Balboa Island Yacht Club − A Lifetime of Memories
Shirley Pepys
About the Balboa Island
Museum & Historical Society
Matt Ctvrtlik (current Commodore); Graham McGee
(Commodore-to-Be 2014), and Matilda Bress (Commodore 2012)
Balboa Island – Founded in 1922 by Joe and
Carroll Beek, the Balboa Island Yacht Club
is the second oldest yacht club in Newport
Harbor and the only yacht club run by kids
that offers a range of water sports in addition
to sailing. The goal of BIYC is to encourage
youngsters to learn water skills, practice
good sportsmanship and develop faithful
attendance . . . and to have a lot of fun while
making lifelong friends.
Moderator Diane Birnie Bock and
panelists (from right to left)
Eric Vinje, Carlton Seaver and
Bob Halderman
And many of these lifelong friends and guests—
well over 100 in attendance—gathered on
Friday night, September 28, 2012, at the Balboa
Island Museum & Historical Society for the
Museum’s Speaker Series event. Moderated by
Diane Birnie Bock (Staff Secretary Treasurer
1972), a panel of former Staff Commodores and
Officers, Joan Penberthy LaMontagne (Staff
Secretary-Treasurer 1939); Bob Halderman
(Staff Commodore 1950); Carlton Seaver
(Staff Commodore 1963); and Eric Vinje (Staff
Commodore 1984), shared lively stories and
evoked precious memories for the over 100
attendees, including 23 past Commodores
and 6 Secretary-Treasurers. Many of the Staff
Commodores had not seen each other in
decades – this was a very happy reunion!
BIYC has a long and happy history and
generations of “kids” have returned - with joy
- to watch their own children take part. Each
year, the Club is managed by the Commodore,
officers and staff. (Continued on next page.)
Balboa Island Museum & Historical Society Circa 2000
The Balboa Island Museum & Historical
Society is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organization founded in 2000. The
current and new location opened in
December 2011. Our mission is to
preserve the history and heritage of
Balboa Island. It is the intent for the
museum to be a place where Islanders
and visitors can gather and share
Island memories.
Hours of Operation:
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday:
10:00am to 4:00pm
331 Marine Avenue
Balboa Island, CA 92662
949-675-3952
[email protected]
www.balboaislandmuseum.org
We invite you to Meet Me at the
Museum. Come with a friend, sit
on the patio, explore the Museum
and discover more interesting facts
about the magical and enchanting
Balboa Island.
Meet Me At The Museum
− Where It All Began
Visiting Balboa Island today—with all its quaint
houses, unique shops and breathtaking views of
the bay—it’s hard to imagine that this piece of
land used to be nothing more than a dredged
up pile of sand.
Event organizers, Diane Birnie Bock
and Shirley Pepys
The activities and spirit of the Club have
remained amazingly unchanged for 9 decades.
Dues are minimal – currently $100 per year.
Members compete with others in their age
and gender groups. There are sailing, rowing
and paddleboard races, swimming and diving,
and more recently Stand-Up Paddle. The
officers time the races. The Club provides
paddleboards and rowboats but not sail
boats - this is the only activity that requires
participants to bring their own boat.
Weekly meetings are held on Thursday evenings
and ribbons are awarded to the top three
contenders in each of the weekly competitions.
The BIYC season culminates with the Awards
Banquet where trophies are presented
based on points accumulated throughout the
summer. Additional BIYC activities include the
Round-the-Island Row, Sandcastle Contest,
Tea Party and various Unofficial Events hosted
or spearheaded by BIYC families.
It’s remarkable to note that 29 officers
from BIYC’s illustrious past, including 23
of the 90 Commodores, were present.
Senior Officer Pearlita Penberthy Vorster
(Staff Secretary-Treasurer 1932) was in
attendance, as well as Mike Smith, Joan
Penberthy LaMontagne (Staff SecretaryTreasurer 1939) and her son, David LaMontagne
(Staff Commodore 1978). Another threegeneration family in attendance was Barbara
Potter Birnie, her son, Brian Birnie (Staff
Commodore 1968) and his daughter, Caroline
Birnie (Staff Commodore 2002).
It all began with Mr. William S. Collins, who had
the vision to first build on what was then a sand
bar. In 1902 W.S. Collins and C.A. Hanson bought
the swamplands that were to become Harbor,
Lido and Balboa Islands from James McFadden.
By 1906, Collins began dredging a channel on
the north side of the bay and depositing the
sand and silt on tidelands that would become
Balboa Island.
BIYC looms prominently in the memories of
the many members who have participated
through the years. And thanks to the generosity
of Seymour Beek allowing BIYC to use his dock
and beach, there is something magical about the
sun and the warmth and the wonderful times
spent on that small patch of sand between
Turquoise and Topaz on the South Bay Front
of Balboa Island.
