Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club

 
The Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club is located on 246 Esplanade, Sydney, Nova Scotia.  It has been a landmark on Sydney Harbor for over a century and will continue to play an important role in the revitalization of Sydney’s downtown.  With its century-old clubhouse, plentiful parking and recently constructed marina facility the club continues to attract boaters, tourists and local people.  The club has 30 Berths for boaters to moor their boats and the beautiful boardwalk to enjoy a stroll along the beautiful water.  The Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club is close to many restaurants and shopping facilities all within walking distance.

The home that would later become a brief but crucial part of history for the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club was built during the founding of Sydney, taking on a French Colonial appearance after numerous additions and alterations.  John George Bourinot took up residence in this old colonial home and on September 7, 1850 he was appointed the first French Consul in British North America.  With this position came the requirement to entertain the officer’s of the French Admiral’s ships and other vessels of the French and British fleets.  This turned out to be the first year for the first known organized sailing races in Sydney Harbour.

Over the years Bourinot’s home became a social center for Sydney and because of this generosity of providing his home for these functions, he was referred to as Commodore Bourinot.  This name would flow throughout the rest of the history of the yacht club.

Bourinot built a new home behind the old house and left it for other family members and functions, it came to be known as the Cape Breton Club.  In 1899 a devastating fire rendered the Bourinot house useless as club headquarters, so the members got together to build their own, this began on November 20, 1899.  Shortly after, the Cape Breton Yacht Club was born.