The Royal Canadian Yacht Club

As the final long weekend of the summer approached, we were desperate to do something, but the yacht clubs we regularly stay at in Toronto were all full and had no transient slips available. I had put our name on the waiting list for a spot at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, located in the Toronto islands, but held out little hope, as this weekend also featured a big air show and the final days of the Canadian National Exhibition. Shockingly, we received an email saying they had a slip for us and we were welcome to visit.

The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (abbreviated RCYC), founded in 1852, is the oldest yacht club on the Great Lakes and the second oldest in Canada after the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. Somehow during all our years on Lake Ontario we have never visited this spectacular club, and were very exited to experience it.

We left Newport shortly after 5 am and after more than 5 hours of motoring against the wind and slight waves, we arrived. The club is located on two connected islands and has a spectacular clubhouse, two blocks of tennis and pickleball courts, a large pool, lawn bowling, a chandlery, bike and kayak rentals, as well as a secondary location in Toronto which is similarly provisioned. After getting settled into our slip we walked the grounds then went to the registration office and met a few of their lovely staff. We spent a long time talking with them, hearing about the history of their club, their challenges, and sharing ours at Newport. We decided we need to set up a club cruise next year so the rest of our gang can experience RCYC.

During the sail across Lake ONTARIO, I had noticed a large number of monarch butterflies passing over us. During our walk at RCYC we looked into the sky at one point and saw hundreds of them fluttering overhead. I don't know if it's the start of their annual migration to Mexico, or if there's just lots of milkweed blooming now, but I will say that seeing one monarch is a treat; seeing a cloud of them is unforgettable. We sat for a while in some Adirondack chairs on the perfectly manicured grass, facing towards the Toronto skyline, and enjoyed the view which included dozens more monarchs flapping around.

We decided on an afternoon island walk and spent a couple of hours exploring the various islands of the chain - Snake, Ward's, Algonquin, Centre, Olympic. We were not alone; the last long weekend of the summer and perfect weather attracted hundreds or probably thousands of people to the islands so the paths were full of people walking or riding rented bikes, tandems, and four wheeled carts while the channels and lagoons were filled with paddlers on rented paddle boards, kayaks, and canoes. Parts of it are commercialized with food and drink venues, and there is a small amusement park meant mainly for kids, but there are also some surprisingly quiet parts of the islands and a resident population of about 600 people who live there year round. Despite the busyness, we enjoyed it and marvelled at this exquisite resource hiding in the shadow of the largest city in Canada.

After a chill-out session back in SeaLight's cockpit, and possibly a short nap, Ana put together a nice dinner then we jumped in the dinghy and went for a cruise, first out into the inner harbour where we had a bumpy ride thanks to the thousands of boat wakes stirred up by a day's worth of boat traffic and had to be careful to dodge the many logs and stick floating in the water, ejected into the bay from the Don River after a terrible wind and hailstorm passed through southern Ontario a few days before. We then cruised into a channel near Ward's Island and found the waters absolutely full of debris and weeds that make even dinghy passage difficult. We motored through slowly and eventually made it back to our slip.

With our remaining energy we took a walk to the north island of RCYC to see what was happening at the clubhouse (which turned 100 years old in 2022). The airplanes which had been buzzing overhead all afternoon finally stopped and the skies were quiet as the participants of the club regatta partied hard in the clubhouse and on the expansive front lawn to grooves of the live DJ. We do not join in, but instead take a walk to the end of the jetty dock to snatch some photos of the magnificent Toronto skyline, then snoop around the second floor of the clubhouse, which features masterly portraits of historic commodores winding down the grand staircase, spiffity ballrooms for weddings (which we were told happen every weekend of the summer), and ancient carpet, ripe with the smell of Churchill cigars, spilled brandy, and tales of war, peace, and everything in between.