MacGregor Yacht Club of B.C.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

Does anyone here belong to the MacGregor Yacht Club of B.C.?
Distant member, or other?
Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL

[Cee Kat Crew]

We bought our last November and joined MYCBC in December.

[MYCBC Commodore]

I am one of the lucky ones. I found the MacGregor Yacht Club of BC in 2011, a few months after purchasing Gemini from Blue Water Yachts. I had no idea how lucky I was until much later. The 2 afternoons of instruction that BWY insisted on before they would sell me my boat and the 3rd afternoon of personalized rigging instruction by Cheryl when I picked the boat up got me started but I had no idea how much I still had to learn. It is a very big step up from a canoe to a sailboat.
Our first trip across Georgia Straight to Telegraph Cove Marina on Thetis Island was an eye opener in many ways. The glass-like waters on the trip across was just to set us up. The Power Squadron guys were right. It was a piece of cake and we would all meet at the destination. Saturday morning broke with some clouds and sun. A perfect time to go out for our first sail on salt water in the shelter of the Gulf Islands. I had just managed to get the main up and jib unfurled when that wall of grey that had been quietly sitting just north of us hit. Gemini lay over on her side and stayed there. It felt like 90 degrees of heel but I now know that was an over-estimation. I released the main sheet. Nothing happened. The jib sheet was cleated, way down on the lower side of the boat. I was foolish enough to tell my wife to go down and release it. I consider myself to be lucky to be still married. I finally got up the nerve to crawl down through the cockpit to the jib sheet and release it. Gemini popped back up. The wind stopped. The terror was over. All in a matter of a minute, though it seemed much longer at the time. The sails stopped flapping and were taken down. We sheepishly returned to the marina and bravely said it wasn't that bad. The next day we crossed back over the straight with a following sea that impressed upon me the idea of "arm strong steering".
That was the end of our first sailing season.
The following spring we discovered MYCBC and went to a "Club Night Meeting" at a local restaurant. I'm not the Yacht Club Type. I don't even own a tie let alone blue blazer and white pants. Boy was I mistaken. Commodore Darry was a normal guy and was explaining how to sail a MacGregor. He described an event called a MacFoulie where members got to go out on Past Commodore Steve's boat and be taught by Master Instuctor Darry how to handle a MacGregor in inclement weather. It was just what I needed and I haven't looked back since. It is nine years later, I have learned everything I know about handling a MacGregor from the great people involved in the MYCBC. I was able to join the club cruises and sail with other boats that gave me confidence. I was never alone and new that there was somebody close by to lend a hand should that be necessary.
Darry is still teaching our new members the basics and the rest of us are working together to understand the more advanced aspects of sailing a MacGregor and to this day I haven't seen a blue blazer or white pants.
As the present Commodore of MYCBC, it is my responsibility to carry on the tradition of instruction, friendship and sharing of the MacGregor Lifestyle as we explore the Pacific Northwest.
Come Sail With US.

[Deeseas]

I have been a member of MYCBC since April 1996. A great drinking club with a sailing problem!
Doug

[Russ]

MYCBC is a new sponsor. Click the banner above.

They have a wonderful club with many great resources and social events. Membership is only $35/year. I may join just to have access to their online resources. I understand they live stream their meetings. Pretty cool.

[PhysicsTeacher]

I've also been a member for the past 3 years. It's a wonderfully supportive club with an incredible wealth of experience. The website has some terrific resources and the club cruises are great ways to "group sail" while crossing from the mainland to the San Juan or Gulf Islands. We've also recently started to live stream our club meetings, and we've recently started to create a tool library for members (we have a portable GoHoist boat lift kit, a loos gauge lit, a swaging kit, etc.). For $35 per year it's a great value!

Kelvin
1999 "Teacher's Pet" sailing out of Maple Ridge, BC

[bwygirl]

Great Group of Mac Owners! We too are members, now with our 1989 26 Classic named Summerzcool! Looking forward to joining in events.

[MYCBC Commodore]

To help answer the original question of are there any MYCBC members on MacGregorSailors? Many of us have been lurking around on here for years. Here is a quick look at where our members live as of our 2019 AGM. We had 87 total member boats.
48 live in the B.C. Lower Mainland area (Vancouver and Lower Fraser River Valley) our local members
13 live in the US (mainly Washington but 1 in Oregon and one in Arizona)
6 live on Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands
9 live in Alberta
8 live in the interior of BC
1 in Saskatchewan
1 in Northwest Territories
1 in Ontario

39 of our members are considered "distant" and have access to our meetings and presentations online.

[Spector]

Members as well. Calgary AB. We try to participate in one water event a year. Longest has been ten days. It's about 1000 km tow thru the mountains but we do it because it's so worthwhile. And the dock parties... The addition of online meeting with zoom for the winter club nights has been great.

[jacobag]

I joined in 2019 from Toronto 26X , they have great Mac-information to share, have not had the opportunity to visit with them yet. I have learnt so much from them at a great distance. It is great they started online club meetings, make one feel part of the club from so far. Once COVID-19 allows us to travel I will be visiting.
Glad to be a distant member.
Cheers
Adrian

[Darrin Stubbs]

I'm out of Northern Alberta and am a member of MYCBC going on my second year and have owned my boat for three years. For $35 Canadian a year the value is unbelievable in the friends you make and the information that is available to all. Every member is there to help you and if they can't they will find someone who will. I was trying to get my VHF license but needed to travel 7 hours to take it, The MYCBC had a member who could give the test and the club made arrangements for me to take the test at the club cruise I was already signed up to go on in July of last year. That's only one example of many great things the club does for its members. I also take advantage of the ZOOM meetings which always has a teaching moment for all members about the Macgregor boats. Even if I lived in Florida I'd pay the $35 Canadian each year for the information you get.

[Willson]

I joined in 2019 from Toronto 26X, they have great Mac info to share, haven't had a chance to visit them yet. I learned a lot from them from a great distance. It's great that they started hosting online club meetings, which makes them feel like part of the club so far. When COVID-19 allows us to travel, I will visit. Glad to be a member far away.