Oyster Bay Live Cam

It must be every year sailboats and power yachts from all over the world stop to enjoy it’s enchanting vistas and pristine waters. The historic village of Oyster Bay was chosen by President Theodore Roosevelt as the site of his summer retreat, Sagamore Hill. With equal wisdom, the founders of Sagamore Yacht Club selected a spot with a breathtaking view of the bay.

Thanks to the environmental policies of The Town of Oyster Bay, this is the only bay on Long Island Sound from which shelfish may be taken legally. The water it’s clean and it’s kept that way. No breeze on a hot summer day’s? Relax, and swim off your boat.

Most sail and power boats in Oyster Bay are kept on moorings. The moorings are on a "grid" of properly spaced Loran locations organized by the town, similar sized boats are grouped together in sections. This means your boat has room to swing safely without danger of being hit by a nearby boat - a common problem in crowded harbors. Even the sizes of the mooring anchor, chain, double pennants, etc., although owned by and the responsibility of the boat owner, are specified by the Town to assure the safety of boats. A mooring permit for a resident of Oyster Bay is $20.00, but even a non-resident pays only $35.00, a remarkable bargain.

Sagamore Yacht Club is for boat people, both sail and power. It reminds you immediately of those many ship-shape yacht clubs you encounter cruising New England waters. By land, the first thing you see is the large blacktopped private parking lot with marked car spots, and scrupously clean because it doesn’t double as a boat yard. The clubhouse suits a membership of active boaters. wpe5.gif (28022 bytes)The first floor has a large meeting and party room with a fire place, an air conditioned bar with a view of the bay, and a galley. Upstairs are restrooms and showers, the boardroom, Commodore’s office, and an outside deck for relaxing and viewing the waterfront and bay. The clubhouse is the scene for many activities throughout the year; dinner dances and parties celebrating every seasonal event or holiday you can think of, informative lectures, a weekly bridge night, and general membership meetings. Outside overlooking the water are covered and open air patios which provide perfect settings for dinners, parties and barbecues. The waterfront includes the main float with covered benches to await one of the three club launches. It also provides temporary docking for members and guests. wpe1.gif (33034 bytes)There is a similar float for washdowns and loading and unloading which also docks four outboard tenders for use by members. A third float is for Junior Sailing Program dinghies or temporary tieup by members. Fresh water is available on all floats. Gas and Diesel fuel and boating supplies are available at the marinas next door.

The Adult Sailing Program runs some fifteen sailboat races each season for spinnaker and non-spinnaker boats of all sizes. The Junior Sailing Program a full summer program of supervised instruction and racing for children to age eighteen utilizing club-owned Blue Jays. Powerboaters enjoy a variety of events including predicted log contests, group cruises and senior and junior fishing derbies. A common sight at day’s end is a raft-up of both power and sailboats together on one of the two club moorings in Oyster Bay. The camraderie at Sagamore Yacht Club is it’s most precious asset.

Sagamore Yacht Club is affordable! Dues for a new Regular Member in 1999 is only $1,550.00 (plus tax). That includes not only all the benefits noted above, but also includes launch service on radio call from 0800 to 2400 on summer weekends and conveniently long hours on weekday as well. Compare neighboring harbors. They are crowded, mooring sizes and spacing are not controlled and people do not swim in the water. but it still costs about $1,000.00 for mooring and launch service. It can also take a good thirty minutes to motor out of the mooring area. In Oyster Bay you can sail or fish when you cast off! As with any club, there’s a one-time initiation fee of $700.00 which is non-refundable and a property bond payment of $850.00 which can be deferred over three years and which is refundable when you leave the club. The reason these figures are so much lower than other Long Island yacht clubs is because we don’t have a swimming pool and "pool memberships". Sagamore Yacht Club is owned and operated by it’s members and it’s members are boaters.

You can spend a full season enjoying all the benefits of club membership without paying the initiation fee or the bond amount. Simply become a Visiting Member by paying 125% of the regular dues. We also offer intermediate memberships at special rates for younger adults and families and a house membership for those between boats or those who wish to enjoy the special aspects of a yacht club. Still not convinced? Give us a call and 10 minutes of your time, if you want the best out of boating, it will be the best 10 minutes you ever invested. If you have any questions, please contact Treasurer Dorothy Titus.

The Sagamore Yacht Club was founded in 1944. Back in the 1930 and 1940 the Roosevelt Memorial Park (and marina), owned and maintained by the Roosevelt Memorial Association, was turned over to the town of Oyster Bay. At the time it was occupied by few large boats.

It was decided at this gathering to contact the Town Councilman, Elmer Brooks to ask if it were possible to have the marina and a small building for the "Club". It was agreed that the Club would operate the marina and that an attendant would provide service for gas, oil, ice, snacks and landing privileges to the general yachting public. The Club's name, Sagamore, was chosen in honor of Teddy Roosevelt, whose summer white house is located in Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay.