Hollyburn Sailing Club has been an integral part of the West Vancouver waterfront for over thirty years, and is conveniently located next to Ambleside Park in West Vancouver.

Hollyburn Sailing Club, a dream of a few dedicated people in the spring of 1963, became a reality in June of the same year.

Doug Sutherland and Roy Holland met at that time with a group of interested parents to form a dinghy sailing club with the main objective of training North Shore children seamanship. With the blessing of the District of West Vancouver and the West Vancouver Parks and Recreation Commission, it was arranged that Hollyburn Sailing Club could store dinghies on 100 feet of foreshore next to Ambleside Boat Rental.

In October of that year, the Club acquired its first "clubhouse", an old garage. It was renovated, beautified, and served the club for seven years.

Over the years, the Club has undergone many changes. New clubhouses, a permanent ramp, its own fleet of training vessels, and an increased property for boat storage to a name just a few. Though the Club has experienced these and other changes over the course of its life, the basic principle on which the Club was founded remains today.

The first Executive was formed under Commodore Des LeFlufy. With an informal training program of 31 families and 12 juniors, the club was on its way. In October of that year the club acquired its first “clubhouse”, an old donated garage. The garage was renovated and beautified, and it served the club for the next seven years. The first Frostbite Series was started that November, with seven boats participating.

By the second year the membership had increased to 75 families with 125 juniors. On May 17, 1964, Commodore Roy Holland opened the season with the club’s first Sailpast with 65 boats in attendance. The club was developing as a strong Sabot club, and in August of that year it was granted a second strip of land. In September 1964 the club held its first invitational regatta from Dundarave Pier.

The membership grew steadily and under Commodore Doug Sutherland the club added another strip of land to its storage area. In February 1965 the club became a member of the Canadian Yachting Association. More and bigger boats joined, and without a ramp, the bigger boats had to be launched at Ambleside Boat Rental.

In 1966 the club had its first major capital expense: by now it had developed a sound training program that had become increasingly popular on the North Shore, and after a lively discussion the club decided to buy six Flying Juniors and five Sabots for the program.

Also under Commodore Deryck Thomson, the first attempt was made to build a permanent ramp. However, a gale destroyed this effort – but it was obvious that the club required a good concrete ramp. In 1967, under Commodore Lorne Drummond, the club was finally successful in laying the first section of its ramp using concrete blocks, donated by Hooker Chemicals. That ramp became the foundation of the present ramp. The new ramp was too short, and the following year, under Commodore Jack Emslie it was extended as close as possible to the low water mark. Other fleets rapidly developed at the club, so that it was no longer a Sabot club.

The need for a new club facility was becoming more and more apparent and it was discussed at great length during 1968. Commodore Ken Martin got the project started the following year, and with the addition of further land from the District, the clubhouse developed into its present form. On May 10, 1970 Commodore Gordon Shugg officiated at the opening of the new clubhouse.

Under Commodore Myron Balago the club carried out an active sailing program in 1971 and this continued the following year under Commodore Max Jackisch with training programs for both juniors and seniors. Eight new Flying Junior sailboats were purchased, and the old ones sold. Under Commodore Duncan Tennant the club facilities were upgraded by enclosing the lower portion of the building and providing storage lockers for members. The club continued to operate smoothly under Commodore Werner Humer and the training programs had, by then, been successfully enlarged to include juniors, seniors, and ladies.

The winter of 1974 and the spring of 1975 brought several storms, one of which caused extensive damage to the Dundarave Pier – as well as large sections of the seawall, the club’s own launching ramp, and a portion of the original wall in front of the clubhouse. Under Commodore Bill Reid some 80 feet of ramp and 10 feet of frontage were replaced using heavily reinforced concrete. The new ramp was put to the test during another storm in July, without damage.

Activities got off to an enthusiastic start under Commodore Howard Fenson in 1976, with the largest turnout ever for Sailpast under sunny skies. The new Hobie 10s proved to be a popular addition to the club’s training fleet. Duty boats and motors were maintained in top condition through a planned replacement program, and the Ladies’ Committee welcomed our new fully automatic cooking range.

During 1977, under Commodore Bill Harland’s leadership the club facilities were expanded by the addition of 12 rack-storage spaces for Lasers, and the east porch was constructed to prevent wind-driven rain damage. The club was brilliantly represented in the Women’s National Championships at St. Zotique, Quebec by Melinda Straight (single-handed – 3rd), and Sandy Norris and Jan Proceviat (Skipper and crew – 1st). The following year Sandy and Jan represented Canada in the Women’s World Championships in Europe.

Membership and club activities continued to grow under the guidance of Commodore Duncan Whammond, and another 12 boat racks were constructed. In 1979 Commodore Chuck Willet oversaw the old Sabot rack being replaced by an enlarged rack capable of storing 40 small boats. The ramp was extended to the low, low-water mark.

