ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The cause of the weekend fire at the Annapolis Yacht Club has not yet been determined, but the club is already taking stock of the losses among its artifacts.
“A lot of the very historical artifacts have been recovered, but a lot have been lost. That’s very unfortunate, but a lot have been lost,” says Rod Jabin, commodore of the Annapolis Yacht Club.
Damage from Saturday’s three-alarm fire is extensive to the waterside club, which traces its roots to 1886.
“Most of the half-models on the second deck have been lost,” Jabin says, referring to half-hull wooden models of historic ships, typically mounted and displayed on walls to show meticulous details of a ship’s construction.
Racing trophies are among the items destroyed by the fire. Items salvaged, boxed and shipped to Baltimore to undergo restoration including Viking and America’s Cup trophies.
“I’m hopeful on the trophies, I do know we’ve lost several trophies in the club,” Jabin says.
The Annapolis fire marshal has not yet determined the cause of the fire.
“They’re still getting to the point that fire investigators and the forensic team can recreate the events that started the fire,” Jabin says.
The club is scrambling to find temporary facilities to make good on commitments to host a variety of holiday events.
Although the yacht club has promised to financially cover it’s 150 employees through the holidays, several Annapolis businesses have stepped forward with offers of help.
“They need jobs, it’s the holiday season and we’re happy to have them,” says Emily Welsh, assistant manager at Rams Head in Annapolis.
The performance venue and restaurant operation has offered jobs to any of the yacht club’s employees who lost their jobs because of the fire.
