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MIKE LEIGH introduced the Shellback Club to the Kids and Classics Boatshops Museum, a maritime museum that is based on a learning-by-doing campus. It is a year-round campus with programming for many objectives, including working with Youth-at-Risk, family boat building, maritime career studies, and boating regattas.  About Mike Leigh
Mike is a professional sailor (officer cadet) with a 25 year association with Toronto Brigantine. He was captain for four years and has been a Director of the Brigs. He attended George Brown College in the Merchant Officer Program. His education and work in boat building and repair of yachts and commercial craft has been most supportive of the volunteer work he does with Kids & Classics. The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services in a recent letter expressed its “unwavering gratitude to the organization for providing the youth we bring to the Boat Build program with an exceptional, meaningful and memorable program”. Mike is an enthusiastic supporter of the program as he so adeptly demonstrated at the recent Toronto Boat Show.
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Bill Hutton returned to the Shellback Club to describe cruising Georgian Bay and the North Channel on his sailboat. His presentation was filled with many gorgeous images of the stunning landscapes this region is so famous for, and also filled with much practical information on navigation, route planning, and logistics.  About Bill Hutton
Bill has been sailing for 20 years on four or five different boats depending on how you count. He bought the same boat twice, which he has just sold again in Hopetown Bahamas. Most of that 20 years has been on Lake Ontario but he has also spent a number of winters cruising in Florida, along with chartering in Croatia. Bill is comfortable solo sailing but much prefers his trips around the lake with his wife Diana on their 34 foot Aloha. Today he reflects on his three years cruising in Georgian Bay and the North Channel and why, if you have a boat you need to go there yourself. Phoebe Wang came to talk to the Shellback Club about her writing of "Relative to Wind: On Sailing, Craft, & Community". Phoebe blended discussion of her personal sailing history with her researches into the history of the early central waterfront of Toronto, the history of Queen City Yacht Club, and observations on her process as a writer.  About Phoebe Wang
Phoebe Wang is a Chinese-Canadian writer and editor from Ottawa, Ontario. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto MA in Creative Writing program and has written two poetry collections, Admissions Requirements (McClelland and Stewart 2017) and Waking Occupations (McClelland and Stewart 2022). Her most recent book is Relative to Wind: On Sailing, Craft and Community. She currently works at OCAD University as a Writing Consultant supporting multilingual students. Phoebe began crewing on keelboats in 2009, and is a member of Queen City Yacht Club where she has served as Women’s Open Regatta Chair since 2023. She volunteers as education officer with the Canadian Asian Sailors. Recently, she has become the skipper of a wooden Wayfarer dinghy, Opus 3, which is waiting for her at Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club. More of her work can be found at www.alittleprint.com George Hume spoke to the Shellback Club about the history of the Eddystone Lighthouse. The Eddystone Lighthouse has gone through four constructions. The first, completed in 1699, was the first open ocean lighthouse in the world. The current lighthouse, completed in 1882, is still in use. About George Hume
George is an architect, retired from Ryerson University as the Director of Campus Planning and Construction. He has a deep interest in history, especially history of technology. In addition to his architecture degree from the University of Toronto, he has a masters in History of Technology from Imperial College, University of London. While studying in London, he developed an interest in historical canals. Living near the Kennet and Avon Canal, he got involved in clearing the abandoned right-of-way in anticipation of its resurrection as a successful tourist destination. He has subsequently plied a number of canals around the world, been president of the Canadian Canal Society and is currently a director of the American Canal Society and a member of Inland Waterways International. He learned to sail with the Moordale Sailing Club in the Outer Harbour. He has his navy based at his summer cottage on Bone Island in the Cognashene area of southern Georgian Bay. The interest in technological history and industrial archaeology has led to extensive reading in those areas. His wife, Anne, is concerned that after 60 years of being together, she hasn’t been able to curtail his book collecting. On the other hand, the collection means that he probably doesn’t need to add to it to prepare his talks on subjects like the Eddystone Lighthouse. In A History of Hanlan's Point, Ron looks at the many identities Hanlan's Point has taken over its years, among them sandbar, military station, cottage resort, sports field, amusement park, and airport.  About Ron Jenkins