2012 BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Sharon L. Lambert
VICE PRESIDENT
Jack Northrup
TREASURER
Michael Smith
SECRETARY
Diane Bock
DIRECTORS
Steve Bromberg
Alice Dear
Bob Dennerline
Robert B. Lambert
Tia Morris-Lowell
Shirley Pepys
Sue Sibley
Ed Trainor
William Steppe Collins
In 1908 and 1909, with permission from the
Orange County Board of Supervisors, Collins
moved his small dredge to the eastern part
of the Newport bay, a mud flat called “Snipe
Island,” and begin cutting a channel along the
north side of the bay across from the Pavilion,
piling the sand and silt up on the mud flat and
thus Balboa Island was born.
Within a few years, real estate promoters
began sending salesmen to Pasadena and to
Los Angeles (both connected by the Red Cars)
to promote property in and around Newport
Harbor. (Joseph Allan Beek was a student in
Pasadena and became one of these salesmen
for Collins.) Much of Balboa Island property
was sold in Pasadena, one of the reasons that
many longtime Island residents have family and
contacts in the Pasadena area.
And the rest is history!
Balboa Island Museum & Historical Society Circa 2000
Balboa Island Resident − Barbara Potter Birnie
Sharon Lambert
They eventually bought the family beach house
from Barbara’s parents and their three children,
Brian, Doug and Diane were all avid BIYCers in
the 60s and 70s. The Birnies lived in Downey
during the school year but repeated the
pattern of coming down to their island home
the day after school ended each June and they,
too, kept an eagle eye to be the first to see the
pine tree, and posed each summer in front of
the tree to show how much they had grown.
goodness trophy… sixty three years later.
(The offer still stands, by the way—if you
would like to receive a trophy dating back to
the early 40s, please get in touch with Staff
Commodore Quincy Bock. And you don’t even
have to produce the scroll.)
When the present house was built in 1973, the
pine tree was removed, “So sad,” said Diane. A
neighbor gave the family a new pine tree and
that year’s growing picture shows the baby
pine tree measured against the people instead
of the reverse.
Barbara Potter Birnie shows the
paper scroll she received instead
of a metal trophy during the
war years
Barbara Potter and her brother, Ralph, grew up
in Eagle Rock, CA. In 1932, when Barbara was
four years old and her brother was just a baby,
the Potter family started coming to Balboa
Island to visit their friends, the McLain family,
who lived on Topaz. They fell in love with Island
life and in 1936, the McLain’s sold the house to
the Potters. Thus began their sojourn to Balboa
every summer and a family tradition began. As
they approached the Island and reached the
top of the hill at Jamboree Road, they would
all be excited to discover “who would see
the pine tree in the front yard first!” The pine
tree also served as the backdrop for the annual
“growing picture,” as the kids would stand next
to the tree to have their photograph taken.
Barbara’s father, Ben, and her mother, Vivian,
would pack up the car and leave the city
to come to the Island during the summer.
Barbara’s heart always belonged to Balboa
Island and BIYC (Balboa Island Yacht Club) was
the centerpiece of her summer activities.
She especially enjoyed the rowing and diving
competitions, winning many trophies along
the way. She recalls that during the war
years, trophies were not given at the Awards
Banquet because metal was saved for the war
effort. So the club gave out scrolls instead.
Barbara went on to USC, where she was named
Helen of Troy and received first a bachelor’s
and then a master’s in Education. She met and
married Bill Birnie and taught kindergarten
while he was in Law School.
Barbara and Bill slowly transitioned from living
in Downey to making the Balboa Island house
their primary residence. Their six grandchildren
- Dana, Will, Dave, Caroline, Quincy and Tasha also loved coming to Balboa Island, participating
in BIYC, playing games, getting frozen bananas
and having fun together. The house on Topaz
continued to serve as a marvelous gathering
place for the cousins and fostered their lifelong connection. When granddaughter Quincy
became Commodore of BIYC, her great uncle,
Ralph, grumbled (semi-facetiously) that he
was still waiting to receive the long-awaited
trophies that had been promised as makegoods for the war-years scrolls. The following
summer BIYC did, indeed, invite alums to
the annual banquet to receive an honest-to-
132 Topaz - Barbara Potter
Birnie in foreground at left
(The front door is in use as the
back door in the new house)
The Potter/Birnie house has always been a
gathering place for many neighbors and family
friends. The old house had a red door that was
always open. This door is still in use but now as
the back door of the new house.
Barbara loves having all her grandchildren
together. They are all in their 20’s now and
Barbara tells us fondly that they still sing their
special song: We’re all together again, we’re
here, we’re here...
What a wonderful place to be - here on
Balboa Island!
THANKS TO OUR DOCENTS
AND VOLUNTEERS
The Museum could not operate without its
invaluable docents and volunteers. From
welcoming visitors to giving tours to making
sure our patio is swept, our volunteers
keep the Museum doors open and provide
excellent service to our visitors. Our heartfelt
gratitude to all of our docents and other
volunteers—we couldn’t do it without you.
