Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club is a yacht club in Ontario, Canada. It is located on Yacht Club Island approximately 2 miles from Kenora, Ontario, on Lake of the Woods. The yacht club was founded in 1903.

History The first record of sailing on Lake of the Woods dates back to 1845, when the Hudson's Bay Company introduced York boats dawned with sails in order to transport their furs. The first camps were built on Keewatin Beach. For round twenty years, canoeing, rowing and sailing were the only means of transportation. The first motorboats were introduced in the late 1890s.

Keewatin Beach campers participated in sailing, rowing, and gymkhana events. By 1898, cruising races were run on McMillan Island. One of the earliest forms of these cruises was via the Keewatin Channel to Galt Island where the G.F Galt family hosted a picnic lunch. In 1903, sailboats became popular and motorized boats were introduced. A building was subsequently developed on McMillan Island and became the first clubhouse. George William Northwood designed the club house for Lake of the Woods Yacht Club in 1909

The first officers of the yacht club were: Commodore G.W. Baker, Vice Commodore W.E. Macara, Captain Fred Phillips, Measurer H.F. Forrest and Treasurer R.H. Mulock.

Royal Assent In 1914, Prince Arthur and his daughter Princess Patricia visited the club. They suggested that it apply for the title of "Royal". The privilege was delayed because of World War I, but was later granted in 1925 with The Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club Incorporation Act. Commodore G.F. Galt was notified that King George V had granted the use of Royal to the Lake of the Woods Yacht Club.

Further reading In 1979, Robert Whitla Richards wrote 'Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club : history to 1978' to commemorate RLWYC's 75th anniversary 1903-1978.

CJ Conway and Lori Nelson wrote "Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club: A Century of Summers" to commemorate RLWYC's 100th Anniversary 1903-2003.

Past commodores The following list of past commodores is published by the club on its official website.

+ Past commodores of the Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club Term Commodore Term Commodore 1903–1905 G.W. Baker 1906 T.A. Andersen 1907–1908 Montague Aldous 1909 G.F. Bryan 1910–1911 G.F. Galt 1912 T.L. Peters 1913 W.E. Macara 1914 F.L. Patton 1915–1918 Club closed 1919 W.K. Chandler 1920–1922 Sir Augustus Nanton 1923 R.M. Dennistoun 1924–1925 George F. Galt 1926 Douglas A. Clarke 1927 H.F. Osler 1928 H.D. Gooderham 1929–1930 E.A. Nanton 1931–1939 N.M. Paterson 1940–1946 G.E. Konantz 1947 John R. Morgan 1948 E.A. Nanton 1949 F.S. Holland 1950 W.C. Riley 1951 D.E. Kilgour 1952 E.R. Gardner 1953 A.K. Gage 1954 J.D. Graham 1955 H.W. Brown 1956 T.B. Ross 1957 A.S. Leach 1958 J.H. McDonald 1959 W.G. Konantz 1960 A.K. Stephens 1961 J.W. Dangerfield 1962 R.W. Richards 1963 G.E. Konantz 1964 T. Furgale 1965 J.M. Dowler 1966 J.A. Richardson 1967 D.S. Paterson 1968 E.B. Osler 1969 J.D. Riley 1970 G.E. Konantz II 1971 A.L. Goode 1972 J.H. McDonald 1973 R.W. Cunningham 1974 G.M. Savage 1975 R.H. Parkhill 1976 J.A. Banfield 1977 R. Brown 1978 E.J. Klassen 1979 J.H. Ashdown 1980 D.K. Graham 1981 L.H. Fyke 1982 H.A. Luckhurst 1983 J.A. Graham 1984 G.H. Evans 1985 S.F. Owen 1986 M.F.C. Radcliffe 1987 D.A. Forlong 1988 K.A. Powell 1989 B.A.J. Ormiston 1990 D.L. Gourley 1991 J.A. Richardson Jr. 1992 M.L. Napper 1993 A.C.H. Vivian 1994 K.A.F. McGarry 1995 H.S. Riley 1996 E.A. McLaughlin 1997 L.D. Hurst 1998 A.C. Smith 1999 T.A. Brousseau 2000 P.J. Donald 2001 C.C. Ferguson 2002 E.A. McLaughlin 2003 C.C. Ferguson and E.A. McLaughlin 2004 R.I. Kalinowsky 2005 R.I. Kalinowsky 2006 D.G. Konantz 2007 D.G. Konantz 2008 T.A. Parkhill 2009 R. Murray 2010 R. Murray 2011 R. Murray; H.S. Riley 2012 D.P. Rattray; H.S. Riley 2013 W.J.T. Banfield 2014 J.T. Stefanson 2015 M.E. Kristjansson 2016 Lisa Heimbecker 2017 Leney Richardson 2018 Bill Parrish 2019 A.G. Jones 2020 V.J. Newall 2021 F.M. Colegrave 2022 M.D.G. Wilson 2023 Catherine Konantz 2024 Andrew McLandress 2025 Karen Dunlop 2026 Drew Stephens

Notable Members Gordon Chown John Turner Heather Stefanson Kevin Kavanagh

References

External links Royal Lake of the Woods Yacht Club