Mission Bay Yacht Club has a rich history.   The club was founded in 1927, when Mission Bay was part of a broad, shallow tidal estuary.  The early sailboats had to be flat bottomed to maneuver in the around grass, mud, and shifting sandbars. The Flapper, a 12 foot catboat, was the first class to race. A variety of boats, including some from San Diego Yacht Club, formed a handicap fleet and raced when the tide permitted. By 1931 the Skimmer was the hot boat in this area.

Each Opening Day we relive some of our early history as the commodore sails "Scanties," the club's first Flapper class boat, given to the club by our first commodore, Tom Scripps. It was donated to the Club around 1968, and the Board decided that the Commodore should sail it each year in the Asher Pier Race. It has since been rebuilt, and is still sailed. Originally, it was just one of the boats in the Handicap Fleet. Subsequently, a special class for the Opening Day race was established, which the Commodore always wins.

The first clubhouse was a humble building on Crown Point with a small pier, then an undeveloped bit of high ground, with only one road connecting it to Pacific Beach. The club moved to its present location on the El Carmel Point in 1950 . 

Once the dredging of the Bay was complete (a process underway between 1945 and 1962), members expanded from racing Skimmers and other shallow-draft boats into Lightnings (Fleet 194), and soon thereafter Snipes (Fleet 495) and other classes.  A group of US Navy signals officers stationed in San Diego after WWII helped to build our modern one-design racing program, including our fixed racing marks and much of the club infrastructure on El Carmel Point.  But it was Tom Scripps, Leo Carroll, the first handicapper, and a few others whose ideas for handicap and one-design racing grew into the highly refined programs and facilities we all enjoy today. Their foresight and enthusiasm have helped to produce world and national championship sailors in many classes.

Mission Bay Yacht Club has a strong tradition of Corinthian sailboat racing. This is encouraged by club-sponsored regattas throughout the year. You will find national champions and novices alike competing in our regattas. Mission Bay Yacht Club's ideal location makes it a favorite venue for national and world championship sailing regattas.  US Sailing has twice named MBYC the "One-Design Yacht Club of the Year," first in 1997 and then again in 2022.

The mission of the club is: “to perpetuate Corinthian yachting and the sportsmanship and fellowship incident thereto.”  As such, competitive but friendly sailing has always been the club’s highest priority.  Over time, cruising, fishing, and other water sports have certainly become an important part of the mix, as well.  Fostering friendly, amateur competition is the core of our identity.

Mission Statement: 

Mission Bay Yacht Club Founded April 22, 1927 

Mission Bay Yacht Club exists to perpetuate Corinthian yachting and

the sportsmanship and fellowship incident thereto.