As a member of the Silva Bay Yacht Club, I can tell you, there is lots of fun to be had.
We are approaching the end of the year’s Sprinter which is what we call Winter on Gabriola. The season’s festivities started with a Salute the Compass sail past, then a day Winter Blues cruise, on to Valentine’s Day cruise with kite flying competition, our yearly Commodore’s Ball, a St Patrick’s Day Bash, and ended with a 1 or 2 night Spring Cruise with a pot luck dinner.
The month of May brings us into the Summer with a 2 nighter End of Spring Cruise to Bowen Island, another to Princess Cove including a Blind Dinghy Race, SBYC Sailpast and BBQ, a 3 nighter to Jedediah Island, Beat the Heat Summer cruise to Sidney Spit, a Scavenger Hunt Cruise to Chemainus, and the best of all, the too much fun overnight Mystery Cruise.
Now there is one more trip many of us are paid to attend in conjunction with the Gabriola Power Squadron and that would be the Grand Wine Tour in June. Oh boy, the Skippers will depart Gabriola to arrive in Cowichan Bay Marina for Happy Hour and an overnight smoozing with each other. Then the next morning we get chauffeured by limousine to Merrydale Cider and lunch at the Ocean Grand Resort at which point we will be ready for wine tasting at Venturi Schultz Winery, Cherry Point Winery and Silverside Winery. Wow, how much fun will this be. I can’t wait.
The end of August brings us to Falter, as we call the last 4 months of the year. The plan for 2009 is a 2 week cruise to the San Juan Islands, a fall cruise to Montague Harbour Marine Park, a “Pirates of the Caribbean cruise to DeCourcy Island with a pot Luck dinner and finally in preparation for the coming of Christmas, a Cool Yule Lighted Boat Parade at our home base, Silva Bay Resort.
If you are living on Gabriola, with or without a boat, you may just want to check out our Silva Bay Yacht Club. The photos show what a truly great group of people we have as members and the loads and loads of fun we have. I should make it clear that there is opportunity to join in on nearly every festivity, even though you do not have a boat, most functions will be accessible by vehicle and there are almost always B & B’s available for accommodation. To see photos of our shenanigans, check out our website @ www.silvabayyachtclub.com
Don’t forget you must have your
Canadian Coast Guard Pleasure Craft Operator Card
To run a boat as of September 15th, 2009