Crescent History
1942
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In this first year of the war, most Detroiters were
enjoying wartime wages. Dues were being paid promptly and the Membership was
well filled. The time seemed fitting to accomplish some very necessary and
desirable improvements. War began to create scarcity of yachting equipment and the Club invested a good sum round sum in mooring lines for the 1942 season. Detroit became a center of war industry and one October day Commodore Corson was called away for construction work in the Northwest. Vice Commodore Frederick took over the helm, with Dave Davenport second in command. Each spring and fall easterly blows drove swells into the North Harbor that tested the strength of boats and moorings. Occasionally nearby Club Members found it necessary to spend such nights at the Club in order to prevent serious damage to the fleet. Boats kept in late in the fall were tied across the harbor for their safety. Extra protection was necessary at the Harbor mouth to control this hazard. Then, too, with the lake level down even a few inches, deep draft boats touched on the bar at the Harbor mouth. Dredging, and a new break wall were needed; and these were expensive, beyond the range of Crescent’s normal annual income. To raise the necessary funds, it was proposed that the annual Detroit Boat Show be held outdoors on Crescent’s ample lawn. The idea was sound. It promised to produce an additional $2,000 income for the Club and permission to hold such a show was granted by the Joys. Once started, it was hard to abandon such a promising project, but wartime demands were already tying up facilities of the leading boat builders. So, the plan had to be tabled for the time being. Estimates of the work necessary for the harbor protection and dredging indicated that $1,500 would do the trick. After looking over the Club budget and raising Harbor fees one-third, funds were still lacking. Reluctantly, the Directors recommend a special assessment of $8 per Member in preference to permanent increase in dues, and approval was obtained from the Membership. The spring found a pile driver and a suction dredge in Crescent’s Harbors. A row of piles were driven across the mouth of the North Harbor, leaving a 40-foot opening at the entrance. Suction dredging was started in the South Harbor, but the contractor was bedevilled with bad luck. His pumping barge filled and partly sunk. By the time it had been raised the sailing season was on in earnest. Operations were discontinued at considerable savings on the original cost estimate. The next strong easterly showed the new breakwater at the mouth of the North Harbor to be effective in killing the ground swell from the Lake. |