SailPast 3 July 2021
Text and Pictures by Rick Craven.
Article previously published on The Bay Observer
The weather was nearly perfect as members of the Burlington Sailing and Boating Club kicked-off the 2021 boating season with their annual Sailpast celebration.
The event took place just off the entrance to the LaSalle Park Marina during what turned out to be a glorious, sun-filled Saturday afternoon.
Commodore Scott Lowell welcomed members with a video 2 days before the event:
The event started when Doug Edwards, piloting the Club boat “Underway”, set up the marshalling point where the boats would begin their run past the Club’s current and former commodores.
Sail boats, power boats, boats of all kinds were invited to participate in the annual tradition.
Sailpast is based on the nautical tradition that when a sailor meets his or her superior at sea, he is required to render the normal “naval salute” by dipping the Canadian Ensign and waiting for the response. Today, this is only done annually at start of the season during the Sailpast ceremony.
Usually, Sailpast is accompanied by a variety of events on shore and at the nearby Clubhouse, but these had to be cancelled this year due to Covid.
Kicking off this year’s sailing season was particularly exciting for the Club since no boating was permitted last year. Also, this is the first opportunity for sailors to experience the impact of the new City of Burlington wave-break.
Click the photo album below for more pictures.
