About OYC
History
The Olcott Yacht Club is located on the west bank of Eighteen Mile Creek
where it meets Lake Ontario (go to map). The land was purchased in 1919 by the
five charter members: Faber Gooding, Kenneth Hedley, Dr. Wilton C.
Paull, Harold Shaeffer and George W. Starling. The original building was
erected in 1920 and consisted only of the area occupied by the current
Grog Room and bar. OYC was formally incorporated in 1921 with
"Cap" Hedley as the first Commodore.
The
Club was expanded during the 1930’s with the addition of the second
floor and the area now occupied by the lounge and dance floor.
Additional renovations in the 1960’s and 70’s added the kitchen and
enclosed the north patio to create the current lower dining area.
The expanded shower and restroom facilities were added in 1980 and also
during that decade we added docks, remodeled the second floor for
dining, enclosed the Commodore’s Porch, added an outside upper deck,
and purchased several additional parcels of land in the immediate area
for expansion. In 1999, we pursued the idea of creating Haul Out
and Storage capabilities on the property so we began by adding the Haul
Out slip in the south lot. In the fall of 1999, we purchased a
20-Ton Travel Lift to complete this project. Today we haul and
store approximately 45
boats and are growing. In 2000, our Junior Sailing Building was
completed. The building houses a classroom for Junior Sailing
instruction, storage lockers for members to rent and in the off-season
is used for storage of our Junior Sailing fleet, our Haulout equipment
and other items.
Our
facility has grown considerably over the years and improvements continue
to be made. In our future, we hope to someday be able the offer slips to
our membership. We are a self-help Club and with the knowledge and
endless volunteerism from our members, have been able to provide a
suitable Club House and Anchorage for their recreation and use.
Racing
OYC
provides an extensive racing calendar for sailors interested in
sharpening their skills on the race course. Our schedule commences on
Memorial Day week-end and continues through the middle of September
consisting of our 16 race Club Championship series, an 8 race Women’s
racing program and "Sacca Sail" trophy, our Paull and Teal
Trophy distance races, as well as several fun races. Wednesday
evenings and Sunday mornings sport our club racing and Thursday evenings
are for our Women’s program.
Intermixed
into our schedule are regattas elsewhere on Lake Ontario, such as
S.S.Y.R.A. races (South Shore Yacht Racing Association), Youngstown
Level Regatta, and L.Y.R.A. Regatta (Lake Yacht Racing Association),
that our fleet takes part in. If that isn’t enough, in 2000 we
started our own weekend regatta – the OYC "Wire Down
Regatta". Typically the "Wire Down Regatta is held in conjunction with our
famed "Pirate Weekend".
Our
skippers and crew are tough competitors who always emphasize safety,
sportsmanship, comradery and most of all, fun!
Check
out the Race Schedule
Education
The Olcott Yacht Club has been offering on-the-water sailing and
seamanship instruction programs for children and adults successfully for
many years. These courses have made landlubbers into boat owners,
established crew members for our racing programs and forged the heart of
our club membership. Here is some information on each:
Junior Sailing
Adult Sailing
Travel
The club organizes several
cruises to Lake Ontario ports during the season. Membership
entitles you to reciprocal docking and use of facilities at most yacht
clubs nationwide. These excursions are more fun with a group of
boats, and members often plan their trips together. In addition,
an inexpensive charter vacation to the Caribbean is organized among the
membership nearly every year during the winter months.
Reciprocity
Olcott
Yacht Club is reciprocal with over 80 yacht clubs in the U.S. and Canada
along the shores of Lake Ontario, the Thousand Islands and Lake
Erie. OYC is also a member of Yacht Clubs of America giving us
reciprocity at many clubs nationwide. Membership entitles you to docking
and use of facilities at any of these clubs while cruising as well as by
car in the off-season.
Check
out our list of reciprocal clubs with links
to their web sites.
Restaurant
& Grog Room
Olcott
Yacht Club offers full service dining for members and guests with a
magnificent view of Lake Ontario’s beautiful sunsets and the Toronto
skyline from our second floor dining room. Dinner is available upstairs
on weekends and in our lower dining area during the week. Our
schedule is Wednesday – Sunday, May through October.
Our
first floor Grog Room is always full of activity especially on race
nights and offers sandwich specials and a simple bar menu Wednesday -
Sunday. On weekends, lunch is available in the
Grog Room and can be enjoyed on our patio while watching our harbor
activity.
The
Club is available for private (member-sponsored) dinners, receptions,
parties, meetings, and conferences. Please contact the
Vice-Commodore
for further information or to make a reservation.
Social
OYC
offers a multitude of non-boating social events throughout the season
for all ages. Our gala Commodore’s Ball is the premier formal
event of the year and begins our season. For special events such
as Mother’s and Father’s Day, as well as the Family Picnic, Fourth
of July and Kid’s Fishing Derby, our activities are centered around a
family atmosphere. Theme weekends for Buccaneer’s Bash, Lobster
Bake and Octoberfest offer up specialty foods, drink and
entertainment. The schedule is a very busy one with most of our
events offering music for listening and dancing.
Check
out this year's Events .
Haul/Launch/Storage
Facility
In the
fall of 1999, OYC completed the addition of a full Haul/Launch/Storage
facility complete with haul-out slip, 20-Ton travel lift and boom truck.
This service is provided for OYC members and reciprocals of other clubs
with members receiving preference when at capacity. Our price/Ft. is
competitive with area marinas. Presently we haul and store approximately
45 boats on our property and interest is growing as the word gets out.
Olcott Yacht Club