YACHT CLUBS
52
TREASURE COAST BOATING
PATRIOTIC PAST
The Pelican Yacht Club was formed from its founders’
desire to protect the coast during World War II
BY CAMILLE S. YATES
It was the spring of 1942, and the United States was at
war. Soon after Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese,
Fort Pierce and several other Florida East Coast
towns got a firsthand look at the war. Nazi U-boats
torpedoed Allied ships between Key West and Daytona
Beach, and during the first few months of 1942, Fort Pierce
residents could see burning American ships sinking in the
distance. There were also instances of submarines landing
enemy agents on local shores.
To counter this threat, several men who wanted to protect
their country decided to form a unit of the Coast Guard Auxiliary
called Flotilla 8. Charter members were Commander
Frank Rowell (a wealthy industrialist originally from Chicago),
Vice Commander Robert U. “Bob” Gladwin (who had
organized and established Sea Scout Ship Edwin Binney),
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ED DRONDOSKI
One year after World War II ended, Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 8 sponsored and started the Pelican Yacht Club. Frank Rowell Sr. and Robert Gladwin
obtained choice waterfront property from the Fort Pierce Financing and Construction Co. and set out to build the club.
Bit by bit, architect Maurice McManus began assembling the clubhouse
using three Navy buildings left over from the Amphibious Training Base.