Welcome to Nanaimo Yacht Club Racing
With the exception of a short Winter break, Nanaimo Yacht Club offers sailboat racing throughout the year in a wide variety of formats. There’s a season and a style of race for everyone. We hope you can come out and join us for some fun on the water.
The Nanaimo Yacht Club has a keen group of sailors who like to get out as much as possible to engage in friendly competition and hone their boat handling skills. If you don’t want to race your own boat, or don’t own a boat, no worries, as there are always skippers looking for new crew and no one is ever left standing on the docks when we head out to race. Just show up at the competitors meeting on race days or contact us at sailracing@nanaimoyc.ca for further information.
Pursuit Racing/Singlehanded or Crewed:
On Saturdays (with Sunday as a weather backup) as per the Schedule, a course is decided upon, depending on weather/sea conditions and forecast. At 10am, this course with individual start times, is sent to all participants via text message. The slowest rated boat will start at approximately 11am with faster rated boats to follow depending on their rating. In theory, all boats should finish at about the same time. The races generally take about 2–3 hours to complete. You can compete with a full crew or for an added challenge, join the singlehanded division! There is no cost to pursuit racing, all you need to do is sign on to the Racing Mailing List under Racing on the NYC website to receive notices of upcoming races and contact information. General enquiries can be made to the Racing Chairman at: sailracing@nanaimoyc.ca
Series Racing:
We are looking forward to resuming round the buoys racing this year. On Sundays as per the schedule, a skippers meeting is held outside the lower entrance to the Yacht Club at 9am. The first race begins at 10:30 outside of Protection and Newcastle islands. Usually, 2 – 3 races are held and finish up about 3pm. The bar is opened to complete a great day on the water. The cost for this is 10 dollars per race or 75 dollars for the year, which includes other races such as the Jack and Jill, etc. Prizes are given for the winner of each race day and a trophy is awarded for the boat winning the series.
SIN Regatta:
In addition to the Pursuit and Series racing, sailors in the Nanaimo area have the great SIN (Snake Island Nanaimo) Regatta in July. This regatta attracts racers from throughout the Pacific Northwest and give us an opportunity to showcase the Nanaimo waters and hospitality.
To top it off:
There are overnight races to both Gibsons Landing and Silva Bay, where you can race to the destination, take in some excellent restaurants and enjoy the company of like-minded sailors, then race home the next day.
As you can see, the Nanaimo Yacht Club racing scene has something for everyone. All it needs is for you to come out and enjoy what we already know; this is truly the best place on earth, especially out on the water!
For all racing skippers and crew planning to participate in any races, you must sign a waiver, this is available via the link below or in the clubhouse at the racing notice board. Please drop off or scan and email to the Racing Chairman at: sailracing@nanaimoyc.ca
Click here to view the 2023 Spring Series Sailing Instructions PDF.
Click here to view the 2023 Spring Series Notice of Race PDF.
Click here to view the Race Documents.
