For years, the local sailing community has let it be known – if you build it, they will come.
And now with the closure of the Squamish Oceanfront deal approaching, that reality could soon come to fruition.
In November, representatives from BC Sailing met with Squamish Yacht Club (SYC), Squamish Windsports Society (SWS) and Whistler Sailing Association members to discuss the potential sailing venue that could be a part of the Oceanfront.
Those attending the meeting were quick to point out that nothing has been decided and the Oceanfront deal still has to close but if all things go ahead the planned park and sailing venue are scheduled to be two of the early pieces to the property.
Ralph Chelswick of the SYC said it’s simple why BC Sailing wants to come to Squamish.
“It’s no big secret – the winds here are perfect,” he said. “We have the best sailing conditions in Canada. I’ve sailed throughout the world and North America and this is one of the best.”
Chelswick has helped develop the SYC’s growing youth sailing program and said the impact of a new venue would be huge.
“From a grassroots perspective it will provide facilities for local sailors – both youth and adult,” he said. “Whatever is built there will benefit us. We’re maxed out with our youth programs, we have a waiting list and something like this will allow us to have better training and more regattas locally.”
Councillor Doug Race, who also attended the meeting, said the idea of a sailing training centre being a part of the Oceanfront has been talked about for a number of years.
Race said attracting the elite athletes also attracts sponsorship money to help build the potential training centre, which in turn will assist and grow the entire sailing community in Squamish.
“The key thing is that whatever gets put in place will be available for the whole community,” he said. “The concept got floated when I was on the Oceanfront board and the potential is there not just for the facility but to bring in other partners, perhaps BC Sailing being one, and maybe even the national team.”
Race said the new venue would need a ramp to launch dinghys, storage and maybe a small building. Chelswick added that ideally he’d like to see a common purpose building with room for classrooms and an area to set up boats.
The potential sailing venue could also free up the opportunity to further enhance the growing sport of kiteboarding in Squamish. Don Campbell of the SWS said he would like his group to have input on the venue and he hopes to see kiteboarding continue to grow.
“We have 10 times the members we did 10 years ago,” he said, noting the SWS had 630 registered members in 2014. “We started counting in mid-June and there were over 5,000 visits to the Squamish Spit. If we continue to grow, we will need more space so our hope is to have some say in what is built at the oceanfront park because if it’s not usable it doesn’t help us.”
Campbell said the spit is getting crowded and the Oceanfront park could be a solution.
“We hesitate to put on bigger events because it limits the room for our daily recreation riders,” he said. “There’s often very little room on the beach for people to launch.”
He said that the park could open up the water to several other sports.
“The park just wouldn’t be for us or the sailing people,” he said. “It’s also for the paddlers, stand-up paddlers, cyclists, families or people just to walk their dog. There’s a whole bunch of interest in this space and we’re not necessarily competing because we all have different requirements. We need to make sure we’re not getting in each other’s way and it’s safe for everyone – we all should mesh together.”
Race pointed out that if the Oceanfront deal goes ahead as scheduled, it should close at the end of April and title of the land will be transferred to the developer. He said they want to start right away with the park, which will involve filling and extending land beyond where it is right now.
Race hopes that the newly elected council makes the park and sailing venue a priority when it takes over.
“From a council perspective I can tell you we haven’t talked about this at all,” he said. “With a new council coming in, everyone needs to get on the same page. Up until now we’ve focused on the Oceanfront deal closing and that’s the first step. The actual shape of the park and what might go in it might be a process with some public consultation.”
He said he hopes to get input from community groups on the ultimate vision of the park. If the Oceanfront deal closes at the end of April, it’s a possibility that park construction could begin in 2015 and the sailing venue could be ready by as early as 2016.
