DEFENDER

After BMW ORACLE Racing won the 33rd America’s Cup on February 14, 2010, its patron yacht club, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, became the Defender of the 34th America’s Cup.

The Golden Gate Yacht Club

The Golden Gate Yacht Club was founded in 1939, when members built the first clubhouse on a barge located in the San Francisco Marina adjacent to the old stone lighthouse that still stands today.

The original Club was founded by people who shared a passion for sailing, boating and fishing. From the start, GGYC came to be known as one of the friendliest places on the Bay, a reputation the Club and its membership still enjoy today.

Fifty years after its founding, the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake severely damaged the Club. The quake caused a fire that destroyed the original clubhouse. But a resourceful and dedicated membership rebuilt the Club into the facility that it is today. United States Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was instrumental in securing the needed financing for the construction of the new clubhouse, and after a year of hard work, the GGYC would once again stand proudly on the San Francisco Waterfront.

In 2000, then Commodore Norbert Bajurin led the negotiations with Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison and his ORACLE Racing team to become a challenger for the 31^st America’s Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. This historic partnership would usher in a new era for the Golden Gate Yacht Club. For the next 10 years, the Club, along with BMW ORACLE Racing has been working in concert in two more America’s Cup Challenges, the 32^nd and then the 33^rd, the latter resulting in a victory off the coast of Valencia, Spain in February 2010.

This success marked the first American victory since the 1992 and the GGYC holds the title as only the third American yacht club to hold the honor of defender of the oldest trophy in international sport.

Racing has always been a major endeavor for the GGYC. The longest running regatta, the Manuel “Manny” Fegundes Seaweed Soup Regatta still attracts more than 100 entrants every year. The soup, which made the regatta and Manny famous, is still served every weekend of the race. It’s hard to say what is more famous, the regatta or the soup!

In addition to the more traditional regatta events, the GGYC is also the host of the Inter-Yacht Club Challenge, a four-day match racing event that pits the best club racers from around the Bay and the country against each other and the complicated waters of San Francisco Bay.

Today, the GGYC is a popular cruise and regatta venue on the San Francisco waterfront, with a dynamic organization of members dedicated to boating fun — both sail and power.

The Club is also home top one of the most active high school sailing programs in San Francisco. BMW ORACLE Racing has been instrumental in not only the continued funding of this program for the youth of San Francisco, but team members have also been at the forefront of mentoring these young sailors for many years. The Team and the Club share an ongoing goal to bring sailing to more young sailors through such programs in an effort to promote the sport and the future of budding sailors.

The GGYC is proud to be the home club of BMW ORACLE Racing, winner of the 33rd America’s Cup.