I'd really like to become more involved in our yacht club, but all of the officers wear uniforms,
and I'm opposed to that military look. Why should we wear military uniforms?
The traditional formal yacht club uniform has nothing to do with military
service. It is based on English yachting attire of the nineteenth century, and consists of a double-breasted navy blue jacket
with black buttons, matching trousers, white shirt, black tie and navy blue cap cover. By the way, "navy blue" is not blue
at all; it is best described as "midnight blue" or black. It is officially defined as "shade number 3346." The only decoration
on the traditional uniform on the officers' insignia, in the form of black mohair stripes on each sleeve with small insignia
in loops of a trefoil. A pocket patch is never worn on a formal yacht club uniform.
Think of the formal uniform as the tuxedo of yachting. It is a subdued
yet elegant outfit used by yacht clubs throughout the world and has been around the United States since at least the time
of Commodore J.P. Morgan, who introduced it at the New York Yacht Club. The traditional yacht club uniform does not make
you a part of the military any more than a white dinner jacket makes you a lounge singer or James Bond. It is simply the
appropriate attire to wear at a formal event in any yacht club.
