Flying boats (16 photos)

It’s that time of year again.

A powerful rig from Sterling Crane, with a boom that extends approximately 170 feet, assisted by a crew of Algoma Sailing Club members and volunteers, lifted the club’s recreational sailboats from the water at Bellevue Park Saturday morning for winter storage.

“We have 25 boats coming out of the water this fall, and we have a volunteer crew base that organizes all the activities, safety precautions and procedures while we’re doing haul out. We usually do this every year about this same time, near the end of October,” said April Kernaghan, Algoma Sailing Club commodore, speaking to SooToday.

The club has approximately 50 members, with its two-storey clubhouse located at Bellevue Park.

“Most of these boats participate in our river race series throughout the summer and the fall, with about seven or eight boats on average for each race, but a lot of people just have the sailboats for their own recreational purposes,” Kernaghan said.

The Algoma Sailing Club celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with various activities, including the presence of a float in this year’s Community Day Parade.

The club usually has its launch, putting the boats back in the water, during Mother’s Day Weekend in May.