What a great team!
Birnie family growing picture, 1973,
with brand new baby pine tree
If you are interested in becoming a docent or
volunteer at the Museum, please contact Sue
Sibley, [email protected], 916-799-6053.
Balboa Island Museum & Historical Society Circa 2000
Peggy Marotta, a longtime Balboa Island
resident and Board Member of the Museum,
is retiring after many years of service. She
participated in founding the Balboa Island
Museum & Historical Society and has assisted in
many capacities as a volunteer over the years.
Peggy will be missed on the Board but we are so grateful that she
will continue to volunteer at the Museum, giving private tours and
sharing with others her knowledge of the Island’s history.
Irma Moller, runs FVS (FunVideoShow.com),
a digital multimedia production studio in
Costa Mesa. Irma has graciously donated her
time and talent to film and produce DVDs
of many of our Balboa Island experiences,
including the Balboa Island parades and the
last two Speaker Series events at the Museum. Because of her
generosity we have DVDs of Balboa Island activities that can be
viewed for years to come. Thanks to Irma and her team for all
they have contributed to our community.
MYSTERY HOUSE?
Can You Identify Our Mystery House? A photo of this house was
found inside a copy of The Picture History of Balboa Island.
Please let us know if you recognize the house & the people
sitting in the front yard!
FRIENDS OF MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP 2012-2013*
DIAMOND - $5,000
Argyros Family
Foundation
EMERALD - $2,500
Pepys, Shirley
RUBY - $1,000
Meguiar, Barry & Karen
Northrup, Jack & Joan
SAPPHIRE - $500
De Witt Family,
Bill & Mary
Lowe, Stan & Renee
Trainor, Ed & Shelly
TOPAZ - $250
Causey, Terry
Cornell, Janet
Dennerline, Bob
& Celeste
PEARL - $100
Bridges, Steve
Cassidy, Lee & Jim
Caton, Bill & Cathy
Cooper, Beth & Ted
Davies, John & Sharon
Gale, Lee
Goodwin-McNiff
Hall, Mary & Ed
Harris, Joyce
Heisel, Albert
Kensey, John & Linda
Larson, Ksenia
Leventhal, Ted &
Christine
Mahoney, Mrs. Thomas
Marotta, Peggy
Moloney, James
Janet & Nance, M.D., Joyce
Noonan, Susan
Nunnally, Cary
Parks, Kathy
Peets, Diane & Terry
Pepys, Noel &
Catherine
Smith, Michael & Lorrie
Taft, Kristine & Skip
Tarr, Judy G.
Wood, Linda
Crystal - $50
Baumgartner, Conrad
& Barbara
Bohn, Anne
LaMontagne
Bonhall, Bill & Joanne
Bowers, Don & Pam
Buettell, Susanne
& Mike
Callahan, Bob & Terry
Campbell, Dennis
& Carol
Celio, Rick & Nancy
Dear, Alice
Deardorff, Tom
& Connie
Farmer, Robert
Finley, Ruth Hershey
Goodman-Beal,
Michael & Ellen
Gouvion, Wayne
& Nancy
Gregorius, Joan
Harris, Marilyn
Henle, Christy & Tom
Herdman, Jeff & Sally
Hunt, Margaret
IEEI
Jennings Jr., Jim
Kallestad, Larry & Pam
Long, Helen
Mathews Family, Jim,
Gretchen & Serena
Miller, Jim & Yvonne
Morrison, Bob & Phyllis
Rohrer, Ron & Bonnie
Schmid, Ben & Jeanne
Sibley, Scott & Sue
Steele, Tim & Jan
Tuppan, Helen
Bridge - $35
Bakuy, Lynn & Mel
Birdsong, Jacqueline
Birnie, Bill & Barbara
Bock, Diane & Larry
Bromberg, Mike
& Donna
Carmack, George
& Shirley
Carney, Sam & John
Christie, Diane
Claxton, Scott & Tiara
Davis, Jane
Balboa Island Museum & Historical Society Circa 2000
Grant, Gay
Heath, Ed & Pat
Hewitt, Les & Bettsie
Kinton, Sandi & Doak
Hefner
Lewand, Kevin
& Jeanne
Lord, Margaret
Moller, Jorgen & Irma
Nangle, Pat
Phillips, Maxwell & Pam
Pirkle, Hubert
& Jacquelyn
Remy, Jon & Richard
Samuel, Jenni
Seastrom, Marea
Soule-Maggio, Stephen
& Lynne
Sutherland, Hollie
& Lee
Thomas, Joanne
& Doran Kough
Torrey, Margaret
Wayt, Bill & Tina
Weinstein, Charles
& Ann Marie
*as of 10/17/12