Indian Lake Yacht Club
- Beth Marshall
- 16 hours ago
- 4 min read
The first Indian Lake Yacht Club was organized in August 1910 with Walter Smith serving as Commodore, E. Dodson as Vice Commodore, French Leatherman as Rear Commodore, Harry Mansfield as Secretary and H.O. Huber as Treasurer. A constitution and by-laws were adopted and forty-three members answered the roll call. Membership was expected to exceed one hundred by the following season. The Club’s mission was to support the betterment of Indian Lake.
Their inaugural regatta and carnival took place in July of 1911, with a crowd of several thousand attending. The contests included a 4 ½ mile motor boat race from Russell’s Point to Otter Lake, then to Lakeview and return. The Idlewild boat of Lakeview won the loving cup trophy. Other contests included swimming, skiff and motor boat races and a row boat race. Mrs. Salathiel Prater won the ladies’ 100 yard skiff race, and Henry Norviel was first in the 500 yard row boat race. According to the Weekly Index-Republican, the evening included a “magnificently illuminated aquatic parade”. It was “piloted by Frank Gilwater and consisted of many boats manned by owners in and near the Point, all of whom had their boats brilliantly lighted by festoons of lanterns. This was the most beautiful night water scene ever witnessed at Lewistown reservoir. Following the parade, guests gathered at the Dreamland dancing pavilion. The floor was fairly crowded with dancers competing for prizes awarded to the most graceful couple, and all standing space was taken by lookers-on.” The newspaper also noted that the Indian Lake Yacht Club and managers of Russell’s Point should be congratulated “upon the success of their well planned and interesting venture.” It should be noted that this was a decade before the amusement park was built by one of the members, French Wilgus.
We aren’t aware of what happened to this early club, but by the mid-1920s the Orchard Island Sailing Club had been established. The Lake area was being heavily promoted at that time, and many people built cottages. Among them was a Bellefontaine businessman and inventor, Louis Zerbee, who built a cottage at the end of Elm Street on Orchard Island. Lou was a seasoned sailor and instrumental in starting the club. Other members included Carl Blackburn, Ted Siferd, Kenny Steiner, Herb Krase, and Chalmers Brown. According to Lou Zerbee’s grandson, Pat Tynan, “These fellows would launch their wooden sailboats at the end of Elm Street and paddle around the point to the Zerbee cottage. There they tied up to the dock, decided on a course and who would take the rowboat out to run the races, placed their wagers, hoisted sails, and raced around the stumps. Back then the starting cannon was a 12-gauge shotgun fired into the air.
After a decade or so the Orchard Island Sailing Club had outgrown its current home and the members started looking for a new location. All eyes turned to a large dredge pile by the South shore covered with cotton wood trees. The OISC members leased this pile of muck from the State and in February 1942 the (current) Indian Lake Yacht Club was formed. Annual membership was one dollar.”
The Yacht Club started with 23 charter members. They worked for two years with shovels, picks and wheelbarrows to level the dredged mud into an island at the end of Chase Avenue in Russells Point and build a footbridge to the mainland. They also built docks and a makeshift race headquarters.
The Indian Lake Yacht Club was incorporated in June 1945 with the purpose “To promote sail and motor boating on Indian Lake, Ohio”. The members built their first real clubhouse with room for sailing gear and “socializing on days when rain or cool weather brings everyone but the sailors in”. It had a big wood-burning fireplace, breezeway and even a dance floor. As the club membership grew, so did their island, as more dredged material was added to double its size to almost a half-acre. A locker room was added that would accommodate 90 members. In 1959, the club purchased the island, originally known as “Wilgus Island”, from the State of Ohio.
In 1970, adjoining land was purchased including property which had belonged to the Hinkle family (of Russells Point doughnut fame). The Hinkle home became the new clubhouse and the older one was torn down. Unfortunately, the tornado of 2024 did major damage to the clubhouse and it also had to be replaced.
Over the years the ILYC has hosted many regattas and races, classes, and social events. The early races by the Orchard Island Sailing Club were run in all kinds of weather with few rules, but things soon became more official. The club began to have competitive races every Sunday from the first of May to the first of October. During a race, the boats are given a starting point and a mark to sail to, indicated by a large orange ball that is set directly downwind. Participants work to find the best patterns to reach the mark and return to the finish. Most races include two laps and take about an hour to complete.
They have hosted invitational, regional, and national regattas, cruising boats, sailing classes, Jr. Sailing camps, the Sea Scouts program, day sailing and ice boating. One of the “fun races” has been the Watermelon Race which involves the Race Committee throwing out dozens of watermelons into the Lake and the members sailing out to get the melons. After the race, the prizes, which are the melons, are brought back to the island and cut up and eaten.
In 2019, the Club hosted the Ice Boating World Championships which included competitors from Germany, Canada, Sweden, Poland, and Russia. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and after three days caused the racers to cut short their time in Logan County.
The Indian Lake Yacht Club promotes itself as being “more than just sailing” and as a social club. Members are from all walks of life with skills ranging from novice to championship skipper, but they all share the love of being on the water with the wind in their sails.
Many thanks to Barb Dillon, Pat Tynan, and Doug Chamberlain for information and photos for this article.