A MIX OF EVERYTHING: EYC OPEN 2019

North Sails and Etobicoke Yacht Club Join Forces To Focus On Sustainability And Sailing

The weather treated the 2019 EYC Open quite well, with light air on Saturday and a heavier breeze on Sunday sailors had an opportunity to show their skills in both conditions. 

On the water, Notorious, Xoomer Xpress, Glenmorangie (EYC), Zingara, Hey Jude, Black Swann and Magic (EYC) all took home fleet titles.  The rain stayed away and made for great après-sail activities on Saturday evening. With sights on fostering the next generation of sailor, the Saturday night entertainment took on a more modern feel with Big Furry Tractor playing songs from the 2000’s with a dusting of 80’s and 90’s as well.

This year’s EYC Open, with help from North Sails focused on encouraging sustainable practices in sailing. To do away with plastic water bottles EYC and North Sails partnered to ensure that competitors received steel bottles that they could refill throughout the event and reuse moving forward. The Regatta also served as an opportunity for sailors to find a second home for their less than race-worthy sails. North Sails was on site and collected sails to donate to not-for-profit organizations who use them for shelter, fishing and recreation such as sailing schools and racing.

For many years EYC has used reusable plates and cutlery for the EYC Open and is now looking into ways to reduce the amount of single use plastics used at the bar.  Leading up to the event, the number of posters produced to promote the event were reduced, while the club focused more on social media and web exposure in order to market the regatta. Posters that were used were printed with water-based ink on post-consumer recycled products. 

There’s still a long way to go in creating more environmentally friendly regattas. Copious paper copies of sailing instructions, amendments, results, scoresheets are still heavily relied upon in sailing, and EYC hopes to be a trend setter in helping to reduce the use of these products at events. While this year’s focus was on bottles and sails, moving forward, the regatta committee and EYC will continue to find ways to reduce regatta impact on the environment. 

With two marquee events in J-fest and EYC Open on the Horizon for 2020, you can expect that EYC will continue to work with North Sails and other partners to reduce the impact of regattas on the environment. Keep an eye on EYC and North Sails websites and social media to find out more about next season’s events and initiatives.