In 1980 Commodore Keith Danson-Brassey took the salute at the Sailpast in May, under ideal sailing conditions. The clubhouse was re-stained; the grounds were blacktopped; and fencing was erected – giving a much-needed facelift to the area.

Two Fireballs and a Laser were added to the club’s training fleet in 1981 to provide students with experience in high-performance craft. With Commodore Tony Boyd in attendance the first club overnight cruise proved to be a popular innovation, with a fleet sailing to Plumper Cove on Keats Island.

1982 saw female members emerge to take the positions of Commodore and Fleet Captain. Under Commodore Anne Baird two more Lasers were added to the club-owned fleet. The three club Lasers were in constant demand for club events, which saw increased participation. Within two decades the training program – the principal objective in the formation of the club in 1963 – had grown to 292 students.

The club celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1983. The Sailpast brought together many of our founding members and past-Commodores, who came to celebrate the occasion and receive Commodore Hugh Johnston’s salute. Family oriented events were expanded to include a Family Fun Sunday of novelty races, and a weekend cruise and camp-out to Furry Creek in Howe Sound. The Commodore’s Cruise followed with a voyage to Texada Island and beyond. An added fixture on the racing program was the Canada Day Regatta, endowed with a perpetual trophy and open to the public in all dinghy classes. The club Fireballs were retired and replaced with Laser IIs in order to improve the quality of our training fleet.

The club’s activities grew during 1984 under Commodore John Redworth: the club doubled its Laser II fleet and acquired two additional Lasers to round off the year with a training fleet of 15 boats. Sailboards became involved in all aspects of the club in 1985 – including Sailpast – and four boards were purchased for classes. Commodore John Millen organized an ambitious cruise to the southern Gulf Islands in which five boats participated. Junior members competed in a number of regional regattas.

The club recorded another memorable year in 1986 under Commodore Andy Baak. The scope of the training program was expanded and the club provided 1,224 hours of lessons on the sailboards, in addition to the 220 students enrolling in the regular sailing program. Many of the club’s members – notably juniors – participated in the North American Laser and Tasar regattas, as well as in the Canadian Youth Championships held as part of the Expo 86 celebrations in Vancouver.

1987 was a watershed year for the club, under Commodore Tyke Babalos. After many attempts the club received preliminary approval from the District of West Vancouver for a lease with a total term of 10 years. Plans to expand the club were drawn up by Jim Forward, and approved by the members at the Annual General Meeting.

The club celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1988 under Commodore Stuart Lamb, and a number of long-range plans and dreams were brought to fruition. The long-term lease was negotiated, the expansion plans were approved by the municipality, and with the enthusiastic assistance of the many talented members of the club, the balcony was extended and a large new boat storage room constructed beneath it, while fully-serviced change rooms and classrooms were constructed in the old boat storage and repair areas. This was made possible by using part of the capital funds put aside in previous years.

The “Forward Deck” was an instant success for social activities, and the creature comforts of furnishings and carpets donated by members led to major increases in attendance at club social events. Another successful innovation in 1988 was the appointment of a Summer Manager to care for the facilities during the busy summer season. To top the year off the training program showed record enrolment despite the cutting back on sail-board lessons.

Tony Cohen was the last Commodore of the eighties. The final touches were made to the clubhouse and it was repainted in keeping with the Ambleside Rejuvenation Project initiated by the municipality. For the first time, a formal budget was prepared at the beginning of the year, by which the club’s financial affairs were managed. The training program had proven to be both a sailing and a financial success.

The new pier at the foot of 14th Street was officially opened On Ambleside Marine Day – May 5th 1990 – with the club taking part in a special race started by Mayor Don Lanskail. The Sailpast the following day was a “walk past” for only the third time in the club’s history. The wind and waves were too strong for Commodore Ann Watson to take the salute on the water. The refurbishing of the training fleet was a major project for this year: one replacement FJ was purchased and the others were thoroughly overhauled. New sails were ordered for the Lasers and new rigging for the Laser II. The juniors were very active, taking part in many of the club sailing events and outside regattas.

In 1991 the interior of the club was extensively renovated under Commodore Martin Ellis-White. The Forward Deck was recovered and the ramp received major repairs. Social activities were well attended and the Sabot and Tasar fleets were particularly active, providing spectators plenty of demonstrations in the art of small sailboat racing.

Final touches on the newly-renovated club were completed in 1992. Commodore Lesley Kennedy was the fourth Commodore to have a “walk past” due to heavy winds and high seas. The club hosted the second Canam Tasar Regatta with 25 Tasars coming from other parts of Vancouver and across the U.S. border. A fix-up and new paint improved the Laser racks while a reassignment of space allowed the fleets to remain close together.