At the turn of the century most yacht clubs were made up of sailing vessels and large steam yachts, often manned by professional crews. The gasoline powered boat was just coming in to its own and was looked down upon by the sailors and steam boat owners.

Roger Upton, a member of the Boston Yacht Club and the owner of 50-foot ketch, purchased a gasoline powered boat to serve as tender for his sailboat and to tow her when she was becalmed. The older yacht clubs taught and promoted the sport of sailing and as the motor yachts joined the fleet there were few activities for them.

In the summer of 1911, Mr. Upton suggested a club-within-a club to embrace a select group of "gasoliners" who would develop such forms of cruising and racing as the new type yachts demanded. A year later, he was elected Rear Commodore of the Boston Yacht Club, was placed in charge of the Powerboat Division of the club, and soon kept the 36 members busy with instructions, cruises and special "bang-and-go-back" races. He also inaugurated drills -- modeled after U.S. Naval maneuvers -- in the belief that private power boat owners could be of use to the Navy in time of war.

During the summer of 1912, 20 power boats were invited to join 40 windjammers on the annual Boston Yacht Club cruise. During the cruise, a screeching Nor'wester blew up, and many of the sail boats were dismasted or otherwise disabled. The power yachts under Mr.Upton's command went to the rescue and towed the disabled sailing crafts to port. No losses were reported. Motorboat Magazine dramatized the rescue with a six-page story. At the annual meeting in January 1913, the name was upgraded to Power Squadron with its officers and rules printed in the 1913 Boston Yacht Club Yearbook. The value of the Power Squadron was now established and meetings were held to form a national organization. On Feb. 4, 1914, 30 delegates representing 70 clubs and associations having power boats assembled at the New York Yacht Club and during the evening the final work of organizing the United States Power Squadrons was accomplished. (Click for more on the early history of the USPS®).

Desiring some unique identification, this new group designed the ensign including the fouled anchor encircled by 13 stars on a red field with 13 vertical blue and white stripes. To protect the USPS ensign Roger Upton applied for and received U.S. design patent #48,803, issued in April 1914. When that patent expired in 1928, trademark and copyright registrations were obtained and have been maintained ever since.

USPS has grown over the years and has been honored by four US presidents for its many civic contributions. Today, USPS comprises more than 60,000 men, women and youngsters in 450 squadrons. USPS members are involved in all types of boating with a third of the membership operating sail boats. For details on USPS membership call our toll free number: 1-888-367-8777.

The Mid-Coast Sail & Power Squadron is a unit of District 19 within the United States Power Squadron national organization. The Mid-Coast Squadron, which covers the Penobscot Bay region of the central Maine coast, was incorporated in 1992. Previously, most of the area USPS members had belonged to the neighboring Wawenock Squadron centered in the Damariscotta to Bath area southwest of the Penobscot Bay. Because of the distance to that squadron, most of the Penobscot Bay members split off, and with the Wawenock Squadron's assistance formed the Mid-Coast Sail & Power Squadron. We started with 50 members and have grown to approximately 125. The Mid-Coast has over 3,000 registered boats.

To show who we are, we designed our own burgee, a triangular identification flag, usually flown from the forestaff or from the spreader below the USPS ensign. The burgee shows three views typical for this area: the sky, the ocean and the Maine spruce trees. All members can buy this flag to fly on their boat or mount on a wall.

Like all USPS Squadrons, our main activity is education. Each year we conduct at least three Basic Boating courses for the general public, and most of our members join the squadron from these courses. We are also active in providing advanced education for our members. See the Course Descriptions)

Socially, we meet every other month for dinner or lunch to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow boaters and have a nautical related speaker or program. We also have at least one rendezvous in the summer, get together for a picnic and have a Christmas party in December.

And finally, we take part in USCG and NOAA related projects, like Adopt a Chart and Co-operative Charting. This way we can help these organizations to update sailing charts in our area. We offer free vessel safety checks with our own Coast Guard approved inspectors.

Every member is kept up-to-date about Squadron activities by reading our monthly award-winning newsletter, the Prevailing Winds. Members are encouraged to send stories about their boat trips, safety information, and experiences with boats and gear, including blunders and mistakes we all make and from which we can all learn.

Our membership roster is published annually and is available to members on this web site. It also has listings of Bridge and Executive Committee members and Squadron Committee Chairpersons.

Of course, a volunteer organization like the Power Squadron relies on the participation of many. Every member is encouraged to become a member of a committee. This site provides a list of these committees and also the name of the Member Involvement Chair, and he or she will be delighted to help you find a position you will like.