News, Projects, Tips & In Memoriam

The 2024 Membership Fee Portal is now Open! 

To Join FYC, Click Here.

To learn more about Membership at FYC, please Click Here.

*Returning Members:  Take advantage of Early Bird Pricing until March 1st!

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For more info about the Sailing School, please Click Here!  Registration Portals are Open for Youth & Adult Lessons!

Thrills & Skills Kiwanis Cup Youth "Un-Regatta"!

 
February 19, 2024

 

There’s a new youth regatta starting being launched this August, and it’s happening at Fanshawe Yacht Club. 

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, we’ll be hosting the Thrills and Skills, Kiwanis Cup Youth Un-Regatta.

This all started back in August, 2023, when FYC member Tim M approached the sailing school and said that the London Middlesex Kiwanis Club may have funds available to donate. He said that they especially like supporting events that involve children. He suggested that perhaps this could be an opportunity for the sailing school to get some outsider funding to support some of our programs.
After a couple of Sailing School meetings, and a meeting with Tim, we put together a list of some of our needs, and goals. This included, covering bus costs, new gangway for the school docks, a ceiling mounted projector, instructor training, and possibly starting a new youth regatta. We couldn’t decide which item was more important and which the Kiwanis would be interested in. So we decided to present them with our list of needs, and let them choose where they would like to direct their donation. That is assuming we even get their support.
 
The Kiwanis have a board meeting once a month, and they invited the Sailing School to make a presentation at one of their meetings. So, on Nov 2nd, I visited the Kiwanis Seniors Community Centre located at the corner of Riverside and Wharncliffe, to present a list of six proposals to the Kiwanis board of directors. During the presentation, the Kiwanis learned about the entire Fanshawe Yacht Club and how the sailing school was just one part of the club. Several slides showed the beautiful grounds and buildings like the Doug MacKenzie Hall and the Sailing School building. Of course there were a lot of photos of boats, big and small, on Fanshawe Lake.
 
The group seemed very impressed. And we found out later that there were several former sailors, who were part of the Kiwanis Board of Directors. So, we were pretty hopeful.  One month later, during their December meeting, the Kiwanis Board of Directors discussed our proposals, and voted to support the creation of a new youth regatta. During our proposal we had budgeted $1300 to start this regatta. They approved to provide a grant for the whole amount. However, they ask that we provide more details in the future.
 
Wow! That was great news for us, but it also meant that from this point on, the Sailing School would have to begin planning to run a regatta. The first step was putting together an idea of what this regatta could look like.
 
On Jan 10, we had a meeting with Cam L from Ontario Sailing. We told him about our idea of creating a regatta for younger kids, mostly in the CanSail 3-4 group. Essentially for kids who may be too intimidated to go to Cork, or other larger regattas. And we also wanted to incorporate an educational element.
 
Cam was impressed with our goals, but he suggested that we avoid trying to be like other regattas. That’s when he suggested the “un-regatta” format. This type of event meant that the focus could be more on fun, and team building. We had never heard of an un-regatta, so he sent us some links to some online videos. When we learned what they were all about, we were hooked.

An un-regatta does not have the usual windward, leeward race format. Instead, it consists of activities which force the sailors to put their sailing skills to use in unusual, sometimes silly races. For example, they may race backwards, sail through an obstacle course or play a form of frisbee golf on the water. There will also be land activities like knot tying races, and contests to see who can rig a boat the fastest. All the young sailors would be part of a team, so no one single sailor wins a race. Everything is a team effort.
 
On Jan 10, 2024, we pitched the idea to the president of the Kiwanis Club, Carol T, along with a few other board members. They loved the idea! On top of that, they also wanted to help us out with more fund raising, and to help by providing more volunteers.
 
On Feb 14, 2024, during one of monthly FYC social dinners, several Kiwanis members were invited, and at the Fireside Grill, they presented the Fanshawe Yacht Club with a cheque for $1300.00.
 
There’s no turning back now!
 
We’ve sent emails to various club and sailing schools in Southwestern Ontario. So far, we’ve heard back from five, who all said that they love the idea and hopefully we will be seeing some sailors from their clubs.
 
Gilles Sweet-Boulay
Sailing School Director (2024)
Fanshawe Yacht Club and Sailing School
*to contact the Sailing School, please use the Contact FYC form and select Sailing School as the message recipient
 
Photos below of the cheque presentation to FYC by Members of the Kiwanis Club at the Fireside Grill. (photos by J. Kabel or T. Mayo)
 
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Open House 2024 - FYC Welcomes the Public!

Fanshawe Yacht Club was founded in 1953.

Join us at the Annual FYC Open House as we celebrate more than 70 years of fun on the water in London! 

Fanshawe Yacht Club welcomes members of the public to tour our facilities and to try sailing (weather permitting)!

