[Public-List] Smells of yacht racing...

[Gordon Laco]

Hello gang - 

Just saw a news headline referring to the City of Toronto’s renewed efforts to eliminate odours from the Ashbridges Bay sewage treatment plant on the eastern side of Toronto’s waterfront.  That brought back a funny memory…

When I was a boy being taken sailing and racing, I recall identifying particular odours with the various clubs along the waterfront.

To the east was Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club (to us in Canada the real and much older ABYC).   Because of the sewage treatment plant, it had that smell.   A mile or so offshore was a rustic and battered ancient wooden spar buoy which of course we called ’The Poop Stick’ because it marked the outflow from the plant, which was sometimes visible.

Central and on the Toronto Isands, was Queen City YC, Royal Canadian YC and Island YC.  They tended to smell like city smog… that sulfuric-exhaust stink that was sometimes visual in those days when air pollution was so much worse.

To the west was National Yacht Club, by Toronto Harbour’s Western Gap.  It sometimes stank of hops from the enormous Molsens brewery across Lakeshore Blvd from the club.

Anyone else from around here remember those smells?


Gordon Laco
#426 Surprise
www.gordonlaco.com