The Toronto Windsurfing Club (“TWC”) and predecessor clubs have been around Cherry Beach since the late 1970s, and the current club was incorporated in the early 1980s as a not-for-profit club with an elected board of directors. The club has grown substantially over the last two decades and is now made up of approximately 500 members. Our season officially runs from May 1 through October, but some of our sailors can be seen on the water almost any day of the year.
The service we offer members includes:
• storage for over 300 boards and rigs in secure containers
• parking, lots of grassy rigging space
• sandy shoreline and safe sailing area
• lessons for beginners
• two Kids Camp weeks in the summer
• social events and BBQs
• Wednesday night racing
• clinics
We offer beginner lessons on wide HiFly polystyrene boards which are tough and stable. Members generally have their own gear, and racing is mostly on long-boards with daggerboards. However, more of the new Neil Pryde olympic boards are making an apperance in our racing fleet.
To kick off the sailing season, as many as 30 TWC members make the trek to rented houses on Pamlico Sound in Cape Hatteras, South Carolina in April. Strong and reliable spring winds quickly get winter “office arms” back into shape.
Our learn to windsurf program consists of four lessons which can be booked in advance. Lessons are taught by CYA certified instructors and classes are taught on Saturdays and Sundays, in May through late September. Students may also rent boards for practice sessions. Once a level of proficiency is reached, it is expected that the student will purchase their own gear.
We also offer a kids camp for youth aged 12 to 16. We are offering two separate one week camps, each running five days, Monday through Friday.
Our racing series runs on Wednesday nights, with the start gun going off at 6:00 pm sharp. Racing is free to members and we encourage non-members to join in. TWC also hosts two Ontario Sailing Association race events each year. These events attract racers from around Ontario, and the “open raceboard” fleet includes traditional long boards as well as more modern “formula” style wide boards with sails up to 9.5 square meters. Generally the course set is an “I” configuration, with upwind and down wind legs.
For those wanting to get into racing, we offer a learn to race program on Tuesday evenings.
In early September, TWC hosts the Mammoth Marathon race around the Toronto Islands. This event often attracts well over 50 racers and there are no restrictions on the windsurfing equipment used.
Members have now discovered hand-held GPS units and we now have a speed page on our website, for members to record their top speed (2 second interval). Fastest speed wins trophy and bragging rights. For tune-ups, we hope to run some slalom races this year.
Clinics are organized through the summer, subject to availability of guest “experts” who volunteer to teach. Clinics cover windsurfing basics like board speed, jibing and jumping. The racing and clinics are free to members.
Membership is open to anybody who has an interest in windsurfing and wants to be a part of our club. We have student members, families and even senior members who often show up the young ones on the race course.
| Student/Youth | $50 |
| Adult | $90 ($75 if paid before March 31) |
| Family | $125 ($110 if paid before March 31) |
Container storage – space for board and rig:
$150 for first space, $100 for each additional space
| By Phone: | 416-461-7078 |
| By E-Mail: | info@twsc.ca |
