Canadian Yachting April 2020 - 10

Above Right: Clubhouse from the water
side with a wonderful viewing porch.

were plenty adequate, and a marina was
not needed. Oh, were they ever wrong!
Several years later, the Commission
granted permission for the current floating marina. The BS&BC, the Open Public LaSalle Park Marina and the LaSalle
Park Marina Association (LPMA) are
self-help, family-oriented, non-profit organizations that work side by side to provide quality low cost recreational
boating activities to its members and the
community. It is the only boating and
water-access facility in this lush, tranquil park, on the tree-lined north shore
of Burlington Bay.
A large number of BS&BC members
are also Charter and Senior members of
LPMA. Established in 1981, the Marina
operates as a joint venture with the city
and the LPMA. The LPMA paid for, designed, installed, maintains and administrates the marina under a joint venture
with the city of Burlington. BS&BC also
has a joint venture with the city regarding
their clubhouse and dry sail compound facilities, which include the sailing school
building, which they own. Through all
these amazing partnerships, no public
monies went into the Marina and LPMA
Board of Directors report directly to their
membership and the city of Burlington.
With twice weekly club races for both
keelboats and dinghies, a well-organized
cruising program, winter-time seminars,
BBQs, safety training events, wine and
cheese parties and other social events, the
club has a loaded calendar. With an active
sailing school program, started early in the
club's history for both children and adults,
10

Can adian Ya cht i ng

they have been able to recruit and maintain their membership. The youngsters sail
in the Optimist, Echo and 420 dinghies
starting with Beginner and then moving
onto Advanced Sailing and a competitive
Race Team. Although Adult courses are
offered in both dinghies and keelboats, the
use of Club-owned shark keelboats has
been a huge success. Through their Shark
Program, participants become Intermediate Members of BS&BC and enjoy the facilities and social gatherings. This program
introduces their family to the lifelong sport
of sailing by learning boat care, safety, anchoring, docking, manoeuvring under
power and sail, and maintenance as key
parts of the program. Members are responsible for preparing the boat for both
launch and haulout. This is most certainly
a valuable experience when considering
boat ownership in the future.
Another big component of the services
offered by BS&BC in conjunction with
LPMA and the local Rotary, is the Burlington Able Sail program. Using the Martin
16, billed as being "un-tippable" the Able
Sail program runs all summer during the
day for children and on Saturday afternoons in July for adults. The marina is
fully wheelchair accessible and custom
equipment is available to transfer participants from wheelchairs into the specifically adapted boats.
The Burlington Sailing & Boating
Club has stayed true to their mission:
"Creating and promoting the sport and
recreation of boating, including the racing, cruising, and pleasure sailing of sailboats and power boats, and developing

Above Inset: The fireplace area is warm
and welcoming.
Below: Sailing school Echoes
ready to go.

seamanship, sportsmanship, and friendship among the members." In partnership
with the Marina, city of Burlington and
the LPMA these organizations have truly
worked together to create a community
of boaters that enjoy the wonderful
waters around them. *
Burlington Sailing & Boating Club;
841 LaSalle Park Rd;
Burlington, ON, L7T 4G9
905-681-6547
bsbc@burlbay.com

APRIL 2020

Canadian Yachting April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting April 2020