The Gold Country Yacht Club was founded in the early 1980’s by a group of residents with a common interest—sailing. The group formalized their bond with the development of their Bylaws and Constitution based on those of other Yacht Clubs.
Their purpose as stated, is “… to encourage yachting as a sport and recreation; to promote the betterment of boating and facilities; to promote interest in seamanship, safety, training, and navigation; and to encourage fellowship.”
Through the years, GCYC has nurtured the sport of sailing here in the foothills of the beautiful Sierra Nevada. Members meet monthly, rain or shine. Races, cruises and raft-ups highlight the summer season with a regularly scheduled “evening on the lake” each Tuesday during the summer at Scotts Flat Lake (6-9pm). Travels include cruises in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, Catalina Island to the south, Lake Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay. Some members have made special charter trips to the Caribbean and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands.
The true “sport” of sailing shines through in the GCYC Race Program. The competition is governed by the standards of US Sailing and PHRF ratings are used for scoring. The club races are held on Scotts Flat Lake from March through November. Many of the members sharpen their skills by participating in races and regattas hosted by clubs outside of our area. Historically, they’ve done very well.
Annual Regatta
Starting on the first Saturday in June of each year, the GCYC hosts the “Go for the Gold Regatta.” Sailors from all over California and Nevada come to participate. The competition is tough as several fleets hold their regional qualification trials during this event. The 1996 Regatta included the Region 10 Catalina 22 Championship, Open Keel, Open Multihull, El Toro, Sunfish Western Regional Championships, Laser, Lido 14 Northern California Championship, Banshee and Open Centerboard categories. A highlight of this event is the barbecue dinner on Saturday night with a “tall tales” storytelling competition followed by raffles and games. The “Go for the Gold” regatta has become a major Northern California sailing event, and is a favorite among its competitors. In keeping with the locale, the first prizes for the regatta are hand-crafted oak chests with vials of real gold, with second and third receiving gold pans with “gold” nuggets. The 2008 dates for our regatta are June 7-8, 2008. Make your plans now to attend.
Junior Sailing Program
A Junior Sailing Program was added as one of the many club activities during the spring of 1997. Contact Lynn Buchanan for 2008 dates and more details. This program is designed to instruct young sailing enthusiasts about seamanship, safety and the joys of sailing. A certified US Sailing instructor will put the young mariners through their paces. We are always on the lookout for additional dinghies if you wish to donate yours to our non-profit program to help our young sailors.
The Junior Sailing Program is sponsored by local corporations Litton Engineering Laboratories and Tri-Continent Scientific.
