Dave Benoit (front) joins his scuba club colleagues.
Sausalito Historical Society/Jack Tracy and Larry Clinton
In addition to authoring the definitive Sausalito history book, Moments in Time, Historical Society founder Jack Tracy also wrote for this newspaper. In September 1987 he penned the following account of a unique historic exploration:
For the past three years, Sausalito Historical Society member David Benoit has been diving beneath Ondine Restaurant in search of the original San Francisco Yacht Club in Sausalito. The Yacht Club moved from San Francisco to Sausalito in 1878 and was destroyed by fire in 1897. A second clubhouse was built the following year on the same site which we know today as Ondine. Ron and Carol McAnan, owners of the property, fully supported this undertaking. From early photographs and maps, we have tried to determine the exact location of the club house and lay-out of the structure’s dining room, bar, kitchen, locker area and trophy room. To my knowledge, no photographs showing the interior of the building exist.
Early this year, buried nearly a century ago. and covered with up to 6 feet (so far) of mud and debris, a quantity of London Gin bottles appeared. According to my own view, this meant that we had located the bar area. Soon afterwards, 22 locker or door keys surfaced and were documented by Bill Calhoun, reference librarian at the San Francisco Main Library. All this pointed to the correct location but definite proof was still lacking. Then, the final breakthrough came in the form of three brass buttons all bearing the name of the San Francisco Yacht Club. We have struck rock bottom, charred wood and pieces of timber, unbelievably lodged under 6 feet of mud!
The Historical Society has a trove of underwater treasures salvaged by Dave Benoit, including bottles, watches and even a starter pistol from the old Yacht Club. Dave is still an active member of the Marin Scuba Club and recalls doing a midnight dive on the Yacht Club site during the Millennium. The visibility in the bay was so low that most of his explorations were by feel, so it made little difference whether he dove during the day or night.
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