The private Kingston Yacht Club, established in 1896, is celebrating its milestone anniversary virtually. And despite the lack of bodies, many are excited for the event.
Making sure everything is ship-shape as those at the yacht club get ready to celebrate the event requires a joint effort, and Rob Crothers, the club’s commodore, says volunteers are the ones who keep the club going as the COVID-19 pandemic cut back a lot of jobs.
“We were professionally run a little while ago but we’ve made a huge change recently, and that’s partially due to COVID and cutbacks and partially because it really is a volunteer club,” Crothers said.
“So there are so many things. It’s a broad-ranging club but focused on water sports and how much fun it is to get out there away from normal life — you can’t think of anything else, really, when you’re out there sailing.”
David More, an award-winning Kingston author and sailor who wrote a book on the club’s history, says he holds the Kingston Yacht Club to a very high standard.
“It has always punched above its weight in the international sailing community,” said More.
More continued to say, “it was the innovator of CORK — which is a world-renowned regatta, the largest freshwater regatta,.
“The largest one design regatta in the world which put Kingston on the map for sailing, for sure.”
For those interested in taking part in the milestone event, it can be viewed on the Kingston Yacht Club’s website Friday at 6:45 p.m.