California yacht club descends into vicious infighting as legal battle exposes dirty secrets of wealthy elite

A nasty saga is playing out at an elite Bay Area yacht club over a member’s denied ascension to the top position within the wealthy members-only group.

In 2018, Marisa McArthur joined the tony Sausalito Yacht Club and quickly rose through the ranks of leadership from rear to vice commodore — with a promotion to commodore all but guaranteed, The Wall Street Journal reported.

But after a series of incidents last year, McArthur said the club not only refused to advance her, but she was kicked out completely — along with the suspension of her husband and mother’s memberships.

McArthur claimed the club booted her in an act of retaliation — and she’s now fighting back.

It all started last March with the club’s cancellation of an annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration in favor of a fundraiser for military veterans.

McArthur objected to the plans, writing an email to the current commodore questioning his decision. In response, he pushed back and accused her of insubordination. 

A few months later, ahead of a Fourth of July celebration at the club, club member and Bay Area broadcast icon Jim Gabbert approached who he thought was McArthur about the commodore election. 

But it turned out he was actually speaking to her mom, as he made a host of disparaging comments about MacArthur, claiming she would be as “unfit” to lead. He also said she “ruined” an annual picnic.

“They just don’t like me,” she told the Journal. “No matter what I touch or what I do, I’ve ruined it.”

Weeks later McArthur and Gabbert got into a heated exchange that forced the current commodore to step in.

“This is why you’ll never be commodore,” Gabbert said, according to McArthur.

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Amid all the infighting, the nominating committee ended up picking a different person for the post, but she decided to run regardless as a write-in candidate. 

She and her supporters rallied against the other nomination, sending out numerous emails to members, something they were later disciplined for.

As a result was some 20 members were punished, including suspensions and expulsions.

McArthur was kicked out, while her husband and mom’s memberships were suspended. 

A lawsuit was filed against the club by the Committee for Fair Governance to have the expulsions and suspensions reversed. But so far nothing has been resolved through mediation, something some members claim has cost the club more than $400,000. 

McArthur said the next step is to take it to trial. 

“At this point, I’m not even sure I want to go back,” McArthur told the Journal.  “But all these people have stood behind me and I’m going to stand up for them. I need to make sure they are made whole. I can’t walk away.”

The battle has left the once-genial club in shambles.

“It’s torn the club apart,” Justin Bruckert, who used to cook at the club and still has ties with members, told the Journal. 

Member Mark Jensen described the situation as “like high school” but with “a lot of retired attorneys with time on their hands.”

The club declined to comment to The California Post. MacArthur didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.