Clint Collier, Past Commodore of the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians, 2011-2013.
History of The International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians
The International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians, formed in 1947 in Great Britain, is recognized as the oldest of the Rotary Fellowships. It was to become the first of many recreational fellowships formed with the World Fellowship Activities of Rotary International.
In 1947, Rotarian John G. Barrett of the Brixton Rotary Club of London, England, conceived the idea of flying a burgee bearing the Rotary emblem on the masthead of his vessel. He enlisted the help of fellow Rotarians from his own and neighboring clubs and proposed a new yachting association of Rotarians. Rotary International approved this new Rotary recreational fellowship under the name “The Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians.”
This fellowship quickly spread all over Great Britain and then throughout the world.
In 1956 at the Rotary International Convention, the first International Commodore from outside Great Britain was elected. Bob Stuart of Chicago, Illinois, USA, took over the helm. It was also about this time that the fellowship name was changed to “The International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians.
The first international rendezvous of IYFR was held in 1964 in conjunction with the Rotary International Convention of Toronto, Canada. Since that time, the fellowship has expanded greatly with new fleets being added under the enthusiastic leadership of the many Past International Commodores who have been elected from a diversity of countries within the world of Rotary.
The Golden Anniversary of lYFR was celebrated in 1997 at the RI Convention in Glasgow, Scotland. Past International Commodore Andrew Mitchell authored, produced and distributed copies of the ‘Golden Jubilee 1947-1997’, a book commemorating the fifty years of IYFR history.
An IYFR trophy which is presented to each incoming International Commodore, “The John Barrett Bell” was made by one of the founding fellowship members, Denis Dalby, and presented to the fellowship in honor of our Founder, Commodore John G. Barrett.
Today, IYFR is not only the oldest but probably the largest of the Rotary fellowships, according to Rotary International.
There are 126 active Rotary yachting fleets in 44 countries (as of June 30, 2017) throughout the world: Argentina, Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China (Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Crimea, Croatia, Czech and Slovak Republics, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mali, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay and the USA.
IYFR has a world wide membership of nearly 3690 members who are in the 126 Fleets. For more information see: IYFR,net
About Rotary International
Rotary International is an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a non-political and non-religious organization open to all. There are over 35,000 member clubs worldwide, with a membership of 1.2 million individuals, known as Rotarians. For more information, see: Rotary.org