Pictorial Edition    The Port Isabel Pilot    October 1929

author unknown:

The Point Isabel Yacht Club, situated on the eminence overlooking the placid water of beautiful Laguna Madre, with directly in front the yacht basin, which forms a portion of Port Isabel's modern Venice, where numerous boats are to be seen at their anchorage, boats ranging from outboard motors, motorboats and catboats to seagoing yachts. 

The club has one of the most attractive club houses to be found on the gulf coast of Texas. The building, which is of hollow tile and stucco, with its  equipment, was erected at a cost of $75,000.00, the entire holdings of the club are about $150.00. It is two stories in height, with a tower and roof garden. There are twenty-two guest rooms, a spacious lobby, music room, dining room, with a wide veranda the full length of the front, both upstairs and sown. the club house maintains its own refrigeration plant,  and its cuisine is of the best. Throughout the building is equipped in ship style.

At present it has a membership of something over two hundred, the majority of whom reside within the confines of the Rio Grande Valley, with others widely scattered throughout the United States.

The Point Isabel Yacht Club was organized in May 1927, and construction of the building begun in September of the same year, and competed during the latter part of February,1928. The formal opening was held March 10,1928, the occasion being one of the outstanding gala events of the Lower Valley.  The first concrete sidewalk to be constructed in Point Isabel is the one about the club.  The club maintains its own machine shop, where the boats of the members f the club can be repaired whenever needed.

The club emblem is a white pennant with a white star upon a blue field on the left, across anchors across the star, with the letter P.I.Y.C. upon the points, the border being red.

The club is under the management of H.B. Hall, with Mrs. Hall as hostess. Judge A.W. Cameron of Edinburg is commodore.

On August 17 and 18 the first annual regatta of the club, under the auspices of the Mississippi Power Boat Association, was held. From every angle it proved to be a great success. The fastest motorboat racers from various Texas city as well as some from Louisiana were entered. The races were over a triangular five-mile course, and some fast motor boat races were witnessed by a crowd estimated to be well over ten thousand. some near world records were made. Another annual feature is the catboat races by members  of the club, for whic  a handsome silver loving cup has been donated by the Port Isabel Company, the race this year being won by W.H. Pattee. The feature of the regatta that appealed to the masses and was fully enjoyed was the water polo, played here for the first time. It is a novel and exciting game, and abounds in thrilling moments when the play is close, as well as having an element of danger. The two players on a side, the man with the mallet ( a regulation polo mallet being used), stands on the dock of the motorboat  and endeavors to strike the ball, one especially made of rubber, while in the cockpit the driver operates the boat. Collision between the boats is of frequent occurrence, with the result that one or more players are precipitated into the water head long. Both the players and drivers must necessarily be good swimmers, for a great deal of dexterity in this art is often needed, after having fallen into the water, to dodge mallets, boats and the propellers. Water polo during the summer months will be made a regular weekly feature. Boats specially made for this game- small, fast and easily handled, have been recently built here.

These regattas are to be made an annual affair by the yacht club, and already tentative plans for the one to be held next year are being formulated. It is believed that next year it will draw a crowd of at least twenty-five or thirty thousand for the event.