Yacht club’s small, but it has big plans

WARES CROSSROADS There is no black-tie requirement at the Lake Anna Yacht Club, no minimum income and no pretense.

Neither is there a clubhouse, pool or restaurant, although there are plans for each.

There is, however, a 42-slip, covered pier with lifts and storage and a yacht club commodore.

"We have about 12 or 13 members and we're working on getting some more social functions going," said club commodore Joan Reutter of Manassas. "Most of what we do as a yacht club is keep the docks in good shape and figure out what we want to do in the future."

Lake Anna "yachts" come in a variety of forms and sizes, from Sea-Doo Sportsters and 15-foot bass boats to 30-foot cabin cruisers. The four-member Reutter family, which has a waterfront home at Lake Anna, keeps its 20-foot pontoon boat in a slip purchased at the pier.

The location allows family members 24-hour access, storage and a well-maintained dock. There are other slips on the lake they could have rented -- and have in the past -- but Reutter says the yacht club provides a good location and convenience.

"We spend a lot of time on the lake," she said. "The kids wakeboard and swim, and we take the occasional sunset cruise. Being down here feels like you're getting away from everything, even if you have your cell phone with you. It's just a great place."

Although the club is small, the pier and docks at the club are busy. The pier plays host to the University of Virginia's sailing and wakeboard teams. On summer weekends, the pier's developer shows movies on a large, portable screen for mariners who anchor their boats and listen to the sound on their onboard FM receivers.

"The movies are open to anyone and, even though it's just taking the boat out of the slip and moving it a short distance, we love the movies," the commodore said.

According to B.J. Blount of BBCR, which is developing the club, the Reutters are exactly the kind of people at whom the Lake Anna Yacht Club is aimed.

"We wanted to have a club atmosphere, a place where people can belong and feel comfortable, sort of a second home," Blount said. "We're looking at the guy who's coming from Charlottesville or Fredericksburg and lives close, but far enough away that it's a pain to come home on a Friday night, jack up the boat, hook it to a trailer, drive it to the lake, put it in the water and then have to do it all over again to get it home."

Blount said the club is the only easily accessed public boat storage on the lake providing unlimited access to boats. A boatel and boat valet are available to mariners on the other side of the bridge, in Spotsylvania County, but both require owners to give advance notice to access their boats and have deadlines for when the boats must be back in storage.

The businesses also close at least one day a week, whereas the yacht club is always open to owners, Blount said.

"They purchase the slip, so the boat is theirs when they want it," he said. "There's no set time that they have to be back in, and they can come out and put their boat in the water whenever they feel like it."

The yacht club was established about two years ago with the single covered dock off the pier near the Lake Anna Island Realty office and nearby condominium complex. Just off state Route 208, where the bridge crosses the lake and into Spotsylvania County, the club is approved for a build-out of 400 slips and is part of a larger $20 million development known as Lake Anna Island.

Blount hosted a groundbreaking ceremony last week for a $2.5 million shopping center complex at Lake Anna Island. The project will feature two restaurants, a health club and spa, retail shops, office space and a proposed five-story condo complex with retail space on the first floor. It also includes a yacht club pavilion and clubhouse.

For Blount, Lake Anna Island is more than a development. Blount and his family grew up on the property, even before Dominion Virginia Power created Lake Anna in 1972 as a large cooling pond for the nearby nuclear power station. His family has lived in the area for more than 100 years. His father worked on construction of the dam and his family developed more than 20 subdivisions near the lake. Blount's father also operated a family-style campground on the site of the island project

"They grew up on the property and they really care about the area," said Mary Johnson, who has helped BBCR design projects, including the yacht club. "They were the first to think about building condos for people. They saw the boat services on the other side of the lake and they thought about building the docks. They can see things that people need and they have a vision for it. They also care about the community and they want it done right."

Reutter, who attended the groundbreaking for the Island Shops, said she believes Blount is serious about providing as many amenities to the club as possible.

"We knew of the plans when we purchased our slip," Reutter said. "The primary reason we bought the slip was for the boat, but it was nice to think that there could be other amenities coming at some point, and maybe some benefits for club members. I don't know when or what those benefits will be, but I think it will happen."

Bryan McKenzie is a staff writer for the Daily Progress of Charlottesville.