The Pointe-Claire Yacht Club is a

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 lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mari ...

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 ce ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. It is an important historical establishment that has been a part of the Pointe-Claire community for more than 130 years.

History

;The Early Years The Pointe-Claire Yacht Club was begun in 1879 when a group of boating enthusiastic came together and decided to form the Pointe-Claire boating club.Matthews, Brian R., p.120 They were able to lease part of the old railway pier from the Grand Trunk Railway that was no longer being used to ship limestone. The first years of the club were productive ones that were mainly spent constructing their own clubhouse and establishing themselves in the area. By 1890 they were able to host their first annual regatta with its 39 members. In the beginning of the Pointe-Claire Boating Club the main focus was on paddling, not sailing. Some members of the boating club felt that sailing was being neglected and in 1892, they broke away from the Pointe-Claire Boating Club to form their own club for sailing, the Corinthian Sailing Club. The Corinthian Club was interested in promoting sailing races, to establish uniform rules for the Government of all Races, and to encourage building and sailing yachts. As an overall interest in sailing increased within Pointe-Claire the sailing club eventually merged back with the Pointe-Claire Boating Club, allowing their old club house to become a storage area.

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

has the Frederick A. Dawson collection of images of the Pointe Claire Yacht Club 1882-1989 http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_tim=2012-07-14T13%3A56%3A27Z&url_ctx_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=2912570&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fcollectionscanada.gc.ca%3Apam&lang=eng Library and Archives Canada images of the Pointe Claire Yacht Club ;The War Years By 1913 the Pointe-Claire Boating Club was large enough to host the Eastern Division Regatta of the Canadian Canoe Association for the first time.Martin, Helen, p. 14 The fact that the Boating club was able to reach such a size managed to help it survive through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When the summer of 1914 arrived the club suffered a substantial decrease in members due to the war. They were forced to abandon expansion plans that they had and simply focus on keeping the club open by holding fundraisers. When the end of war finally came many returned to the club enthusiastically looking to improve the club and as well as community life.Martin, Helen, p. 16 They were able to finally persuade the Grand Trunk Railway to sell them the east side of the pier, and renamed themselves the Pointe-Claire Yacht Club. The same threat of closure was faced in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the club when many of the members went off to war or simply did not have the leisure to be a part of a yacht club anymore, but the Pointe-Claire Yacht Club prevailed once again. While other such boating clubs like the Valois Boating Club and the Lakeside Boating club went under, the Pointe-Claire Yacht Club was able to survive and undergo expansion after the war. The Pointe Claire Yacht Club has had to go through many trials over the years but has always managed to come out on top. It has now established itself as an important landmark of Pointe-Claire as well as a vital part of the Pointe-Claire community.

References

Bibliography

* Howett, David M. "Pointe Claire yacht club" Montreal: School of Architecture, McGill University 1979 * Martin, Helen. "1879-1979 Pointe Claire Yacht Club Centennial". Wanganui: Perry Printing Limited, 1979. * Matthews, Brian R. "A History of Pointe Claire". Pointe Clair: Brianor Ltd., 1985.

External links

Pointe Claire Yacht Club
(official website) {{Coord, 45, 25, 45, N, 73, 49, 18, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:CA-QC Pointe-Claire Yacht clubs in Canada 1879 establishments in Quebec