Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club

43°39′29″N 79°18′40″W

Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club
Burgee
Short nameABYC
Founded1932
LocationToronto, Ontario, Canada
CommodorePaul Brennan
Websitewww.abyc.on.ca

Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club (ABYC) is a yacht club in Ashbridge's Bay, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1] The club offers a junior and adult sailing school, dinghy and keelboat racing programs, a cooperative sailing program, cruising and social events.[2][3] In 2022, there are 702 members and docks for up to 292 keelboats.[4] Club facilities include a restaurant, marine railway, and a public fuel dock with pumpout, diesel and gasoline.[4]

History
Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club at dawn (October 2010)

The club was founded in 1932 and was initially located at Knox and Eastern Avenues.[5] Archie Walker was the club's first commodore.[4] The original clubhouse was built in 1936 by its members. ABYC was chartered as a not-for-profit in 1946 as an organization "to advance the sport of yachting in all its branches". The club began to move locations in 1971 to new land accessible by Lakeshore Avenue. From 1975-1977, the current clubhouse was built, which includes a bar and restaurant.[6][7]

ABYC has a long history on the Toronto waterfront, in 1957 membership grew to 100,[8] and in 1963 it was called home to one of the area's largest fleets.[9]

The club saw a significant growth in membership during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which time it undertook significant dock upgrades.[4][5] In 2022, the club celebrated its 90th anniversary.[4][5]

Yacht racing

Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club has a long history of competitive yacht racing.[10] Members race in course and coastal races several days a week.[4]

ABYC regularly hosts numerous regattas and has hosted well known events such as the Lake Yacht Racing Association, LYRA Regatta.[11][12] Members include national and international judges.[4]

ABYC and has been home to Olympian sailors, including Nigel Cochrane,[13] and Laser Radial sailor Sarah Douglas, who trains at and calls ABYC her home club.[14][15] She finished 6th in the 2020 Olympics and was the gold medallist at the 2019 Pan Am Games.

Professional skipper and sailing instructor Diane Reid, the first Canadian woman to challenge the Mini Transat Race[16] is based out of ABYC.[17]

References
  1. Lake Ontario Cruising Guide (2003). ""Ashbridge's Bay Canadian Hydrographic Charts 2053, 2058"".
  2. LOCCA (2020-12-19). "Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club".
  3. Sail-World (2021-12-30). "Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club".
  4. Sail Canada (2022-06-07). "On Deck: Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club". Archived from the original on 2022-06-07.
  5. Alexandros Varoutas (2022-06-06). "Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club celebrates its 90th anniversary year". Beach Metro. Toronto. Archived from the original on 2022-06-07.
  6. Ashbridge's Bay Yacht Club (2021-12-31). "CLUB HISTORY". Archived from the original on 2021-12-31.
  7. "Welcome to the club but don't go near the clubhouse". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 1977-07-16. ProQuest 1239313487.
  8. "Untitled". The Globe Magazine. Toronto. 1957-08-03.
  9. Cauz, Louis (1963-05-21). "Yachtsmen decry lack of facilities". The Globe and Mail. Toronto.
  10. Cole, Richard (1964-09-12). "Weekend Tely". Telegram. Toronto.
  11. Beach Metro (2014-07-29). "ABYC hosts LYRA regatta".
  12. Sail-World (2009-11-11). "Thunderbird Internationals announced for Toronto, August 2010".
  13. "Ship to Shore". Toronto. 2012-08-22.
  14. Globe and Mail (2021-07-20). "Olympic dream got Canadian sailor Sarah Douglas back in the boat". The Globe and Mail.
  15. toronto.com (2021-07-21). "Toronto's Tokyo-bound Olympians have strong, local connections".
  16. Toronto Star (2013-11-22). "Toronto sailor suffers broken mast in trans-Atlantic race". Toronto Star.
  17. Sail-World (2010-03-24). "Diane Reid's FIRST sail on her new Mini Transat 650 Ocean Racer".


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