New Orleans Yacht Club
The New Orleans Yacht Club (NOYC) was founded in 1949 and is dedicated to further the sport of yacht racing, marine safety and seamanship. The club is located at West End's Municipal Harbor on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain and is a member of the Gulf Yachting Association.
Since its founding, New Orleans Yacht Club has been home to many regional, national and Olympic champions, most recently the 2006 J/30 National Championship, the 2007 Bermuda 1-2 Mini Class Champions and the 2006 Zoo Regatta on the island of Guadeloupe. The club annually hosts or co-hosts over 30 regattas on the lake and is actively involved in many regional and national regattas. New Orleans Yacht Club is the host club for Mardi Gras Race Week.
History
After Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, the membership of the yacht club worked together under generator power to get the club reopened within sixty days of the storm. New Orleans Yacht Club was the only business operating on the lakefront of New Orleans for three months.
Members were actively involved in rescuing stranded individuals off of rooftops utilizing their boating skills and knowledge of the surrounding neighborhoods. Much of this was documented during this time on the blog Gulfsails.