Dartmouth Yacht Club Opening Regatta 2017
July 11, 2017
Things have been going well for the DYC in recent years with strong membership numbers and plans for a new clubhouse in the works. We will have an update on the club’s building plans in a future issue. Rob Dunbar sent us this report on the club’s opening regatta.
I consider it to be a privilege and an honour to call the Dartmouth Yacht Club (DYC) my Port of call. It was here in 1976 that my late uncle Charlie introduced me to sailing aboard his vessel Pachena. At the age of nine he and my father built a sailing pram, similar to the Optimist, for me to take command and that’s when my sailing adventures were born. The following year my family moved to Calgary where I honed my sailing skills on the Glenmore Reservoir and Ghost Lake.
It’s been said that good things come to those who wait. For me it took 30 years but my dreams of finally moving home to Halifax came true. Within days of stopping 
off the West Jet plane I got a membership at DYC. Thank you, Nathan and Rob, for being my sponsors!
This year’s rendition of the Opening Regatta weekend began with me turning the furnace on to take the chill off the house. I didn’t think global warming was supposed to work this way. But upon stepping in the clubhouse the unfailing warmth and camaraderie of DYC took over as my good friends Brad and Dave invited me to sit at the “cool table” with the rest of the Hipnautical crew.
Upon rigging the boats and departing from their respective marinas the fleets of various Halifax Harbour clubs were met with fantastic southerly wind and buckets of rain for the first day of racing. All crews had their game face on charging toward the windward mark, for in these kinds of winds a wayward sheet or missed step would certainly mean an untimely swim in the grey waters of Bedford Basin which at times bared its teeth. It was on this body of water that the supply convoys of WW2 departed for Europe so that we can have the freedom that we enjoy today.
In true DYC fashion, known for his vibrancy both on and off the water, a pig roast was planned for paying competitors. And what a scrumptious meal it was. Big shout out to the many DYC volunteers and staff at Sizzler BBQ and catering for making this feast and spirited evening of song and dance such a resounding success.
Soggy Saturday morphed into sunny Sunday and greatly improved enthusiasm among the crews and decidedly more manageable wind. Foul weather gear gave way to sunscreen and light air tactics which led to some exciting tacking duels. This spelled good fortune for the Hipnautical crew as we climbed the rankings from third on the first day, to a second place overall in the “C” fleet. BOOO YEAH!!!!
I have been a member of the Dartmouth Yacht Club for 10 years now and I am continually impressed with the solid volunteer base of very knowledgeable members which allows us to have informative courses in the winter, a vibrant social aspect that runs all year, fun regattas and ocean races. Of course, the famous Nova Scotia hospitality is ever present
May you Rest in Peace Charlie, your legacy lives well in me.
– Rob Dunbar
