The Story of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club

If you've never heard of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club, you're not alone.

You see, the organization isn't like a traditional yacht club where adult members spend their mornings sailing around the harbor before retiring to lounge in the restaurant or socialize on the deck.

There's a perfectly good reason for activities at the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club being different, however, as it doesn't have a restaurant, deck, any building at all. In fact, adults aren't allowed to join the club because it's reserved for those under the age of 25.

The Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club is special because it shows how much children can accomplish when given a chance, and summers there have become indispensable childhood memories for countless youths from Cape Cod and beyond.

How the Club Got Started

The history of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club goes hand-in-hand with the emergence of the Cotuit Skiff, which is a type of mosquito sailboat.

In 1903, a local man named Dr. Walter Woodman commissioned Stanley Butler to build him three of the boats. After watching his children and their friends race in the boats in 1904 and 1905, Woodman encouraged them to organize a young sailors' association.

In the summer of 1906, the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club was born with 15 original members, 12 of whom were female.

The inclusion of 12 females is significant because it was incredibly rare to see young girls sailing in the early 1900s. The club took its inclusive nature a step further, as well, by electing Alice Channing as commodore and Anna Woodman as treasurer.

Keep in mind that this vote occurred 12 years before the implementation of the Nineteenth Amendment, so to see young girls elected to positions of power was very progressive.

Creating a Parents' Association

For the next 44 years, the club continued to be run entirely by the children. In fact, parents weren't even allowed on the premises unless they were paying their children's dues.

In 1950, however, voting members of the club filed a motion for the creation of the Association of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club (ACMYC), which is a parents' association. The idea was that the parents could get together to provide money for major expenses and safety boats.

It was agreed upon that the parents' association would come to pass, but the voting members made sure that all decision-making would remain with the youths who were part of the club.

Its Past and Current Locations

Amazingly, the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club didn't own any land or even have a permanent location for its first 90 years of existence.

At first, the club operated off Dr. Woodman's pier, before later moving to the Sinclaire family's dock. Neither of those locations was particularly safe, however, as they were located outside of Cotuit Harbor.

Finally, in 1960, Harriet Ropes Cabot offered the club the use of her beach and dock. This location was ideal because it's in the harbor and provides more room store boats throughout the summer.

Eventually, in 1994, the Ropes–Hinkle family sold the Association of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club the land adjacent to Ropes Beach, which is where the club remains to this day.

The 1998 Cumming Cup on Nantucket

An overview of the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club wouldn't be complete without a humorous story of outsiders being made aware of the strange club on Cape Cod that is run by minors.

This story takes place during the Cumming Cup, a junior sailing regatta held on Nantucket every summer. The story of the 1998 Cumming Cup sums up the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club and how it has operated since 1906.

That year, the club sent a team consisting of three 16-year-old girls and one 15-year-old boy to the event. The team's construction was already a bit unusual, as the three girls were the only females participating in the event that year.

When they arrived, the team was without a parent, coach, or even the paperwork needed to compete in their race.

Organizers couldn't believe what they were seeing, as this group of teenagers had arrived on Nantucket alone, and were expecting to participate in the regatta.

While trying to make sense of the situation, the organizers also realized that the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club had not paid its annual dues to the Southern Massachusetts Sailing Association. As a result, the teens couldn't take part unless their commodore could set things straight.

It was at that moment that 16-year-old Lydia Jackson spoke up and told organizers that she, in fact, was the commodore. Then, the treasurer, 16-year-old Caitlin Riordan, pulled out a checkbook and asked how much they owed in dues.

No one believed that these young people were running a yacht club on their own, however, and their participation was in jeopardy. 

Before the race started, though, a man from the Hyannis Yacht Club vouched for the teens, and they were able to compete.

And despite never having sailed the Rhodes 19 boat they were racing in, the team finished second.

A Unique Piece of Cape Cod History

The Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club is an integral part of Cape Cod history because it is possibly the country's first youth sailing club, and has remained true to its roots for over a century.

The club is progressive and inclusive in nature, providing equal opportunities to all who join, and has made summers on the Cape memorable for thousands of youths over the years.

If you're moving to Cape Cod with kids, the Cotuit Mosquito Yacht Club could be an invaluable part of their childhood, creating memories that stick with them for the rest of their lives.