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Ben Wilkinson and Tim Felbel maneuver their 49-er through docked boats at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club during the club’s first open house. Visitors were given a tour of the clubhouse, docks and facilities and saw firsthand some of the activities at the club. Sharon Tiffin/News staff
High seas hijinks on the menu at Yacht Club Open house focuses on family fun activities Brittany Lee News staff
A yacht club isn’t just a place for sailors. The 120-year-old Royal Victoria Yacht Club held its first open house Saturday with a focus on drawing in new families. The club has made several changes in recent years in attempt to make it more appealing for families to join, said Jeremy Smith, commodore of the RVYC. This includes lowering entrance fees and renovations to make the club more family-
friendly. to attract new, younger members is because “It’s a really great family sport, family activ- it has two club-owned sailboats available to ity, because you can take your family out on members without their own, he said. a boat and just go day sail“It makes it really easy ing, or you can come down and accessible.” “What I realized was here and work on your boat Ian Hinkle, who joined the while your kids play or go the Royal Victoria Yacht club three years ago, is one sailing,” Smith said. of the younger club memClub was just a club There’s been a big change bers. in the interest of younger of people that enjoyed Originally from Vancoupeople, particularly in their messing about in boats.” ver, Hinkle used to wind30s, joining the club, he said, surf. He switched to sailing - Ron Jewula noting that since December, so he could be with his famthere’s been 15 new memily, he said, adding that his bers in that age bracket. The four years eight-year-old daughter started sailing at prior to that, there were two. the age of five. One of the reasons the club has been able Victoria is such a great place for sail-
ing because there’s access to great wilderness, wildlife, and short distances between islands, he said. “The club provides great access to the (Gulf) Islands and the ocean around Victoria that so many people don’t take advantage of,” he said. “It’s great to get on the water. … Whether that means going out with a bunch of kids and dropping a crab trap, you can do that right off Victoria. That’s something people forget when they live in the city, that we have this amazing ocean resource at our doorstep.” PLEASE SEE: Women, families welcome, Page A12
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