^38 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[[March tg, 1904. 
Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. 
BY F. H. BELL, ROYAL NOVA SCOTIA Y. S. 
Yachting and boat sailing have always been popular in 
Halifax. The natural facilities for the sport are very 
great. The harbor is one of the largest and finest in the 
world. Chebucto Bay, from which the harbor opens, is 
itself a large indent on the southern shore of the 
Province, sheltered on the west by high land, and, to a 
lesser extent, on the east also. The harbor proper be- 
gins at Mauger's Beach Light, an old Martello tower 
situated at the end of a gravel spit extending from Mc- 
Nab's Island on the eastern side of the harbor nearly a 
mile to the westward, leaving an entrance of little more 
than a mile between the light and the western cliffs, 
crowned with modern forts. From the light the harbor 
extends northwardly for about three miles, with an aver- 
age width of nearly two. It then commences to narrow 
until a couple of miles further north it reaches the Nar- 
rows, little more than a quarter of a mile in width. Then 
it suddenly expands again into the beautiful sheet of 
water known as Bedford Basin, a salt water lake six 
rriiles in length by four in width, surrounded with high 
hills. The harbor curves to the west, and the effect of 
this, together with the two large islands at the eastern 
side of the bay and a smaller one further up, is to 
effectually shut out the sea. One arm of the harbor runs 
up at the back of the city, a salt water river four miles 
in length by a quarter of a mile in width, an ideal spot 
for boating and canoeing. The passages between the 
islands and the eastern land make another most charming 
stretch of water. In the whole of this large area of 
sheltered water, with the exception of a bar at the mouth 
of the eastern passage, and a couple of insignificant 
patches, there is a uniform depth of water of upward of 
one hundred feet. The summer winds, as a rule, are 
strong, the southwest wind in particular frequently reach- 
ing a registered velocity of 25 to 30 miles an hour, and 
occasionally as high as 40, and the high lands of course 
make it in places extremely puffy. Under such condi- 
tions the only suitable boats are keel craft with moderate 
sail plans. 
Though there was no yacht club, there was a good deal 
of racing in the earlier part of the last century at the 
various regattas, much commoner then than now. Cld 
pictures show a good fleet of starters of boats that were 
fair representatives of the fishing craft of those days. 
About 1840 Mr. Eben Mosely began shipbuilding in Dart- 
mouth on the eastern side of the harbor. He was a man 
in many ways in advance of his time, an excellent 
draughtsman in the days when work on paper was almost 
unknown and rather despised. He was the parent of 
a large fleet of brigs, brigantines, schooners, and other 
small craft — all handsome, speedy, good carriers, and 
good sea boats. He built a number of fast yachts. One 
of them, the Mystery, of 15 tons, built in 1849, two years 
before the America, was a striking anticipation of the 
ideas embodied in that famous ship, and also about the 
same time in the English cutter Mosquito. Her lines 
show a cut away fore foot with the keel raking to a deep 
heel, a hollow midship section, and a long entrance with 
the waterlines slightly hollowed. She was a fine all-round 
performer, and was in her day considered a marvel at a 
turn to windward in rough water. 
The first yacht club in Halifax was the Royal Halifax, 
founded in 1857. There were many Eermudians among 
the merchants of Halifax in those days, keen yachtsmen, 
and the extent to which they influenced yachting is shown 
by the fact that out of seven yachts on the first regi?lei 
of the club, six were "Mudians." The club prospered, 
and in i860, the year of the Prince of Wales' visit, it pui 
up a snug club house at the northern end of the harbor. 
The Prince presented the club with a very handsome cip, 
which was raced for for year^ as a challenge cup. For 
a number of years the club "got along very well, doing a 
good amount of racing and general festivities. Its fleet 
was a fair one for the day and the size of the city, and 
the Corinthian element was always strong. For some 
reason, however, the club failed to satisfy the demand 
for sport ; possibly because the ideas of its members as 
to yachts were somewhat too high for the pockets of 
many would-be yacht owners, and the feeling manifested 
itself in 1869 in the formation of a separate sailing club, 
which for a while did a good deal more racing than the 
larger institution. 
Differences between the yachting and the non-yachting 
sections of the club gradually increased, until in 1875 a 
number of the j^acht owners and more active yachtsmen 
determined on the formation of a new club, and a meeting 
was called for the 25th of November. The gentlemen 
pi-esent were Lt. Col. Clerke, A. C. Edwards, J. Tupper, 
W. B. Fay, H. St. G. Twining, H. H. Black, R. Mac- 
Donald, James W. Stairs, and F. C. Sumichrast. It^ was 
resolved to form a new club, a committee was appointed 
to draft a constitution and by-laws, and the club was 
formally organized at a meeting held on December 7. 
at which there were present, in addition to most of those 
present at the November meeting, S. Tupper, F. W. Bul- 
lock, W. Webb, J. E. Butler, A. Marvin, and W. S. 
Salter. The custom _ prevailed at the outset of havin!_c 
what was practically an honorary commodore, leaving the 
work of the club to be done by the vice-commodore. The 
first commodore was Lord Dufferin, then Governor- 
General of Canada, and the first vice-commodore F. W. 
Passow. The custom was dropped in 1889, since which, 
time the commodores have been all v/orking officials. 
And it is worth mentioning here that the club has always 
chosen its officers and committees solely with a view to 
their efficiency, and whatever success has been attained 
has been due solely to management on business principles. 
The differences of opinion which led to the formation of 
the club left one significant trace in the provisions in the 
constitution that of the managing committee three at 
least should be yacht owners, and that on all questions of 
measurement, time allowance, classification, and other 
matters relating to racing, the vote should be taken by 
yachts instead of members. 
The club was at the outset but a tiny affair. In the 
first year only 25 members paid subscriptions. It grew, 
however. It increased to 40 in the second year, and then 
mounted steadily till it reached a membership of about 
80, at which it remained for some time. It received its 
y/^frapt to fly the Ww? ensign an4 to use the prefix 
Halifax Harbor Showing the location of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. 
i .1 !hi llJil! 
Club House of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron Showing the additions made to 1he building in 1903. 
A View of the Club Room in the Home of the R. N. S. Y. S. 
Original Club House of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron. 
Clu^ ^?.Qom io Ilgwe of Royal Nova Scotia Yacht gquadroi^. 
