The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

The new Cathlamet Yacht Club is off to a good start.

Club Commodore Chuck Norton reported that high interest in the club has surprised and pleased its founders.

The club has completed it incorporation as a private, non-profit organization, he said, and it has set agreements for reciprocal moorage with clubs in the Columbia River Basin and up the coast into Alaska.

Last Thursday, club members visited the meeting of the board of commissioners of Port District 1 to present them a club burgee for display on their flag pole.

"We are simply amazed with the positive response to our word of mouth membership drive," Norton said. "I had no idea this many people would be interested."

The club has 36 member families, Norton said.

"Membership is about one third Portland/Vancouver, one third Astoria/Warrenton and one third locally," Horton said.

The membership splits almost evenly between powerboats and sailboats, and it has a group of associate members who don't have boats or whose boat doesn't meet the club's qualifying standard that one can cook and sleep on it.

"We had enough people who didn't have boats but who wanted to help," Norton said. "They just came and gave us their money. That just blew me away, which says something about the importance of this kind of organization in this community."

Norton and his wife, and two other families, Dan and Genie Carey, and Mike and Marsha LaFarge, came up with the idea for the club.

"We had talked about it for years," Norton said, "and just decided to get it done."

They contacted Elochoman Slough Marina managers and got their support and then started talking about the new organization, and when that news came out, other people asked to join.

Members see the club as a means of promoting good fellowship and safety among recreational boaters. It will also help make Cathlamet a destination for boaters.

The group meets twice a month in members' homes on second and fourth Thursdays for board of director business meetings and to schedule social activities. The club's first cruise will be to Astoria later this month. They'll have activities during the Memorial Day weekend and in Cathlamet's other festivals.

"We're doing a lot of work to do this right," Norton added. "We're set up as a private, non-profit organization, and we're applying for IRS tax exempt status."

The club as reserved moorage space at the marina which can be used by members of other clubs under the reciprocity agreements.

Officers are Commodore Chuck Norton, Vice-commodore Dan Carey, Rear Commodore Mike LaFarge, Treasurer Marsha LaFarge and Secretary Linda Norton. Genie Carey and Jan Dees are directors. For information on joining the club, contact them or John Dees.