History of Sailing in Victoria

The sport of sailing in Victoria dates back to 1859. The first recorded sailing competition was held in Esquimalt by the Royal Navy, but failed due to lack of wind. Steamboat racing was also popular around this time. An interest in sailing was renewed in 1888, when eleven Victoria sailors decided that a sailing race should be part of the city’s celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday on May 24th. The race became the highlight of the annual celebration and it was not long before sailors from American ports on Puget Sound began to compete in the race, making the event international. The race was so popular that a decision was made to form a local yacht club to extend the racing season beyond one day.

During the 1920's, fleets of International 14's and Stars regularly competed. Since 1930, Victoria has been host to the Swiftsure International Yacht Race. Beginning with an entry of only four boats, Swiftsure has become the largest annual offshore yacht racing event held in the Pacific Northwest, with a competitive fleet of 450 first-rate offshore racing yachts. Also, during the prohibition in the 1920’s and early 1930’s, the waters between Vancouver Island and southwestern BC were very active when mother ships would off-load cargo worth millions of dollars to high-speed yachts known as rum-runners.

During the two World Wars local sailors and members of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, many of whom were former naval officers, offered lectures on seamanship and navigation and organized a flotilla of pleasure boats which patrolled the coastal waters off Victoria on the prowl for enemy submarines. Six Meters, Dragons, Lightnings and Snipes were in vogue and popular for racing during the years following the Second World War.

Throughout the years, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club has hosted the annual Pacific International Yachting Association Regatta and has conducted other international world championship events such as those for three-quarter ton yachts and the Thunderbird one-design class. Cal 20's, Lasers, Laser II's and Mini 12's also conduct year-round racing programmes. Vancouver Island is host to the Cadillac Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race. This 580 kilometer race begins in Nanaimo’s harbour and proceeds north in a series of 10 challenging point-to-point legs to circumnavigate the Island, finishing back in Nanaimo 15 days later.

Victoria has been represented in many world class international regattas. In 1988, a junior member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club was selected for the Canadian Olympic Team and several members participated in a Canadian challenge for the America's Cup in 1987. Since that time, the Club’s sailors have had continuing success, including a bronze medal at the Olympics, a Women's World Laser Championship and many other high placings in national and international regattas. The Royal Victoria Yacht Club is the oldest sailing association in Western Canada and celebrated its Centennial in 1992.

Power boasts also play a significant role in the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Predicted-log racing has replaced the out-and-out-speed boat races of earlier years. Extensive cruising in the inland waterways of British Columbia, Washington and Alaska is popular and boaters also lend a hand during sail racing activities by providing committee and safety boats.

Every year in Victoria, over 300 youngsters are introduced to the sport of sailing, receiving instruction on the technicalities of sailing and good seamanship, but also good sportsmanship and fellowship.

Today, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club has 650 senior and 400 other members, all of whom take pride in belonging to the oldest sailing association in Western Canada. The Royal Victoria Yacht Club enthusiastically celebrated its Centennial in 1992 and looks forward with confidence to its second hundred years.