Welcome to L.S.Y.C.

 In 1959 boaters at Crate’s Marine in Keswick decided that it might be a good idea to form a yacht club as many Crate boaters loved to boat together and wished to teach other some skills to use on Lake Simcoe and the Trent‐Severn Waterway. They formed the first chartered Yacht Club on Lake Simcoe and the names of the original Executive Committee are on the Charter. A copy of this charter is around and a previous Commander might know who has it now. Usually in the hands of the Secretary and states the various officers on it. To keep the charter alive minutes of the Annual Meetings are supposed to be forwarded to Ottawa although this may not be happening lately. 

The first Commodore was Fred Allen and in those days all the vessels were wood and his 33 Chris Craft named “Ollie A” (after his wife) was the flagship vessel. The club grew over the years and I joined in 1967 having met some of the members through the Keswick Power Squadron (Toronto based but formed with many of the same members to learn the skills of Navigation/Seamanship and Boat‐Handling). The Keswick Squadron no longer exists. LSYC grew up to 150 members when I was Commodore in the late 70’s. The strength of the club over the last 60 years has been its unique ability to help each other. A Chartered club allowed members to visit other yacht clubs as LSYC was listed in the North American Yacht Registry. I recall being able to get some food, dockage, and an adult beverage at several clubs on my trip to deliver a boat to Miami Beach. It goes without saying that adult beverages became part of LSYC life.

 I was a ‘remote’ member so never kept my boat – “Lady Lou” in Crates. Several Commodores were ‘remote’ members. The original club house was over the boat house on the Dawson’s Marina that belonged to Ken Beamish (of Construction fame) until the original clubhouse was constructed where the existing clubhouse is now situated. It was the work of so many members such as Doug Lye, Guy Rogers family and many others almost too numerous to list here.

 In a yacht club year there were at least 4 official functions: Sail past was the first Saturday in June and then a Sail‐A‐Way which meant leave the marina for places like Sunset Cove, Lauderdale Marina on Sparrow Lake, Port Stanton and more recently the Port of Orillia. Other events included a Labour Day Event away from Crate’s which for about 5 years involved anchoring in front of my place on Lake Couchiching with a Pot Luck supper and Corn Roast. Many times there were in excess of 25 boats rafted together. There was often a Thanksgiving event, Halloween Event and a winter Rendezvous which was a very dressy (Black Tie) sometime in January or February. The fellowship of the club was very important and these events were well‐attended. Now the Toronto Boat Show event has taken the place of a formal dinner‐dance. 

The clubhouse was the “hub” in the early years as many boats were not as large as they are now and hence people tended to gather Friday and Saturday evenings there. There was an acorn fireplace in one corner for those chilly nights. Thanks to Crates for assisting in the building of the first clubhouse. Dawson’s customers were also welcomed to the club as the “more the merrier” was the theme in the “olden” days. Members were generous in their time and funds to keep the club full of vitality. We donated funds to various charities that included earthquake, flooding, etc.

 I recall a game with the Keswick Kiwanis club wherein we were challenged to a game of “donkey” baseball. A local farmer provided donkeys and when you hit a ball or fielded a ball you had to drag the donkey with you before you could run the bases. We certainly did make an “ass” of ourselves but big money was raised as the townsfolk and club members came out to the baseball diamond. 

There were many good memories over the years such as: Commodore Mike C. thought an open bar at the Sail Past was a good idea as the funds were there and it was named the “Say When” bar which indicated when you had sufficient in your glass to enjoy the evening. 

For Sail past we invited the York Regional Police Boat to escort the fleet during sail past and they loved it as it fitted their mandate for “community service” events. 

In our public minded spirit we hosted the Bloor view Children’s hospital and invited many young people in their wheel chairs to enjoy a sail around Cooks Bay, followed by a picnic at the clubhouse. It was such a moving moment to see the kids enjoy something they likely would never achieve. 

There were a few members who did make an impact on me with their unique ability to have fun. We were all anchored at Fox Island one Sunday afternoon and Dini Petty the traffic reporter in the pink helicopter landed on the water for a visit and might I dare to say for a beverage? I suppose that one gets parched in the skies over Ontario. 

One of our members had a vessel called “on the rocks” and the coast guard respectfully asked if he might change their boat name as it caused interesting results on the calling channel. A highlight of my time as Commodore was the sail‐a‐way to Crates in McPhee Bay. We were offered dockage for free at Starport and Commodore Lindsay who owned a company that provides food to the airline industry arranged for tons of Lasagna and ovens to cook them in. Children’s games were included as well. It was one of those hot June weekends and all were invited. Every time I looked out more boats were coming over the horizon into McPhee Bay. 53 boats showed when we expected the usual 20. Impressive but somewhat concerning although the food worked and the festivities continued all weekend. 

LSYC has endured where many clubs have folded and this shows the strength of our group. Volunteer, assist, help out, etc. As more things come to mind I will write again in the History. 

For 60 years the fun continues. The best is yet to come…Respectfully submitted,

Charlie Ellins, Fleet Captain