Club History

Club History from the Original Commodore

September 15, 2004

 

History of Cal Lake Yacht Club/Lake Charles Yacht Club

By: Elbert Price, Organizing Commodore

 

In the spring of 1964, I bought a yellow Flying Dutchman ( The Dutchess) and brought her to Lake Charles. I began sailing it there. I launched her under the Lafayette bridge, where the parish had built a launch site and parking lot for trailers. Gerald Chafin, who also owned a Dutchman saw it there and looked me up.

 

We decided to ask then Mayor Jim Sudduth to appoint us a lakeshore spot near downtown to organize a sailing club. He located a spot for us just opposite the place where the street curves to go west, now opposite Guarantee Bank.

 

Gerald and I went on the Marge Monroe TV talk show and announced our plans to have a democratic sailing club. Anyone with any sort of sailboat could belong for $5 a year. Our planned objective was beach parties and moonlight sailing. We certainly did a lot of that as membership grew.

 

Our first recruits were J. E. Hooper, Percy LeGross and Guy Richards, my immediate neighbor. The first meeting was hosted by me and because of my connections with media, etc. , I was elected the first commodore. We set up a hoist as soon as possible for Lightnings that could not trailer launch.

 

We named ourselves Cal Lakes Yacht Club because the old Lake Charles Yacht Club was not yet defunct. Shortly afterwards, the old Lake Charles Yacht did vacate the title, due to its property being acquired by the city to build the present Civic Center. Our club had acquired a barge, put an enclosure on it and moved our location around the corner on the west side of the Confederate graveyard. Gerald Chafin followed me as commodore in 1967.

 

A youth climbed atop the structure, dived and was injured. His family appeared ready to sue. We decided to abandon the name, Cal Lake, and pick up the now vacated name of Lake Charles Yacht Club,

 

Before the club moved to the point where it is now located, I moved into the stock market. J. E. Hooper got me voted to a free lifetime membership that included a slip that he constructed for me. I eventually became so infrequent a visitor that I took my Dutchman out and passed my slip on to Steven Leger. I sold my boat to Carol Anderson, a friend.   Her sons have written to me about their fun times on the ole’ “Dutchess” sailing many places.

 

Since 1984, I have been living and painting in Santa Barbara, CA and ocean sailing here is very different than lake sailing, not better or worse, only different.

Past Commodores:

1965    Elbert Price                             2013 Richard Doss

1966    Guy Richards                          2014 Richard Doss

1967    Jerrell Chafin                          2015 John Harris

1968    Henry Alexander                     2016 Guy Richards Jr

1969    Bob Self                                  2017 Guy Richards Jr

1970    Dick Moriarty                          2018 Ralph Unglaube           

1971    Jack Watson                           2019 Ralph Unglaube

1972    Don Blocker                            2020 Ralph Unglaube

1973    Allen Heath 2021 Ralph Unglaube

1974    Richard Hebert 2022 Ralph Unglaube

1975    Dick Moriarty 2023 Summer Rice

1976    Louis Callahan 2024 Summer Rice

1977    Tommy Gayle

1978    Sidney Pitts

1979    Rodney Rentrop

1980    Maurice Caraway

1981    Chris Trahan

1982    Leo Gayle

1983    Mary Peters

1984    Kirk Kimberlin

1985    Kirk Noreuil

1986    Mike Linck

1987    Mike Linck

1988    Dave Doyle

1989    Ron Rush

1990    Dave Murdock

1991    Bill Hovanetz

1992    Dale Archer

1993    Charlie Buller

1994    Charlie Buller

1995    Paul Rice

1996    Charlie Buller

1997    Rudy Fruge

1998    Alvin Touchet

1999    Mark Howard

2000    Bob Dowden

2001    Bob Dowden

2002    Bob Dowden

2003    Sheron Faulk

2004    Sheron Faulk

2005    Sheron Faulk

2006    John Simpson

2007    Charlie Buller

2008    Charlie Buller

2009    Duane Hendry

2010    Duane Hendry

2011    Jeff Kudla

2012    Jeff Kudla

LCYC Awards:


Awards are given at our annual awards ceremony which is usually in February. The list below shows the past winners.

Sudduth Award:

1977    Jeff Hooper 2018 Scott Cesar

1978-84 no info found 2019 Philippe Girard

1985    Kirk Noreuil         2020

1986-88 no info found         2021                                       

1989    Jerry Becnel 2022

1990    Jerry Becnel  2023 Stuart Thibedeaux                       

1991    Jerry Becnel 2024 Robert Goodson

1992    Sheron Faulk

1993    Charlie White

1994    Ken Abrahams

1995    Alvin Touchet

1996    Kip Tete

1997    Frank Stagg

1998

1999

2000    Mark Howard

2001    Mike Petry

2002    Ken Abrahams

2003   

2004 Robert Goodson

2005 Lisa & Charlie Buller

2006    Charlie Buller

2007    Lisa Buller

2008    James Berry Family

2009    John Kalna

2010    Ken Abrahams

2011   Sheron Faulk

2012   Diana Doga

2013   Guy Richards

2014    James Latour

2015    John Harris

2016    John Kalna

2017    Richard Doss




Sportsmanship Award:

1987    Jeff Hooper 2018 Summer Rice

1988    Robert Appelbaum 2019 Hector Ponton

1989    Bob Munger 2020 Mary Unglaube

1990    Charlie Buller 2021 

1991    Ken Abrahams 2022

1992    Bishop Stieffel 2023 David Sargent

1993   Tucker Gilliam 2024 Ricky Shetler

1994    Rudy Fruge

1995    Charlie Buller

1996    Gerald McCombs

1997    Frank Stagg

1998    Alvin Touchet

1999    Hector Ponton

2000    Charles McAlister

2001    Gary Duplechin

2002    John Harris

2003    Jennifer Dwyer

2004    Wayne & Mary Bonney

2005    Mike Petry

2006    Hector Ponton

2007    John Kalna

2008   Dewayne ‘’Bear’’ Crochet

2009    Richard Doss

2010    Dr. Al Rees

2011    Dr. Al Rees

2012    Brandon Jones

2013    Scott Cesar

2014    Jimmy Berry

2015    Stephen Harris

2016    David Sargent

2017    Hector Ponton