The 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles sparked enthusiasm for small boat racing in the area. Actors and athletes founded their own Yacht Clubs.

Catalina Isthmus the “Port of Hollywood’s Screen Guild”

In 1933, scriptwriters in the Los Angeles area banded together to form The Pacific Writers Yacht Club. As Hollywood was without a harbor, the offer of P.K. Wrigley to make the Isthmus, Catalina Island the Base (home-port) of the Swiss Navy of the film writers was accepted. Its roster and membership was exclusive to professional writers who own boats suitable for offshore cruising, one of whom was Malcolm Stuart Boylan, the club’s vice-commodore.

Malcolm Boylan’s name appeared on the screen for the first time in 1925, when he wrote the script and captions for a silent film called “Speed Mad.” By 1934 he was well-known in industry circles as a journeyman writer of considerable versatility. He had written the scripts of twenty-five movies, including romantic comedies, westerns, and several films with military settings. The latter included the silent drama “What Price Glory,” which the New York Times dubbed one of the best films of 1926, and the service comedies “A Girl in Every Port” and “Sharp Shooters,” both premiering in 1928. Borland had also written the more recent sound films “Shipmates” (with Robert Montgomery), “Hell Divers” (with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable), and “Devil Dogs of the Air” (with James Cagney and Pat O’Brien).

One of the first outings the newly formed club planned was a 26-mile cruise to Catalina Island. It was started at Watchorn Basin in Los Angeles harbor, where most members kept their boats. Also moored in the Basin were two 165-foot (B) Class Coast Guard cutters, the AURORA and the HERMES.

Boylan was proud of the way he maintained his own craft, the CHULA, but he was worried that some of the older vessels might not be in shape to make such a long open-water cruise, so Boylan convinced (LCDR) C.W. Thomas, commander of the HERMES to inspect the seaworthiness of the Clubs vessels. He also convinced the commander of the AURORA, (LT) Francis W. Pollard to come along on his boat for the cruise to Catalina. During the trip from Los Angeles to Catalina Island, discussions between the two men resulted in the formation of the United States Coast Guard Reserve and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. After the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Reserves were founded by an act of Congress on June 23, 1939, Boylan rose to the office of Commodore in the Auxiliary (11th District); in addition, he retired with the rank of Lt. Commander in the Reserves.

Partial list of a total membership of 30 vessels (1933): Pacific Writers Yacht Club

• Faythe – Commodore William Slavens McNutt – (September 12, 1885 – January 25, 1938), was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 28 films between 1922 and 1939. He was nominated for an Academy Award on two separate occasions. At the 5th Academy Awards, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story for Lady and Gent. In 1936, he was nominated for Adapted Screenplay for the film The Lives of a Bengal Lancer. He was born in Urbana, Illinois and died in San Fernando, California.
• Chula – Vice Commodore Malcolm Stuart Boylan – (April 13, 1897 – April 3, 1967) was an American screenwriter, writer, and founder of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
• Cheerio II – Fleet Captain Richard Schayer – was an American screenwriter. He wrote for over 100 films between 1916 and 1956. He was born in Washington, D.C., son of Col. George Frederick Schayer and writer Julia Schayer. He was one of seven studio executives who worked at Universal Pictures during the golden age of Laemmle management.
  Vivienne (MY) – Rear Commodore Harvey Thew – A screenwriter since 1916, Harvey F. Thew spent most of his movie career at Warner Bros. Thew co-scripted John Barrymore’s The Man From Blankley’s (1930) and The Mad Genius (1931), James Cagney’s Public Enemy (1931), and Edward G. Robinson’s Silver Dollar and Two Seconds (1932). Parting company with Warners in the mid-’30s, he went on to work at MGM and Paramount. Harvey F. Thew’s final screen credit was the 45-minute Hal Roach “streamliner” Dudes Are Pretty People (1942).
• Mirubo – Fleet Secretary Milton Cashey
• Lacaday – William I Seiter – A one-time artist and writer, New Your-born William A. Seiter entered movies in comedy as a member of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, before moving into a job as assistant director and writer. He moved into directing in 1918, and into feature films two years later. Seemingly comfortable in a multitude of genres, Seiter has surprisingly few highlights until fairly late, such as Room Service (1938) with the Marx Brothers, the John Wayne action vehicle Allegheny Uprising (1939), and the Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth song-and-dance fest You Were Never Lovelier (1942).
• Wympy – Russell Coller – (November 20, 1913 – October 2, 1987) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer who is noted for the “offbeat creativity and originality” of his screenplays and for film noir movies and television episodes produced in the 1950s.
• Lucky Lady IV – Seton J. Miller – Seton Ingersoll Miller (May 3, 1902 – March 29, 1974) was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with many notable film directors such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz. Miller received two Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay for fantasy romantic comedy film Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) along with Sidney Buchman.
• Susanne A (MY) – Grover Jones – (November 15, 1893 – September 24, 1940) was an American screenwriter – often teamed with William Slavens McNutt – and film director. He wrote more than 104 films between 1920 and his death. He also was a film journal publisher and prolific short story writer. Jones was born in Rosedale, Indiana, grew up in West Terre Haute, Indiana, and died in Hollywood, California. He was the father of American polo pioneer Sue Sally Hale.
• Marvic – Victor Milner – , A.S.C. (December 15, 1893 – October 29, 1972) (sometimes Victor Miller) was an American cinematographer. He was nominated for ten cinematography Academy Awards, winning once for 1934 Cleopatra. Milner worked on more than 130 films, including dramas (Broken Lullaby), comedies (Unfaithfully Yours), film noir (Dark City), and Westerns (The Furies). He worked for large production companies like Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal, and Paramount during his film career.
• Gitania – Charles Rosher – , A.S.C. (November 17, 1885 – January 15, 1974) was a two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer who worked from the early days of silent films through the 1950s. He was the first cinematographer to receive an Academy Award, along with 1929 co-winner Karl Struss.
• Anaconda – Franklin Hansen
• Maramel – Tom Buckingham – (February 25, 1895 – September 7, 1934) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 48 films between 1920 and 1932. He was born in Chicago, Illinois

Resources

Coast Guardsman’s History of the U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard History 1939-1999, by John A. Tilley