Our club will be open Saturday, May 25 & Sunday, May 26, 2024        

Times: 10:00am – 4:00pm      

Check out our club grounds at beautiful Fanshawe Lake. Enter through Fanshawe Conservation Area main gate off of Clarke Road, then proceed through the campground to FYC where our member greeters will meet you and help you to begin your tour.   
 
Admission is Free!
 
Sailing can be very accessible for all!  There are various ways of getting out on the water, learning to sail, even buying a sailboat which won’t break the bank (for example, affordable sailboats are often listed for sale on Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace!) Our members are happy to answer any questions you might have about sailing.
 
*Note:  All Visitors over 18 must sign a Waiver (feel free to open the link and print your own copy to bring to Open House).  Parents or guardians must sign for those under 18.  Waivers will also be available in our Doug MacKenzie Hall Clubhouse, your first stop during Open House. 
 
Photo below: one of our happy Open House Visitors who won an FYC Cap and other visitors trying out sailing in the background.
One of our happy Open House prize winners

Main Dock & Shoreline Project – An Ongoing Analysis for the Future

Updated Feb. 18, 2024

The FYC Main Dock, which follows the shoreline along the protected harbour for 152.4m (500′), was constructed in 1966.  It forms the edge of the harbour where many of the club’s larger sailboats are moored. It has a 1.8m wide (6′) wide asphalt surface with a steel sheet pile wall down into the water. It is key to helping prevent shoreline erosion.

The main dock lines the woods along the protected harbour and is where sailors tow their boats in from their moorings in the harbour or dock their boats during sailing events such as regattas or fun days for visitors.  During the sailing season, car tires and carpet remnants are hung along the wall to protect boats as they dock.  Most importantly, it provides a level place for our members and many visitors to safely traverse the shoreline from the launch ramp at the south end to the stairs up to the Doug MacKenzie Hall clubhouse at the north end.

Over the years, the dock has required some repairs. The information below catalogues the current and ongoing repairs needed in order for the main dock to exist for sailors for another 50 years! 

Further Update: February 2024

A committee was struck the Fall of 2023 to further advance the dock wall project for which various preparations had been made in prior years. FYC members guiding the project are Andy T, Rick G, John K, and Peter W.
 
In the Fall of 2023 FYC hired engineering consultant Spriet Associates through a competitive process  to undertake surveys, geotechnical investigations, design, and tendering of the previously recommended wall repairs.  The project focus is on repairing the wall at the foot of the stairs at the north end of the dock, close by the dragon boat docks, and at the south end of the wall between the launch ramp and a previously repaired section. The project addresses the priority areas for repair noted in the various reports to the membership in prior years. In addition the project investigated repairs to the launch ramp to even the grades, improve the range of ramp use for depths, provide a safer outboard edge, and provide a level area for person transfers to kayaks for AIM (Abilities in Motion).
 
Request for bids for construction were released in February 2024 and when received later in the month will assist FYC in making an application to the Ontario Trillium Fund (OTF) Capital Program for a financial grant  to undertake the project. It is hoped bids are favourable for all the work to be done under the grant if approved beginning as early as October 2024. If the grant is limited, work will focus on priorities and the most feasible aspects of the overall project that could be undertaken.
 

Click the links below to learn more about this project or members can contact Rick G for more info on his committee’s findings and recommendations.

 

"Sail Nova Scotia Prepping for SailGP" - Article from Sailing in Canada Magazine

February 15, 2024

Sailing in Canada magazine has just published an article on the preparations in Nova Scotia for the 2024 Halifax SailGP.  Click Here to read the article about the first of its kind high speed, action-packed sailing Grand Prix in Canada.

Canada SailGP Team helmed by Phil Robertson leads from ROCKWOOL Denmark SailGP Team helmed by interim driver Nathan Outteridge and Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Giles Scott and the rest of the fleet on Race Day 1 of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 13th January 2024. Photo: Simon Bruty for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP.

FYC on the RADIO!

Click Here to listen to a CBC Radio Morning Segment about Fanshawe Yacht Club with Commodore Stacey and Past Commodore Bonita as they explain about sailing in London, the Open House and more.

Friday, May 26, 2023

Green Boating in 2024

The Green Boating Guide is an excellent resource for those on, in, or around water to understand how your actions can affect our water systems now, and in the future.

For more links to further reading, guides, education, online magazines and other excellent resources for sailors and boaters, please check out the External Links tab at the bottom of the FYC website

Trailer Towing Tips

April 24, 2023

Check out the videos in the links below which demonstrate trailer towing tips to help keep you, your family, whatever you are towing, and others on the road safe!

Dangers of Improper Tongue Weight!

Tongue Weight Safety Demonstration

Towing Mistakes

The Tongue Weight of a Trailer Should be What Percent of the Total ...

 

If you have any further Tips for us, please Contact the Website Coordinator using the drop down arrow on our contact form.