The United States Power Squadron (USPS), a preeminent boating organization currently boasting more than 60,000 members, traces its roots to the BYC. Just prior to his election as Rear Commodore, Roger Upton created the organization to help improve seamanship and navigational skills as the popularity of recreational power boating saw exponential growth in the early nineteen hundreds. Starting in 1911, Upton created the Power Division within the Boston Yacht Club with 36 founding members, structuring a program heavy on classroom training and on-the-water maneuvering drills.
During July of 1912, the club's power boaters were invited to join in on the annual cruise, and a fleet of 40 sailboats and 20 power boats left Marblehead for Peaks Island, Maine. A horrific storm blew up on one particularly long leg of the cruise, and only 2 boats of the sixty made it safely into Portland that evening. The power boaters came into their own as they assisted the disabled sailboats, towing many into port. From this auspicious beginning, the United States Power Squadron was born.