Club History
Late in the summer of 1969, two sailing acquaintances, John Foote and Jerry Rickard met at the old Dennis Drug Store. The topic of the conversation, naturally, was sailing! Up to this time, Jerry had been mooring off Tsawwassen beach and meeting up occasionally with local sailors Walter Graf and Jerry Elliot. Les Minnie had also discussed sailing and a yacht club with John Foote.
The outcome of the drug store meeting was the decision to stop all the talking and get a club going. John and Jerry contacted various people who had boats in their yards and arranged a meeting at Cliff Drive School on November 28, 1969 for a group of 40 interested Yachtsmen.
The first general meeting was held December 11, 1969 at the old Anglican Church Hall at 12th Avenue and 56th Street where the Delta Fair Shopping Centre now stands. An executive was elected headed by Commodore John Foote and the groundwork of the club policy was laid.
Within weeks, By-laws and a Constitution were drawn up, three Flying Juniors were ordered and negotiations were started with the Province for use of the ferry causeway. Unable to get a satisfactory answer, the decision was made to set up a compound on the causeway and camp there as long as we could.
By the spring of 1970, adults had received sailing instructions in the Flying Juniors from volunteers, 36 moorings were in place, docks were floating, and we had 123 Charter Members. The Junior program was well under way with 60 youngsters enrolled and by May we were ready for Sailpast.
In November 1970, a new executive under Commodore Tom Buell went to work finding the Club a new home. After much negotiating, a one year permit was obtained from the Tsawwassen Indian Band for the beach site and we were at it again, erecting a clubhouse, compound, and off to our second successful year!
During the year 1972-73, the Club, under the guidance of Commodore Vic Rivers, negotiated a lease for double the frontage of previous years. The compound was torn down and rebuilt to encompass the entire property. Most of the moorings were replaced with heavier tackle and a tidal grid was installed on the beach.
By 1974 the composition of the Club had shown a shift towards keel boat ownership and deep water moorage was increased to 55. The Tsawwassen Yacht Race was started as an invitational race for boats under 30 feet. Keel boat events brought out a good turnout.
In 1979, under Commodore Eric Hansen, the membership built the present Clubhouse. A new lease was negotiated with the Indian Band for a larger compound. On the the tenth anniversary of the Club, the new building was opened.
In 1981, with John Groenevelt as Commodore, the Alden Bank International Yacht Race was initiated. The 1983 race was very exciting if not a bit frightening with the fleet being caught in a storm overnight.
1982 saw the construction of the "rubber boathouse" for the storage of inflatables. This was built by members during the spring work parties.
December 1982 had the Club suffer from a severe wind storm/high tide that destroyed part of our fence and flooded the compound with huge logs. Under the leadership of Commodore Alec Merling, work parties were formed and cleanup began. All was in working order for the 1983 New Year's Day Regatta.
The fall of 1983 saw the beginning of winter keel boat storage in the compound with four boats stored. By 1985, storage had increased to 10 boats.
1985 also saw club member Al Whitfield approach the Executive with the idea of a floating marina without a breakwater, as used in Scandinavia. This idea was the catalyst for another attempt to have a marina in place for our use. In the spring of 1985, Vice Commodore Fred Davies took on the task of bringing a marina to our location in cooperation with the Tsawwassen Indian Band.
As time goes by, the marina project has been pursued by the Commodore and Executive, each year bringing new hope and plans. With the different levels of government, private interests and the Tsawwassen Indian Band involved, this remains a long term plan.
1987 brought the B.C. Summer Games to Delta with TYC hosting the sailing events. Under the direction of Audrey Davies and the assistance of club volunteers, the regatta was a great success.
The summer sailing classes enjoyed a resurgence with Junior Counsellor Tony Smith during 1990-91. Rear Commodore Gary Scheelke constructed a float for on-the-water storage of the Lasers to improve access for the students at low tide. With a solid base of instructors and students, the program continued to flourish.
Club participation in cruises and "fun" races such as the Round Saltspring and Round Pender Island Races increased as the average boat size in the club continued to grow. With tougher economic times, moorage in the basin also increased.
Almost 10 years after "The Flood of '82", TYC was challenged by "The Slide '92" as tons of mud, rocks and debris cascaded down the cliffs and washed the clubhouse off its foundation. Under the leadership of Commodore Mark Endersby and Rear Commodore Gary Scheelke, club volunteers tackled the enormous task of rebuilding the clubhouse. The compound and building emerged better than new and in time for Sailpast!
1995 saw us without a clubhouse due to proposed construction of townhouses where the clubhouse stood. That year, the Sailpast ceremonies were held at Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen. Commodore Debby Cleveland was honored during that ceremony. The old clubhouse was donated to the Delta Riding Club and relocated to their riding grounds off Roberts Bank Road. An agreement was made with them to allow us to continue to use the clubhouse for our functions. Also in 1995, we were able to obtain Canadian custom clearance by phone for T.Y.C members.
Part way through 1996, Commodore Kim Carswell stepped down due to job relocation, and Vice Commodore, John Mason, assumed the duties.
In 1997, under the leadership of Commodore John Mason, negotiations were underway with the Delta Riding Club to enhance the clubhouse facilities. During 1997, our club saw an increase in membership, with many being avid cruisers, both power and sail. Social activities were well attended, with the seafood night being the most popular. To uphold an agreement with the Delta Riding Club, a concrete holding tank was installed to the relief of all club members. A club cruise to Otter Bay on the September long weekend was a huge success. It was hosted by Commodore John Mason and Beverly his wife.
Eventually, the Delta Riding Club had to move the club house and we decided to find an alternative facility to hold our meetings and functions. We settled on using the "Fishermans Co-Operative" in Delta, which to this day we frequent
In the fall of 1997, elections for the various club positions were held. Mike Gallagher was elected Commodore for the 1997-98 term. Some of the old members once again volunteered for executive positions, however, the majority of the executive positions were filled by new members. In previous years the popular "Margherita Cruise" which took place on the May long weekend was held at Point Browning Marina, however, in the spring of 1998 ,it was held in Deer Harbour. As in the previous year, on the September long weekend the club once again gathered at Otter Bay. Past Commodore John Mason and his wife Beverly were the hosts. Once again it was a huge success. Membership during 1998 had increased dramatically.
The club continues to experience fluctuations in membership as do all clubs from time to time. Most members who own boats moor them in the Point Roberts Marina.
Each season the club hosts social functions, a number of club cruises and a popular racing schedule
Joint Racing with point Roberts Yacht club is held during May and June and is sponsored by T.Y.C. and the September, October, November, February, March & April races are sponsored by PRYC.
Our annual fees are very reasonable and we welcome all sailors who would like to try their skill at racing and/or cruising in the company of other club members.