Evening star., 1961-07-18
100000 PROJECT
100000 PROJECT
Leemons Group to Expand Colonial Beach Yocht Club
6y CHARLES COVELL
outdoor Editor

AsNSNA SAAeSA
"A group of prominent Wash
ingtonians headed by Tuffy
Leemans, the once great foot
ball player. has formed a syn
dicate to buy one Of the largest
and busiest marinas in the
Chesapeake area.
The marina is the Colonial
Yacht Club, some 65 miles
down the Potomac at Colonial
Beach, Va. When the syndicate
gets through with ambitious
expansion and Improvement
plans, its capital outlay will be
around 100000.
The sale was conSummated
within the last two weeks and
exciting is Martin LunSford,
who built the club from
scratch. 1t took him exactly
IA years, but there now exist
2t4 slips for boats from out
boards to 50-footers, a marine
store and repair shop, a boat
sales area, electric travel lift
for craft of all sizes and a
restaurant and clubhouse.
Will Add Covered Slips
Novel feature, though, is the
covered slips, of which there
are 64. These are in effect open
lighthouses with long piers COM
pletely rooted with aluminium.
Forty-nine have berthS 18 by S.
feet, while IA have slips IL by
80 feet. There also is a deck
that supplies gasoline, diesel
fuel and ice and is long enough
for mooring boats up to 1901
feet.
Immediate expenditure Of
some 100000 is planned to
repair and recondition the
docks and to build 81 addition
al covered slips. These are ex-
pected to be ready before the
winter layup period in Novem-
ber.
Leemans is president of the
new corporation, retired Ad-
miral Bartholomew w. Hogan
is first vice president; Judge
Thomas c. Scalley of Munici-
pal Court, second vice presi-
dent; Fred j. Sperapani, treas
urer: Edward M. (Ned) Burn
ham, secretary, and Ronald B.
Hollander, assistant treasurer. |
Albert J. Ouellette is general
manager.
Beach To Be Leased
.Leemans, former George
Washington University and
New York Giants football star,
is in dry cleaning and various
other ventures, Admiral Hogan,
former surgeon general of the
Navy, Sperapani, president of
the Columbia Reporting Co.,
Burnham, a retired Standard
Oil vice president, and Hollan-
der, an industrial engineer.
The Colonial Yacht Club, in
Monroe Bay is at the south
end Of Colonial Beach and pro-
tected by a spit Of land and
narrow channel. Expansion
plans include leasing of. three
additional acres of adjacent /
frontage on the Potomac for
use as a private beach. A
swimming pool also will be
built and the restaurant and
clubhouse renovated.
.4Lunsford is remaining as an
adviser until fall while Mrs.
LaInsford continues to operate
the restaurant. After that he
intends to buy a yacht and do
some cruising for his own
pleasure. In time he plans to
go. into business as a yacht
surveyor.
Project Begun In 1947
How he started the yacht
club is a story in itself. Before
World War II and for year
after the war he was a resi-
dent Of Arlington and an en-
ploye of the Federal Housing
Administration. During the
war he served with the Army
aInphibiouS command.
In July, 1947, LunSford asked
for a three-month leave and
set off with his family by boat
for Florida. Travelling down
the Potomac he decided to
stop overnight at Colonial
Beach and found no facilities
whatsoever for cruising boat
men. In fact. they had to go
ashore by dinghy.
Deciding that this was an
IDEAL place to start the marina
he had been envisioning, Luns-
ford bought the land at the
mouth of Monroe Bay and q
tumble down oyster house.
This he converted into the
present restaurant and club
hOuse and set about building
80 open slips.
The first covered slips were
erected in 1858 and additions !
have been made almost every
year since.