The Ebb and Flow

As time ebbs and flows through all our lives, so too has time ebbed and flowed through the life of the Barnet Sailing Cooperative. From its humble beginnings of one small boat and about ten members to the robust membership of today, there is much that has marked the progress of the Barnet Sailing Cooperative.

The Early Years

The Barnet Sailing Cooperative is a non-profit organization formed in 1987 by a group of sailing enthusiasts interested in cooperative ownership of boats for training, day sailing and cruising. The Co-op was started when George Doutre conducted sailing classes at Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby, B.C. A group from the classes formed the Barnet Sailing Cooperative with the purchase of our first boat, a fourteen-foot Enterprise sailing dingy that was kept in the park boat compound.

The first committee consisted of Malcolm Fitz-Earle as president, Keiko Fitz-Earle as secretary, Laurie Robson as treasurer and George Doutre as boat captain. Due to time constraints Malcolm stepped down and Rick Boretsky became president. From that time until 2000 Rick, a veterinarian, was kind enough to allow us to use his veterinary office as our booking office for boat scheduling. In 2000 we switched to a professional answering service as the needs of the membership grew.

Boat Purchases

Early on the Co-op purchased a 19-foot Mercury boat, Quick Silver, from George Doutre. This boat was moored at Reed Point Marina on an instalment plan. Thus began a longstanding business relationship with Reed Point Marina that continues to this day. In 1988, Doug Bzowy, a member who later served as president, loaned the club money for the purchase of the first 20 foot O'Day, the Day Off. In 1989, the Co-op bought the second 20 foot O'Day, the Moody Blue, the first boat actually named by the club. In the spring of 1990, the Co-op was able to acquire, on a loan basis the 22-foot Roberts called the Karat. Derek Booth and George Doutre set out to Mission and sailed the Karat around to Port Moody with a stopover in New Westminster. It took much TLC to put the Karat into service for the club. At that time the Karat became the pride and joy of the fleet! The next couple of years the Karat was moored at Otter Bay on Pender Island or at Canoe Cove Marina near Swartz Bay for summer cruising in the Gulf Islands.

Fleet Expansion

As early as 1991, the first Long Term Planning Committee was formed to develop a 5-year plan for the Co-op. Issues such as fee levels, how to raise money to buy boats and club size were all considered. The first decision was to focus on paying off the existing loans on the two O'Days before buying more boats. The Co-op achieved this objective by the end of 1992. In 1993, the focus was again on finding the "perfect co-op boat". If you ask a dozen members for input as to what is a "must have", a "need to have" and a "nice to have", you will get a dozen different ideas. The ultimate decision that satisfied the majority of the Co-op's requirements was a 27-foot Catalina.

The First Catalina

The Honey Bee, the first of several gold-hulled boats in the fleet, was purchased in June 1993 with a loan from 10 members. To finance the loan, members were charged a daily usage fee of $50.00. The loan was repaid in just over two years. The Co-op was now "boat crazy". We wanted more! Through some creative sleuthing, another cruising boat was found that could be loaned to the Co-op, a 25-foot racing boat named the Lizzie Bee. While it was nice to have another cruising boat in the fleet, the Lizzie Bee did not meet the Co-op's purchasing criteria. The next boat to be purchased was of course, another 27 foot Catalina named Mookie. This occurred in the fall of 1995 and was made possible through a loan from one member, Ron Bryce. The repayment scheme for the Mookie was an annual boat levy on all members of $100.00 until the loan was retired. In the spring of 1998 with the assistance of George Doutre, we acquired yet another Catalina, the Jinjersnap. With a rapidly growing membership (aided by some television exposure from the Boat Show) more vessels were needed to satisfy the needs of members who were enjoying a particularly long and warm sailing season. In March of 1999 the 4th Catalina in the fleet arrived, My Way. 2002 brought the addition of the 5th Catalina, Weekend Pirate. Since January of 1999, the Cooperative has been working on a complete refit of the boats, with new sails, motors, plumbing and electrical systems and refurbishing or rebuilding of the wood work and interiors to the point where we have a fleet we can be proud of.

Incorporation

As of the 7th of January 1999 the Barnet Sailing Co-op was officially incorporated in Victoria, B.C. as a registered co-operative.

Activities and Fun

The schedule of activities from sailing to social is planned each year with the interests of the members in mind. From picnics to CYA Training courses to guest speakers at our monthly meetings, the Co-op has made a real effort to provide challenge and companionship for all members.