style="font-size: larger;" | Royal Hamilton Yacht Club

Special, 120th Anniversary, RHYC Burgee
Founded	1888
Clubhouse	MacNab Street North, Hamilton Ontario L8L 1H1
Country
Website	http://www.rhyc.on.ca
GPS	N43 16.496 W79 51.851

The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club (RHYC) is located in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, Canada, at the west end of Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

, and has been in existence since 1888. When the yacht club first opened, it was located at the foot of James Street North

James Street (Hamilton, Ontario)

James Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the base of the Niagara Escarpment from James Mountain Road, a mountain-access road in the city, originally was a one-way street going south throughout but now has sections of it that are two-way...

 and then later moved to the foot of Bay Street

Bay Street (Hamilton)

Bay Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Inglewood Drive, just South of Aberdeen Avenue, as a collector road with only two lanes, then eventually becomes a six lane thoroughfare at its peak. Bay Street also passes through Downtown Hamilton, where many...

. Since its founding in 1888, RHYC has promoted local and international yacht racing.

The original Letters Patent, dated 30 May 1891, identifies the purpose of the Club's founding:

"To establish and maintain a Club as a Corporation having for its objects the encouragement of Yacht building and Yacht sailing and racing on Ontario waters by the name of "The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club" the said club have been permitted by Us to assume the Style of 'Royal'..."

The unique climatic, geographic, and hydrographic qualities provided by Burlington Bay

Burlington Bay

Burlington Bay, known more commonly as Hamilton Harbour, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach and Burlington Beach...

 give The Club one of the longest sailing seasons in central Canada. The club has won several Ontario Sailing Association awards in recent years, including Regatta of the Year (2002, 2007) and several Youth Performance Ranking Trophies.

History

In 2008, RHYC celebrates the 120th anniversary of its founding, the 50th anniversary of its Youth Sailing program, and the 30th anniversary of RHYC yacht Evergreen's victory in the Canada Cup.

In 1924, RHYC's Norman Robertson earned the right to represent Canada and he became this country's first Olympic sailor when he competed at the Paris Olympiad that year. In the years since, RHYC has been home to champions at the local, national, and international levels.

Many of the young sailors who have represented Canada in international competition have been members of, or trained by, the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club. For nearly half a century, RHYC's Youth Sailing Program, and, more recently, its Graduate Program, have helped these young men and women develop the skills and attitudes they need to excel in international competition. The success of these is due largely to the work of dedicated volunteers from the RHYC sailing community. Recent awards won by young Hamilton sailors include the E. Aileen Clarke Youth Performance Ranking Trophy awarded to the highest-ranking Club in the 13 and Under Provincial Youth Regatta

Regatta

A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...

 Series (2005, 2001), and the Unistrut Central Youth Performance Ranking Trophy for winning the 16 and under series in 1998.

The Club has also figured prominently in international match racing. In 1978, RHYC's Don Green and his crew took Evergreen to the Bayview Yacht Club

Bayview Yacht Club

Bayview Yacht Club is private, sailing-focused yacht club located in Detroit, Michigan. Bayview is famous for hosting the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race as well as a number of other regional and local regattas....

in Detroit to recapture the Canada's Cup for Canada. Evergreen's feats are commemorated in The Club's Evergreen lounge. RHYC sailors defended the cup successfully in 1981 and 1984.

Historical highlights

• 1895: Lake Yacht Racing Association (LYRA)
• 1924: RHYC member Norm Robertson competes as Canada's first Olympic sailor
• 1930: Sailing venue for the first British Empire Games
• 1978: Don Green (Evergreen) recaptures the Canada's Cup from the Bayview Yacht Club
• 1981, 1984: RHYC sailors successfully defend the Canada's Cup
• 2002: RHYC hosts the International Europe Class World Championships, a qualifier for the 2004 Athens Olympics
• 2003: RHYC hosts the LYRA annual regatta.

2008 Regatta Schedule

2008 will be another busy regatta season for RHYC, which relies heavily on the volunteer work of its members to organize and staff events.

• Lilac Festival Olympic Classes Regatta (PDF), 24–25 May 2008
  Hosted annually by RHYC, the Lilac Regatta for Olympic and Developmental class boats provides an early season venue for Olympic hopefuls.
• Rock the Hammer 120 Regatta (PDF), 28–29 June 2008
  An open regatta for keelboats owned or chartered by members in good standing of the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) or US Sailing member club.
• The Fogh Boorman Regatta (PDF), 12–13 July 2008
  Incorporating the CYA 16 & Under Eastern Championships, the CYA 15 & Under Eastern Championships, the Ontario Sailing 13 & Under Championships, the Ontario Sailing 16 & Under Double Handed Championships and the Ontario Sailing 16 & Under Single Handed Championships
• 2008 Shark World Championships, 2–8 August 2008
  The first Shark was designed and built in Southern Ontario by George Hinterholler in 1959. Since then, the Shark has been declared a Classic Yacht class by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). This regatta is held in Europe every third year, and in North America in other years. This year marks the 43rd time the regatta has been sailed. In 2009, for the 50th anniversary of the building of the first Shark, the regatta will be held at its birthplace, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.

External links

• List of Civilian organizations with prefix "Royal" - Heritage Canada.
• List of civilian organizations with the prefix "Royal" prepared by the Department of Canadian Heritage
• Royal Hamilton Yacht Club
• 2008 Shark World Championships