Friday
December 23, 2005
SGN.org
Volume 33
Issue 51
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Saturday, May 25, 2013
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SEATTLE'S GAY HISTORY San Terre Yacht Club (1967 - 1974) |
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| SEATTLE'S GAY HISTORY San Terre Yacht Club (1967 - 1974) | ||
| Those salty Gays with yachts
By Don Paulson - SGN Contributing Writer San Terre [without earth] was a Seattle yacht club of twelve Gay boat owners who sailed and partied together on the waters and ports of Puget Sound every Sunday. Bill Parkin, who owned the Gay Pike Street Tavern and still knows every faggot on the planet, owned the 'Chusan,' a 28' sloop which was built in the 1940s by Edison Technical School students and cost $3200. It had a single mast with a Universal gas engine motor, but that was only used for tight situations and coming into Shilshole Bay Marina where all the clubs boats were moored. Bill's boat was a 28' single sail sloop. It slept four, had a galley with propane gas and a head so small you had to back up into it. If you wanted to pee, and who doesn't, you aimed it over the leeward side of the boat, away from the wind or become an instant GSQ. Everyone in the club had a boat. Marty had a 32' Criss Cross, Bob McFerron had a 32' Catch, Don Madlin had a 38' Sloop, O.J. had a 24' Bayliner, Don Manning had a 38' Martin and one member had a 50' ocean going ship. The rest of the members had smaller boats. We had our own patches on our jackets and flew our flag off our boats. Each year we would elect a Commodore, which could be anyone who passed the Coast Guard test. Duties would include organizing meetings and special events - like the Coast Guard lecture on proper boating. Other duties included organizing excursions to ports on the Puget Sound and in Canada. At the meetings, the host would buy all the food and liquor and hand over the bill to the treasurer who would add it up and each member would pay his share. The host would get to keep all the liquor that was left. A Bloody Mary was the club's official libation, often with a hint of bouillon. Bill Parkin remembers: "We looked forward to our weekly sailings to Maury, Vashon, Blake and Bainbridge Islands, and our longer voyages to Port Townsend and Vancover, Canada, when we took the larger boats that offered more beds. We'd leave under sail early on Saturday morning and arrive in the evening. The power boats would always arrive there first, then, we'd hit the Gay bars and baths. We were like one big family. Members would often bring tricks, so we'd have studs on board. "Half of our Yacht Club we called 'Stink Potters,' (boats that were motor driven) and the rest of us were 'Rag Haulers,' (sailboats). There was a sincere camaraderie between us, but the Rag Haulers couldn't resist kidding the Stink Potters: 'You guys don't have to do anything but turn the key, start up the motor and drive.' In response, the Stink Potters would say: 'It takes you sailors two days to get to a port, but we can do it in a day.' But the Rag Haulers had to learn how to tack - you were at the mercy of the wind. We were the true sailors. "Bob McFerron knew the owners of a tavern near the Bremerton Ferry dock and we'd tie up at moorage right below the tavern. While moored, if a black flag with a martini glass was flying, guests were welcome to come aboard and have a martini. If the flag was black with a bird on it: 'I'm doing a trick so stay away.' We could see the boat from the tavern window and see Bob drag some hot sailor aboard and hoist the bird flag. We'd hoot and holler and a Seagull choir in the harbor sang: 'Give me some time to blow the man down.' "Another port of call was Mary's Tavern in Kingston. It had a shuffle board, dart board, pool table and an old upright piano that club member Carl would pound away on. We spent a lot of money and ate them all out of pepperoni, hard boiled eggs, polish sausage and depleted the beer. "Every year, Bob McFerron took his yacht through the locks in the annual Yacht Parade; load it up with Gay guys and have a ball. Once a year we'd have a beer bust on the 'White Swan,' an old two decker Charter Boat we would sail around Lake Washington and Puget Sound in. It was a licensed tour boat, but looked like someone built a dog house on top of an old barge. The 'White Swan' was an early Tacky Tourist affair. Another outing was an auto trip to Westport, where we'd rent a motel room and the next morning charter a boat to take us deep sea fishing. "Sailing is definitely not for the faint of heart. Sometimes it was tough sailing; miserably cold, windy, and rainy black nights. We had foul weather gear on so we could sail in all kinds of conditions. Regardless of weather, the minute you came on board you had to wear a life preserver. If you were down below you could take it off, but always have it at hand. We allowed drinking, but not to excess - you've got to have a clear head to watch for buoy markers, channel markers or other yachts. "A sailboat has the right of way because we are at the mercy of the wind. A powerboat can zig zag and get out of the way. If anyone does something stupid, each boat has a license plate and can be identified in a complaint to the Coast Guard who'll fine or ban you from sailing. "One time we left Maury Island at 4:00 p.m. and got to Shilshole at 3:00 a.m. We had heavy winds, bucked two tides, four foot swells and almost got run-over by a Ferry and a 55,000 ton Freighter. I was down below and heard the propeller. I flew up the hatch to the Helmsman and we missed it by 12 feet. "We never experienced any homophobia. They'd ask about our club, but their attitude was, 'We're all professional sailors' and we shared a common danger on the angry seas. Fortunately, we never had any accidents, never had to play good samaritan and no one fell overboard. We had no pets or children aboard, only a bunch of drunken faggots. "San Terre was the precurser of the Gay outdoor clubs, like the hiking and ski clubs today. It pretty much ended when the membership was opened to people who wanted to join a yacht club, but didn't own a boat. They didn't want to sail a boat, they just wanted to sit on their butts and enjoy the sail. After a cruise, these fair weather guys would vanish and we'd have to do all the cleaning of the boat. So, a lot of the early members got discouraged and left. Another Gay group took it over and renamed it the Columbia Yacht Club." Bon Voyage. [Ed. note: The current GLBT Yacht Club is called the Olympic Yacht Club. They can be reached at www.oycnw.org.] |
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