Ron is a long-time member of the National Yacht Club. His father, Alf (past Purser Shellbacks, Class A Dinghy Sailor and an active keel boat owner) and his grandfather, Herb (NYC treasurer for decades, and active keel boat sailor) carries the Jenkins’ name well back in NYC history. Ron is an active nature and sailing photographer; when hobbies do not interfere, he works in technology marketing. He is an active participant in Waterfront for All, a coalition of groups protecting the Toronto waterfront. Georgian Bay is well known as a cruiser’s paradise for good reason. Much of Georgian Bay remains as wild and pristine as it was when Samuel de Champlain became the first European to set eyes on it in 1615. Join veteran cruiser DAVE SPENCER as he guides us up the eastern shore of Georgian Bay and through the remote anchorages of Northern Georgian Bay. Dave’s seminar focuses mainly on anchoring out and is packed with insights, tips, and pictures to inform and inspire both new and experienced boaters looking to enjoy this beautiful cruising area.  About David Spencer
David loves absorbing and sharing cruising information, mainly through the Great Lakes Cruising Club where he serves as Rear Commodore for Georgian Bay, The North Channel, and Canadian Lake Huron. He is also an instructor for the GLCC School. Dave grew up messing about with boats on the Trent Severn Waterway and Georgian Bay. Having retired from his engineering career, Dave and his wife Kathy now enjoy their summers exploring the hidden gems and popular anchorages of Georgian Bay and The North Channel aboard their Catalina 34 sailboat named Good Idea. Alison Booz shared her adventures and wonderful pictures taken during a magical expedition to unforgettable Haida Gwaii, BC, known as the Galapagos of the North. Highlights include Haida village sites with the UNESCO World Heritage site, SGand Gwaay (Ninstints) where ancient poles still stand. Also there are remote beaches, ancient rainforests, whales, and lots of other wildlife.  About Alison Booz
Alison discovered sailing through Toronto Brigantine in the mid-1970s. She was involved with TBI for almost 20 years, sailing as a teen, then as a volunteer assisting with sailing charters, editing the newsletter, on the committee for the 25th Anniversary Gala held at RCYC, and coordinating silent auction fundraisers. Her love of sailing led to purchase of her 27 foot sailboat Harmony and membership at Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club. Alison is an active member at ABYC, currently volunteering as Job Jar Manager and Assistant Rail Chair. She enjoys participating in Club events, including their Toonie Talks and various entertainments. In the off-season, Alison is passionate about Scottish Country Dancing: she attends weekly dance classes and volunteers as Editor of the Scottish Country Dance Teachers quarterly newsletter. She also enjoys reading, running, and attending theatre and classical music concerts. A large crowd of Shellbacks met at the Mimico Cruising Club for the annual Moosemilk Christmas festivities. Melodie returned to the Shellback Club to describe the features and technology found on her Class 40 racing sailboat, Whiskey Jack. She has raced Whiskey Jack extensively across the oceans and around the world, placing very highly in extremely competitive fleets. The Shellback Club members were fascinated to see what a top level ocean raceing boat has, including navigational technology, advanced autopilot systems, and stripped down accommodations.  About Melodie Schaffer
Melodie is the daughter of Howard Ridge, a longtime Shellbacks member. She has sailed and raced out of RCYC on variety of boats from dinghies (Laser, 470, I14) to keel boats (Shark, C&C 39s, 8 Meter, J105). She currently owns a Dufour 34 at the Club. Five years ago, she began offshore racing. She sailed in the 2019-2020 Clippber Round the World Race in the Southern Ocean leg and the Asian leg. She was then to race across the Pacific in March 2020, but it was postponed due to the Covid pandemic. Three years ago, she bought a Class 40, a doublehanded offshore race boat. She trained for a couple weeks and then sailed the boat to France to compete in the Trans Jacques Vabre, a race from Le Havre, France to Martinique. This race draws the top sailors in the world. Competitors sail Ocean 50s, Class 40s, Ultims (100 foot trimarans) and IMOCA 60s; all are racing doublehanded. She competed with a fellow Canadian and they were the first Canadians to finish the race. She was one of 14 women in the race, out of the 180 skippers. Melodie has recently completed the Globe 40 Round the World race. She is a biomedical engineer by profession, and more recently a sailing photographer. She has three children. Bill McNaughton described his trip on the cruise ship Seabourn Venture, Polar Class 6. Leaving from Ushuaia the ship visited the Falklands Islands, South Georgia, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Ascension, following the chain of mid Atlantic volcanic islands.  |
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