Seaweed Yacht Club History
by Dave Halpern

In 1958, a group of men looking to form a club and dedicated to boating decided to establish a Yacht Club.  At the time, the men had their boats docked at what was called Seaweed Landing in Stony Point, NY.  The men held a meeting at Skippers Rest at Seaweed Landing, which today is Belle Harbor Marina.

 The first recorded meeting was held on August 8^th, 1958 and called to order by Sal Rinaldi. This first meeting was a special meeting to elect the officers of the club. The following men were voted into office:

 Joseph Bassaro-  Commodore
 Sal Rinaldi  -          President
 John Dorfler-       Vice President
 Thomas O’Leary-  Treasurer
 Joseph Baumann- Secretary

 It should be pointed out that Joe Bassaro owned Seaweed Landing and that Sal Rinaldi was a good friend and possibly worked there.

 The first items of business at the meeting were that dues would be $10.00 per year. New members would pay a $10.00 initiation fee, which would be credited toward their first year dues. The name Seaweed Yacht Club was also chosen at the meeting. The members were then asked to sketch what they felt would be an appropriate pennant for the club so that the membership could decide on one at the next meeting.

 At the second meeting of the club, various committees were formed. It should be noted that the president ran the meetings, not the commodore, as is the case today.

The committees were:

 Constitution and By-Law
 Registration of Name and Membership
 Pennant Committee
 Clambake Committee

 The treasurer reported that the club had $229.65 in the treasury.

 In the early 1960’s, the club had a difficult time sustaining interest. A meeting was held on March 24^th, 1960 to decide whether or not to continue the club due to a lack of performance by the officers and members in their duties. At the meeting, a unanimous vote was recorded to continue the club.

 At the end of 1960 there were 50 members and the treasury had grown to $913.02.

By 1963 it was decided to incorporate Seaweed Yacht Club so that a club license could be obtained. On April 4^th, 1963, Robert Doscher, Justice of the Supreme Court, signed the final incorporation papers.   

 At the end of 1963, after attempting to raise funds to build a clubhouse failed, the Seaweed Yacht Club obtained a floating Covered Barge from Croton Yacht Club for the sum of $1.00 and other good and valuable considerations, which were non-covered barges that were acquired.  The barge “Fairview” and all 481 tons were moored at Seaweed Landing under a 5-year lease.

After Seaweed Rest was sold for a third time, the club moved North to property owned by Vince Altomonte. A formal lease was signed in February  1969. During that year, Mr. Altomonte proposed that instead of rent,  he and Seaweed should share income derived from leasing of slips.  A new 10-year lease with an option for 5 more years was signed. The clubhouse was moved to the new property. The club then worked to turn this property into a first class marina.  In 1983, the Clubhouse barge sank and eventually was relocated to the Northern end of the property on land in 1984 where it still remains today. A lot of work by the club members went into clearing the land to make it usable as a yacht club. Over the years, the club made numerous improvements to the property and ran the marina.

In 1982 Mr. Altomonte sold the Marina property to the newly formed Stony Point Bay Corporation. The club remained at that location until moving to its present location at Willow Cove North Marina in 1998.