Yacht Club - For Sail

Muscles strain to hold fast as the strong Westerly breeze pulls taut the mainsail. Cold spray hits your face hard, stinging, temporarily blinding, as you fight to coax every ounce of energy from your responsive craft. Faster, further, just a few moments more. There’s your goal, about 100 metres ahead. Can you hold out? Will you be successful? Out of the corner of your eye, a flash of colour enters your field of vision, moving quickly – too quickly – in the same direction.

Steeling yourself against this intruder, this interloper, you summon every bit of reserve your body has left, melding with the wood, metal and flapping sail to shake your pursuer. Still he comes, relentlessly, gaining with every second. Suddenly, it’s over. You made it! The strength drains from your body; muscles go limp. Then, a voice calls to you from your left. “Great sail, Sarah. There’s no way I could have caught you, but just wait until next week! Why don’t we grab some dinner in the clubhouse to celebrate?”

Ocean cities or tropical paradises are not the only homes to great sailing adventures and avid sailors. For more than a century of summers, sailing has been an integral part of the boating tradition on Lake of the Woods.

Sharing the local waterways with the utility-minded, practical tin fishing boats, powerful speedboats, family cruisers and silent canoes, one can always find the regal sailboat - the unmistakable royalty of the lake. These environmentally-friendly craft come in all shapes and sizes, from one-person dinghies to multi-million dollar floating palaces. Whether they are pieced together from scraps, crafted lovingly and painstakingly by hand or manufactured from wood, steel, fiberglass or the latest high-tech materials, every sailboat evokes the same passions from its skipper and crew. Says Don Konantz, Commodore of the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club: “Sailing is more than a past-time. It’s a passion that enters your blood and your heart and captures you for the rest of your life.”

Helping to fuel that passion since 1903 has been the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club. Located on Yacht Club Island, a few miles from Kenora’s Harbourfront, the club has grown in membership and stature over time to become respected internationally for its programs and quality of sailors. The club’s membership features a who’s who of Manitoba and Canada’s business and social establishment, as well as many year-round and summer area residents who all share at least one common trait – the love of sailing.

“The heritage and tradition of the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club is a part of the fabric of many of the area’s summer residents’ lives. Many members joined as part of their family and grew up with the club. My great-grandparents were members in the early 1900’s,” says Commodore Konantz. “It’s a timeless institution where you can make lifelong friends with like-minded people, people who are passionate about the water and the wind.”

It is also the allure of Lake of the Woods that draws these sailing families back year after year. The nature, the wildlife and the pristine wilderness all provide a backdrop of peace, serenity and sense of homecoming. Plus, there is all that water and more than 14,000 islands to explore. Whether racing single-handed in a dinghy or leisurely cruising up and down the lake in a 35-foot sailboat complete with sleeping quarters, fully-stocked galley and all the modern conveniences, to many people, there is no better way to experience the true essence of Lake of the Woods. To sail is to harness nature’s gift of wind, to meet the challenges of the elements head on, to work together with your crew and your craft, and to revel in the satisfaction of knowing you were up to the task.

It is that spirit that brings together the many members of the area’s long-standing Yacht Club, along with the zest for life and adventure and a real love for Lake of the Woods. Adds Don Konantz, “It’s a place you can come back to every year and feel at home. It doesn’t change. The Yacht Club is the heart of a vibrant community and is the center of social interaction for people at the lake.”

An integral part of the club’s activities since its inception has been the sailing lessons for all ages and levels of experience. Children as young as six years can learn the basics from instructors who are internationally ranked competitors. This year’s head instructor and long-time member, Royden Brousseau, is one of Canada’s premiere sailors. He has competed at both national and international levels.

Sailing lessons run through much of July and August for various skill levels and ages. Beginner programs familiarize children with nautical terms, boat and water safety and the enjoying the experience of sailing, while more advanced lessons cover such topics as spinnaker handling and racing techniques and strategies. The Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club’s youth racing program has produced incredible results. Most recently, Canada’s youth sailing 420 champions in two-handed racing the past two years are club members Bryce Brousseau and Brian Fast.

Even with all the competitive talent, there is plenty of room and opportunity for children and adults who prefer to enjoy their sailing experience and the social scene. In 2005, approximately 160 children took part in the club’s sailing programs, and another 100 took advantage of each of the facility’s tennis and day camp programs. The Wednesday night youth race and movie night is a huge hit with the younger crowd.

Although a private club, Commodore Konantz says the Yacht Club is seeking new members and that both local and visiting sailors are more than welcome to take part in all races and regattas. “We appreciate and encourage participation in our races. All of our races are wide open.”

Kicking off the season is the Richardson Century of Summers Regatta July 1, followed by the Boot Camp and Manitoba Provincial Sailing Championship on July 19. The August long weekend features several events, including a Youth Regatta for dinghies only - a joint venture with LOWISA (Lake of the Woods International Sailing Association), and the “Kenora Cup”, which challenges boats of all sizes and crew skills to be the fastest to sail around Coney Island in whatever direction each skipper chooses.

Whatever one’s level of sailing skills and experience, stresses Don Konantz, sailing on Lake of the Woods can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. In a world of high-powered boats, bigger and faster engines that propel can propel you across the water at dizzying speeds, it’s satisfying to know you can still experience Lake of the Woods the way we were meant to – just you, the wind and the water working together in harmony for a common purpose.

For more information on programs and services of the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club, phone 807-543-2184 or e-mail: info@rlwyc.ca