Sarasota Yacht Club, St. Armands commemorate anniversary with century of cars

By Ian Swaby
| 9:10 p.m. January 17, 2026

Tom Watson showcases his 1929 Ford Model A.

Sarasota
Neighbors

The 100th anniversary of the Sarasota Yacht Club and St. Armands Circle was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

For Bill Hadley, co-chair of the YachtRodders group within the Sarasota Yacht Club, so was putting together a car show.

Although he is a car fan who has had experience attending shows, the group was working from scratch as it assembled its own show featuring vehicles also spanning 100 years.

"I spent the last six months going to car shows, inviting the best of the shows here, and we got them," he said. "I'm really happy to see it all come together. It's been amazing. We had a boatload of volunteers to help us put all this together."

He said the event tied together the past in more than one way. Not only were both local fixtures being celebrated founded by John Ringing in 1926, but the yacht club was also originally known as the Sarasota Yacht and Automobile Club.

The event began with a parade of 35 cars, starting on Main Street in Sarasota and concluding on St. Armands Circle. The show featured a total of some 175 cars, including a display on the circle where exhibitors dressed in period costume to match the era of their car.

"What I love about the show is just the variety of different types of vehicles, and the idea that it represents 100 years," said Candace Ordonez of Bird Key. "Really a beautiful sight and a great day."

The parade makes its way down Main Street.

A 1956 Jaguar XK140 MC owned by Zach and Greta Hamric, which was previously owned by Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, makes its way along the parade route.

Crystal Milligan, her son Oliver Milligan, 10, husband Robert Milligan, who is commodore of the Sarasota Yacht Club, and son Greyson Milligan, 14, participated in the parade and event.

Zack Hamric shows his 1956 Jaguar XK140 MC, which was formerly owned by Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones to Larry Powell and another attendee, Debbie Wilson.

Charles Lenher demonstrates the door, which descends into the side of the vehicle, on a 1990 BMW Z1. He helped his friend Jurgen Otto to drive the car there.

Patty and Charles Clark stand beside their Porsche 911 Carrera 4 GTS and Porsche 911 Turbo S.

Scott Melton and Chloe Lee look at a 1964 Lincoln Continental Convertible owned by Phil Annunziato and being showcased by automotive restoration specialist Chris Hartner.

Wile E. Coyote gets up to some tricks inside a 1957 Chervolet Delray owned by Robert Wilder.

Greg Moisan posse with a custom-made car modeled after the modified 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the film "Bullitt".

The event featured a total of 175 vehicles.

Leslie Goldstein looks at a 1931 Ford Model A.

Dave Freeman stands beside his 1949 Diamond T 201.

This 1985 Ferrari 308GTSi is the same variety driven by Tom Selleck in the show "Magnum, P.I."

Colton Thomas, 3, and Taryn Thomas explore the cars.

Brigitte Burke and Sheryl Taritas get a look at the 1939 MG VA owned by Douglas Kniff.

The motor spins on a 1930 Ford Coupe Hot Rod owned by Dan and Donna Hall.

Mark Rosenthal learns about a phonograph from Tom Shults, who co-owns a 1926 Fort Model T Runabout with his wife Debbie Shults.

Phil Annunziato looks over his 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible, "Big Red," that carried Sarasota Yacht Club Commodore Robert Milligan.

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.