John Barrett, with Leverton’s Help, forms First Fellowship:  In 1947, Brixton (London, England) Rotarian John. G. Barrett wanted to sail his yacht under the Rotary flag. His sail maker was willing to sew a burgee bearing the Rotary wheel, and he wanted permission to fly it from his masthead.

Barrett arranged a meeting in London with a number of members of his club, as well as other English Rotarians, and enlisted the aid of Stanley Leverton, then the Chairman/Governor of District 13. Leverton, an expert in Rotary constitutional issues, and Barrett prepared a constitution and by-laws to permit the group operating with the use of the Rotary wheel. Creating a title was not easy, but Rotary International finally approved the name, "The Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians."

This was the first of the many Recreational Fellowships within the Rotary world, of which over forty exist today. This fellowship quickly spread all over the Great Britain and then throughout the world.

At the R.I. Convention in Paris in 1953, the Rotary Burgee was flown on the River Seine. Similarly, at a regional in Ostende, Belgium, Rotarian A.N. Cooke in "Silver Dolphin" was accorded a civic reception by the Burgermaster and it is recorded that at one time there were no less than seven different nationalities of Rotarians on board.

In 1956, at the Golden Anniversary Convention, the first International Commodore from outside Great Britain was elected and Bob Stuart from Chicago, Illinois, took over the helm. It was also about this time the name was changed to "The International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians." (IYFR)

In the late 1950’s an Australian Fleet was formed based in New South Wales, and as a result of a visit to Brisbane by a Sydney Rotarian – Leo Keating a fellowship seed was sown.

The first international rendezvous of IYFR was held in 1964 in conjunction with the R.I. Convention in Toronto, Canada.

Since that time the Fellowship has greatly expanded with many fleets being added under enthusiastic leadership of the many Past International Commodores, who have been elected from a diversity of countries with in the world of Rotary.

It wasn't until Rotary year 1968-1969, however, that Fellowships caught the official attention of Rotary International when RI President George Togasaki appointed a Recreational Activities committee. The following year, the committee's chairman, Allen Sawyer, past governor of RI District 7910 in Massachusetts, USA, encouraged the expansion of such fellowships by polling Rotarians as to what recreational activities they favored.

Doug Rudman

[Rotary International lists "Esperanto" as the first fellowship, in 1928]

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