The club owes its formation to a letter in the yachting press suggesting that during the winter months then the dead season many keen sailing people would be glad of an opportunity to get together would be glad to get together and swap yarns and on the 5th of November 1926 at the Ship Restaurant in Whitehall 27 enthusiasts met and the Little Ship Club was formed I would like to put forward the proposal that during the coming winter a yachtsmans club circle be arranged to meet say in the evening once a fortnight in London, for the purpose of improving our knowledge of seamanship and navigation. Papers with practical instruction might be read on the following kinds of subjects: splicing of ropes and wire, sail mending, coastal navigation, construction of the hull of yachts, kinds of timber, its uses and defects, rigging purchases, etc, small yacht cookery and numerous other subjects. Keen but Ignorant These were the words that appeared in Yacht Sales and Charters Oct 6 1926 and started it all. Keen but Ignorant turned out to be Robert Gibbon. The following appeared in Yachting World on 13 November 1926: The next meeting of the recently formed a Little Ship Club will be held . Meetings are held at the above address on alternate Wednesday throughout the laid up season; their object being the furtherance of knowledge of seamanship and navigation of small boats, also interchanging of ideas, combined with social gathering. Plans for social activities and a chance to learn from fellow sailors about the sea in preparation for the following season were developed. The founder members were all men but since 1927 women have been welcomed as full members. In 1928 the Club moved its meetings to the Old Ship Tavern, Ivy Lane, in the City of London and gave classes in seamanship and navigation plus a fortnightly lecture. By 1932 membership had risen from the original 27 to over 500 and it was decided that the club should have a permanent location and a paid office staff, Arrangements were made with the Hudson Bay Company and the Club became tenants at Beaver Hall. Training classes became so successful that in 1936 these facilities were used by the Admiralty to train members of the Royal Naval Supplementary Reserve, many of whom were also club members, In recognition of this the Admiralty in the e person of the First Sea Lord speaking at the clubs annual dinner in 1937, invited the club to apply for the privilege of having its own blue ensign defaced with the club emblem. This is the only instance of such an invitation being made. In 1960 with membership having grown from 500 to 4000 it was decided that the time had come for the club to have its own home and on the 15 of February 1962 the Lord Mayor of the City of London laid the foundation of the clubhouse in Bell Wharf Lane, At the end of the year Eric and Susan Hiscock gave the inaugural lecture in the new building. By the 1996 the clubhouse had become less suitable for the clubs requirements and the site was redeveloped. Whilst the clubhouse was being redeveloped (1986-1991) a temporary home was found with the Naval Club in Mayfair establishing a close connection with that club with which Little Ship Club members now enjoy reciprocal membership. The club retuned to Bell Wharf Lane and the current clubhouse in 1991. The club is represented abroad and at home by a number of Honorary Port Offices and has several reciprocal arrangements with other clubs most notably the Corinthians in the US. The joint Corinthian and Little Ship Club cruises and take place biannually alternately in the UK and US. The club has always had two main objectives, social and educational. It provides those with a love of the sea and boats, both sail and power with a place here they can meet like minded people and exchange ideas and it also gives members the opportunity to learn navigation, seamanship and other skills. From the out set it has been an objective of the club to provide crewing opportunities at all levels of experience for members without boats and crews for owners, who require them, The club in no way seeks to usurp the functions of coastal sailing clubs indeed by simulating interest in the sport it tends to strengthen their position.