Legendary songwriter and tropical bon vivant Jimmy Buffet certainly wasn’t the first, or the only, person to wax philosophical about the pleasures of sailing. Ernest Hemingway, the Buffett of another era and medium, celebrated the activity in prose, as have numerous other authors, poets, and painters.
Sailing implies an intangible aura of freedom, even for those without experience, since ideally it requires pleasant weather and transports the sailor through wide-open spaces. Yet at the same time, it’s a thinking-person’s sport: any sailor will tell you the skill it requires is achieved through practice, and each voyage can demand physical exertion.
“I’ve enjoyed sailing for years, even though I’m not an expert by any stretch,” says Phil Brook, President of the newly-formed Lake Scugog Sailing Club. “It’s a very social activity.”
Recreation on the lake and social interaction among members form the founding pillars of the club, which will begin its inaugural summer’s activities from Caesarea’s Beacon Marina.
“We’re lucky to have had the cooperation and encouragement of Kelly Patterson, who owns ‘Beacon,’” Phil comments. “He envisioned a ‘green’ marina, and a sailing club on the lake.”
Patterson began to implement his vision by offering adult sailing lessons, and bringing the Ontario government’s “Boom Program” – a sailing-skills program for kids – to Beacon. Then he encouraged local sailors like Phil, who owns a cottage on Scugog Point near Caesarea, to form a club.
“I’d sailed out of Cobourg for years, so I had a small boat at the cottage,” Phil explains. “I was amazed by the number of unused sailboats I saw. Old-timers told me that it used to be quite popular to sail Lake Scugog.”
Phil says Scugog provides an ideal environment for the sport.
“Because it’s a shallow lake, you can have strong winds but not get big waves. And its size makes it easier to sail on, and less intimidating than, say, Lake Ontario.”
For experienced sailors, Phil offers a technical note.
“You need a centreboard boat, or swing keel, on a shallow lake like this one. But that also means you can launch it from the beach.”
Its proximity to sizable centres like Port Perry, Oshawa, and Bowmanville adds to Scugog’s allure. The club’s current 34 members, Phil reports, cover that entire geographic area.
Of course, they’re looking to attract more members, and have planned a number of activities. Wednesday nights through the summer, the group will hold regular “socials,” combining the social and on-water aspects. The evening of July 30, there will be a Regatta “Sail-Past” and dinner-dance.
On August 2nd, which the club has dubbed “Lake Scugog Sailing Club Day,” they’ll hold a series of races.
Phil says that simply seeing boats out on the lake, especially a sizable number of them on Wednesday nights, will attract interest. He adds the group has publicized – by hanging posters in local stores, and approaching media and local Councils – that it’s open to membership. So far, Phil is pleased with the response.
“Everyone we’ve approached has been quite receptive,” he says. “We’ve accomplished a lot in a short time – signed up members, planned events, chosen a name, created a logo.”
He takes a private moment to assess the day’s weather, which is sunny and mild with only a gentle breeze, before exclaiming: “Now it’s time to go sailing!”
If he’d been there, I’m sure Jimmy Buffett would’ve enthusiastically agreed.
Anyone interested in Lake Scugog Sailing Club, membership information: can contact Phil Brook, email: brookphil@hotmail.com .
By Scott Mercer
Focus on Scugog
Personalities
