HomeHistory

Weber Point Yacht Club

1962 – 1968

The Weber Point Yacht Club is an outgrowth of a small group of Fresno boaters. This group was composed of John & Kay Willey, Vic & Mildred Browne, Bob & Audrey Shuey, and Jack & Mary Morgan. These four had formed a very informal cruising club known as The Greater Fresno Flotilla.

After about a year, the group, encouraged by Col. George Pierce of the Uptown Yacht Harbor, discussed with other boaters from Fresno, (Bert Williamson, Al Yoder, Les Carter, Bob Forkner, and Gary Childs), the possibility of forming a yacht club at Weber Point, Stockton. The objective at that time being we would either lease from the Uptown Yacht Harbor Club facilities, or build our own on

Weber Point.

John Willey incorporated the Club, with our By-Laws being patterned after those of the St. Francis Yacht Club.

Our club burgee was chosen by the Fresno group mentioned above, with the Yellow Star representing Weber Point Yacht Club on a field of green, representing the shape of Weber Point. The blue stripe represents the San Joaquin River, and the two stripes of yellow on either side represent the golden grain fields that helped to form the city and wealth of Stockton.

Our first meeting was held on September 15, 1962, at the Pump Room in Stockton. We had at that meeting 14 members.

Bob Shuey was elected as our first Commodore, and succession since has been: Jack Morgan, Al Yoder, Ro Fontana, Lisle Gardner, and for 1967/1968, Dale Keirn.

At our first Meeting, it was decided to have a down-river facility, and a committee was formed at that time to try and find a suitable location. It was not until November 1965, however, that we were finally able to secure our lease at King Island. Construction of our docks started in December of that year.

Also at our first meeting, it was decided to hold a New Year’s Eve party at Windmill Cove, which has since become an annual event, with this year’s party being our sixth party.

At our second meeting, one of our members, Wilbur May presented the club with a very attractive trophy, and several plaques for the names of future Commodores.

To date, we have not devised a suitable means of competing for this trophy, but eventually one will be found.

During our second year, in view of our name and original objective, the club secured a lease from the City of Stockton for a nominal yearly fee, the waterway between the Uptown Yacht Harbor guest docks and the Owens Yacht Sales covered berths. This lease was secured with the thought in mind we would either build a floating club house for our Headquarters, or place a dock in the area for our own use and the use of visiting yachtsmen from other yacht clubs who belong to the P.I.C.Y.A.

The delay by the city of Stockton in any definite development of Weber Point kept us from formulating plans at this location and our lease was canceled early this year.

Under the leadership of Commodore Dale Keirn, our purchase of the Gus Moreno property on Spud Island was finalized February 1^st of this year. We now have a permanent home at a down-river location as originally visualized by the Founders of the club.

Our original membership of 14 has grown to 27 Active, 1 Social,

3 Inactive, and 2 Lifetime Honorary. Our future is BRIGHT and shortly we will reach our maximum of 40 active members!

May 30, 1968

WEBER’S POINT

WEBER’S POINT, which was once the home of the founder of Stockton, Captain Charles M. Weber, is now the home of the home of the Holiday Inn of Stockton.

The founder of Stockton, Charles M. Weber, and the Benjamin Kelsey family, one of the first families to come overland, came to California in 1841 with the Bidwell-Bartleson Party, the first overland immigrant party to reach California. This party suffered great hardships after leaving the Oregon Trail at Fort Hall, and had to abandon their wagons in the deserts of what is now Nevada. They crossed the Sierra Nevada Mountains by way of the Walker River, Sonora Falls, and the Stanislaus River, and half starved, reached the San Joaquin County near what is now Oakdale. After receiving a cool welcome from a John Marsh at his ranch near Mt. Diablo, they divided. Some went to San Jose and others to Sutter’s Fort. Charles Weber worked for Sutter for a while, and then in the spring of 1842, he went to San Jose. The trail took him through the region that is now San Joaquin County along the Calaveras and across the San Joaquin River. He was quite impressed with the country. It is claimed that he rode his horse down what is now Weber Avenue, and forded a muddy stream at what is now Winter Street and Weber Avenue, which was a part of Stockton Slough.

At San Jose, Weber went into a business partnership with a Mexican citizen, William Gulnac. The firm ran a store, flour mill, bakery, salt works, and blacksmith’s shop. In 1843, Gulnac, as a Mexican citizen, applied to Governor Manuel Micheltorena for a land grant for the partners, which would include the area around the place where the French trappers had their base. In April 1845, Gulnac sold his interest in the land grant to Weber.

Copied from R.D. Fontana Note Book, dated May 30, 1968, by D.A. Elliott,

May 29, 1986.