armdale yacht club events

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Armdale Yacht Club: Promoting Sailing for More Than a Century

Nestled on the shores of Halifax’s Melville Island is the historic Armdale Yacht Club (AYC), the second oldest yacht club in Nova Scotia, which prides itself on its friendly atmosphere, collegial club culture and inclusivity to boaters and non-boaters alike.

The club’s history goes back to 1920, when a group of young men organized a club out of Stoneman’s Armdale Boat House on the lower end of Halifax’s Quinpool Road. After the initial club was torn down, the group relocated to what is now Regatta Point on the city’s Northwest Arm. By 1947, the group relocated again to their current location on Melville Island, which they rented from Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND). 

Although Melville Island currently hosts the AYC, its history goes back much further than that. Since 1732, the island has been a private estate, hospital, quarantine station, military prison, prisoner of war camp, a military training station and an ammunition depot.  All the buildings used by the AYC today, according to past club commodore Sarah-Jane Raine, are original buildings dating back to the 1800s.

“They’re all original. Our clubhouse, when you stand in the centre part of it, was put there in 1808. DND allowed us, over a period of time, to add around the perimeter — the last piece being out in 1968,” said Raine. “The stone jail is still there, and it was built in 1884, and it is pretty well original to what it was back in 1884. The cells, now, are rented out on a yearly basis to the members for storage.”

While the AYC is steeped in history, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a modernized club with all the services and facilities one would see in any Atlantic Canadian yacht club. The AYC offers wet and dry winter storage, a slipway and cradle system with a maximum capacity of 35 tons, daily and seasonal marinas and moorings, water and power hookups and a fuel dock.

With a membership of 198 boating members and 86 social members, the AYC hosts an large fleet of Bluenose and Roue sailboats, which are regularly put to use during the club’s weekly races.

“We do PHRF racing on Wednesdays, one design racing on Thursdays, weekend races and we have a significant cruising group,” said AYC Commodore Jeff Nelson.

The AYC also hosts six regattas every year, the largest being their Harbour Islands Classic where boaters race around all the islands in the Halifax Harbour. The club also hosts the AYC Opening Regatta, the Ice Breaker Regatta, the Die Hard Regatta, the Mark MacNeil Memorial Race and the Commodore’s Cup.

The club, like many, offers a learn to sail program for both youth and adults. The AYC also offers a program called Broader Reach, which seeks to introduce sailing to new Canadians in the Halifax area.

“Nova Scotia is surrounded by water, and a lot of people would like to be out on the water,” said Nelson. “When we looked at our programs, we kind of discovered there wasn’t any on-ramps for people arriving in Nova Scotia to get them on the water, so we developed the Broader Reach program, which has been quite successful in bringing new people into boating.”

The Broader Reach program has brought people from an assortment of backgrounds, from Ukrainians to Mexicans, Brazilians, Syrians and beyond.

Beyond sailing, the club makes a point of engaging their members in monthly social activities. This, according to AYC’s Communications and Marketing Officer, Brian Blakeney, allows the club’s 86 social members to regularly participate in club activities.

Even when the club goes off and does their cruising functions, we try to take it to a place where socials can drive to. We try to involve them as much as we can,” said Blakeney. “We had casino night, we had jazz night, we had a wine tasting and jam sessions on Friday night.”

Club members and visitors can also take advantage of the full-service bar and restaurant at Spinnakers, located onsite. The location also offers catering for functions held at the club through Horizons Catering, hosted by Executive Chef Andy Thomson.

Between the historic location, the regattas, the amenities and the services provided at the AYC, the clubs management had a lot of positive things to say about their spot on the Northwest Arm. Their favourite thing about Armdale Yacht Club, however, is the collegial spirit and friendly attitude of their membership.

“It’s a very friendly outgoing club, and I’ve had that said to me by new members. They’ve always felt welcomed here. People will talk to them, even if they don’t recognize them,” said Raine. “You always see groups of people standing together and chatting. If you come up into the clubhouse, it can be a stranger just here for the first time or here for 25 years; they’ll speak to you.”

“We’re steeped in history, but we have one heck of a good time,” said Nelson.

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Business Details

Carl Goodwin

902-477-4617

[email protected]

75 Burgee Run,Halifax,NS,B3P 0C9,Canada

Business name : Armdale Yacht Club

Although only 75 years old itself, the club can be tied to events dating back at least to 1732. The beautiful island we call home has, since the arrival of the Europeans, been a family estate, hospital, quarantine station, military prison, prisoner of war camp, recruit training station for the British Foreign Legion, ammunition depot and a yacht club. Wayward soldiers and sailors were jailed here as early as 1803. Beginning in 1808 French prisoners began arriving during the Napoleonic Wars. American prisoners captured during the war of 1812 also paid a reluctant visit to what by then had been named Melville Island after Henry Dundas, the Viscount Melville, a person of “provincial dialect and ungraceful manner”. In the early years, the island changed hands many times between various civilian owners, the British Army and the Royal Navy. The Canadian Military took control of the four acre island in 1905. The stone prison on the site was used during the first World War to house German prisoners of war. The Military moved out in 1945 and soon after, the founders of Armdale Yacht Club negotiated a long term lease for the land with the Department of National Defense Five buildings of that historic period remain. One of them is our club house. Built in 1808 it stands on the highest point of land on the island and gives a panoramic view of the Northwest Arm, the mooring field, marinas and yard activities. Pay a visit. Savor the legacy and the legend of Armdale Yacht Club. ^ Return to Top A Detailed History Of Armdale Yacht Club By: J. P. LeBlanc Incorporating the Armdale Yacht Club was not an event that suddenly rose from the sea floor of the Northwest Arm. It was years in the making. As the second oldest yacht club in Nova Scotia, Canada, AYC in its location has the longest association with sailing ships … bar none … certainly in Canada. At the mouth of the Northwest Arm is the oldest yacht club in North America. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron has existed since 1837. AYC has history and legend… far more than can be written here. In the 1920’s young men like Jack Buckley, Jim Egan, and Walter Piers led the way to the incorporation of the Armdale Yacht Club. First from a location close to Jubillee Road, then from ‘Mosey’ Stoneman’s Armdale Boat House and the Edmonds ground, AYC set itself up on Melville Island. A 1930’s challenge with those who raced on Chocolate Lake brought others to the Arm. The ‘Siskin’ was an early power boat. During the prohibition era she knew about “rum running”. Louis ‘Tookie’ Murphy (AYC’s 2nd Commodore) later became Siskin’s proud owner. Jim Egan, AYC’s first Commodore, was the owner of the other power boat ‘Comber’. When Mosey’s boathouse was torn down, a property on Edmond’s Grounds became the Club House. As membership grew, AYC moved to a second and larger house. The new location offered better moorings, a panorama of the Arm and a “great view of the races”. Then, twenty avid yachtsmen took steps to incorporate. This came from the efforts of Arthur J. Meagher and, passing by the Nova Scotia Legislature of the Armdale Yacht Club Act of 1937. The fee was set at twenty five (25) cents.

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Armdale Yacht Club

Armdale Yacht Club #57

Halifax | 902-477-4617 | armdaleyachtclub.ns.ca  |  Location

Dockage:  Yes

Maximum Length: 45′

Depth: 10′

AC Power: 15 and 30 amp

Moorings: Yes

Launch Ramp: Yes

Fuel: Gas and Diesel

Water & Ice: Water and Ice

Pump-out: No

Washrooms: Yes

Showers: Yes

Laundry: No

Winter Storage: Yes

44.38’58″N 63.30’47″W

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