Nainital Yacht Club is a yacht club that was founded in 1910 by the British, and is located at the Boat House Club in Nainital, a hill station in India. Situated along

Nainital Lake Nainital Lake, also known as Naini Lake, is a natural freshwater body, situated amidst the town of Nainital in Kumaon, Uttarakhand, India. It is tectonic in origin and is mango shaped or crescent shaped and has an outfall at the southeastern en ...

at an elevation of , it is the highest yacht club in India and among the highest in the world.

History

The earliest records of sailing on Nainital Lake are from 1880, when lead keels Cutter type yachts were used. In 1897, Nainital Sailing Club was established and the "Sorceress" type of yachts were used for many years. The Nainital Yacht Club was founded in 1910 by the Carey brothers: C. W. Carey, a Major in the Corps of Guides, and F. Carey, a captain in the Royal Artillery. The brothers introduced one-design sailing and yachts, and

Linton Hope Linton Chorley Hope FRAes (18 April 1863 – 20 December 1920) was a sailor from Great Britain, who represented his country at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Meulan, France. With Lorne Currie as helmsman and fellow crewmembers John Gretton and A ...

designed many of the new yachts. Known as "Linton Hope Half-Raters", they were specially designed to suit the wind conditions on the

, and apart from India are only found in the

Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club The Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club is a private yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a la ...

in England.

Boat House Club

The Boat House Club manages the affairs of Nainital Yacht Club and was founded two decades prior in 1890. It was controlled by the British until 1948, when it passed into the hands of Indian management. The last British commodore was Sir

Francis Verner Wylie __NOTOC__ Sir Francis Verner Wylie (9 August 1891 – 1970) was an Indian Civil Servant. Francis Wylie was educated in Ireland at the Royal School, Dungannon, in County Tyrone, Ulster, and at Trinity College, Dublin. He entered the Indian Civ ...

. The first Indian commodore, Raj Kumar Giriraj Singh, was appointed in 1957. Yachting on the lake was reserved for members till 1970, but today non-members and tourists can sail for a fee. The Boat House Club hosts a Summer Regatta in June every year.

Nainital Regatta

After the British left India, sailing declined in the region. To encourage yacht sailing and boost water sports tourism, the

Governor of Uttarakhand The governor of Uttarakhand is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the gov ...

in 2014 launched, after a gap of four decades, the Governor's Gold Cup Sailing Regatta, an annual three-day event where sailors from across India compete in the races.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{coord, 29, 23, 28, N, 79, 27, 23, E, display=title 1910 establishments in British India Yacht clubs in India Buildings and structures in Uttarakhand Sports clubs and teams in India Nainital Sport in Nainital Sports organizations established in 1910