsmen and also members of the Hamworthy Club and of course were sailing and racing from that base. It had become a businessman's club and the bar, bridge and billiards were its main activities. Eventually, the Club was no longer an economic concern and had to be wound up. The Commodore at the time, Commander Linklater, was also a Flag Officer of the Hamworthy & Bournemouth Sailing Club. It was he who suggested that the Hamworthy and Bournemouth Sailing Club should take the name Poole Yacht Club in order to keep the once famous name. After much soul searching it was eventually agreed and the change took place in 1948 and was registered officially. In the same year, the old Colonel who had been suffering from chronic arthritis over a long period, became even more crippled and was forced to retire as Commodore and moved to the Channel Islands. Norman Hibbs who had been Vice Commodore for some time was elected to take over.

During the 1939-45 War the Club continued its existence in a very limited way. Norman Hibbs continued as Commodore but also became a Naval Lt. Comdr and was in charge of a nearby Naval establishment known as H.M.S. Turtle. The Officers were made Honorary Members of the Club and it was due to this that the Club was not closed down or taken over by the Forces. The Bart Steward at the time was a man named 'Bert' May, a very amusing and forceful character and he virtually ran the Club during those years. When whisky and gin etc became in very short supply he developed a rationing system and members could only obtain two measures of spirit each evening. The regulars and the Navy would try every trick to obtain more than their ration but rarely go past 'Bert's' eagle eye!