GPYC Feature GPYC BI NNACLE

By Larry Stephenson, MD

Ask a GPYC member to define the word “binnacle” and you will likely get one of two answers. Most would assume you were referring to the Club’s popular summer dining and bar area located directly east of the Ballroom. Some boaters might also be familiar with the binnacle navigation device that continues to be located on the bridge of most commercial ships and some large private vessels as well. But almost no member would be familiar with the navigation binnacle owned by the Club, where it came from or where it resides. Our binnacle is a very high quality model that is presently located in the Library next to the Tower Pub. How it was acquired is quite a story.

In the 1970s, several GPYC members enjoyed a friendship with a monk from the Catholic religious Order of St. Augustine who they fondly referred to as Brother Gus. Brother Gus worked in some capacity at Austin Catholic High School, but was fortunate to enjoy many happy hours at the Club courtesy of his many GPYC friends. Past Commodore Jim Daoust once recalled Brother Gus loving to fish along the South Wall of the harbor and also being actively involved in Club chaplain duties throughout the 1970s.

It is known that Brother Gus served his country in the US Navy, and it was perhaps at some point during this service that he acquired one of his most treasured possessions, an old and beautiful ship’s binnacle. When his health began to fail, he confided to his friends that he would be donating his beloved binnacle to the GPYC. Instead, his friends purchased it from him and donated it to the Club on his behalf. As noted, it now resides in the Club Library and sports a bronze plaque dated 1980, honoring the memory of Brother Gus.

But wait, there is more to this story, and it starts in 1960 with a remodeling of the open-air porch along the east side of the Ballroom. That porch was enclosed and transformed into a cocktail lounge. For the next ten-plus years the Lakeview Cocktail Lounge was a popular gathering place for GPYC members. In the 1970s it was redecorated with a nautical theme, featuring dark wood paneling, rich colors and a ship’s figurehead.

Then in 1983 the entire room was stripped of its furnishings, the bar moved to the south end and dining tables were added. The former Lakeview Cocktail Lounge was now a dining room in need of a new name. It is not known who made the decision, but Brother Gus’s binnacle found a new home next to the stairs leading to the old cocktail lounge, and the brand new dining room became The Binnacle.