Thames Yacht Club

Here is a lively and engaging portrait of a New England yacht club's first three-quarters-of-a-century. A fast-paced narrative, powerful interview-based anecdotes, and a collection of 50 photographs vividly bring the club's story to life. There's drama-the brute force of the legendary 1938 hurricane, the near-collision of a sailing dinghy and a destroyer-escort, and the chilling spectacle of a club boat sinking during a race. And there's humor-the Coast Guard towing the transom out of a swamped small boat, young sailors "blockading" an intrusive ferryboat, and children trying to sail into the wind.

Founded in 1933 by a handful of sailing enthusiasts in New London, Connecticut, and maintained by its members, the club today boasts a membership of nearly 200 and a fleet of more than 150 boats. The club's location on the west bank of the Thames River, a mile from Long Island Sound, affords quick access to some of the finest cruising and racing waters in the country. Over the years, five generations of families have made the club their base for both waterborne and shore activities. Generations more will do the same as the club sails on to the century mark and beyond.