A History of The Royal Southern Yacht Club Est. 1837 At almost 200 years of age, Royal Southern boasts a rich history of toil and ultimate success – the proof of which stands in the excellence of the club today. “History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history that we make today”. So said Henry Ford, but whether we agree with him or not, it is a fact that the uncertainties and vicissitudes of life demand that we concentrate on peering into the future rather than over our shoulders into the past. Clubs are no exception, but perhaps, after 175 years, our Members can justify the indulgence of nostalgia. That apart, as most yachtsmen have learned, often expensively, there is value in a glance astern. When our club came into existence in 1837 it was called the Royal Southampton Yacht Club. It was ‘established by a party of gentlemen, at a meeting convened for the purpose of ascertaining if the formation of a yacht club in this beautiful and important town would be desirable and what amount of support it would be likely to receive from the resident gentry, many of whom possessed yachts and might wish to avail themselves of privileges always granted to these clubs.’ Further reading is available here.