Fred Small’s Yacht Club photos

Fred and Jean Small were two of the earliest members of the Charlottetown Yacht Club and they continued to be active in the club well into their senior years. Fred was, in his latter, days one of the members of the verandah gang who presided over the waterfront dispensing wisdom and observations and Jean was active in what was then referred to as the “Ladies Aux”. Along with Mac Irwin and Hal Bourke and his family they were a constant at the Club.

After the passing of Fred and Jean a small collection of snapshots was presented to the PEI Public Archives and Records Office. For the most part unidentified, the photos provide a glimpse of the activities of the Club in the 1940s. While the snaps are of undistinguished quality without sharp focus they never the less give a taste of what was going on the warm summer days on the waterfront: scraping the bottom, racing, picnic excursions, but mostly just knocking about in boats.

The period was the heyday of the snipe although there were still a few of the Northumberland class 3 boats still sailing. Scout, Wings and Joke contested the placements in the harbour races of the half-dozen or so snipe fleet. There were a couple of small schooners. The Restless and the Roamer were the big motor boats in the fleet and served as committee boats, fleet tenders and picnic platforms.

The harbour background still saw coal boats at Pickard’s wharf next to the Yacht Club and the ferry Fairview can be spotted as part of the background in one of the pictures but there was a marked reduction in the number of steamers and coastal schooners visiting the port. The Yacht Club was the busiest place on the harbour. The new clubhouse and reconstructed wharves promised years of sailing pleasure and social activity. It was a simpler time.

It is not clear if the photos in the collection were taken by the Smalls or were presented to them. In either case they are a valuable record of the early years of the Charlottetown Yacht Club.

Click on any photo to enlarge the images and begin the slide show. I would be obliged if any viewers could give additional identification of the individuals and boats.

Roamer and Restless (background). probably at Holland Cove, with Zenith. Restless can be distinguished by her four ports as oppsed to Roamer’s three. (thanks to Glenn MacLeod for this info.)

Joke and Scout

The snipe fleet racing in Charlottetown Harbour

The racing fleet with the Fairview in the background

Yacht Racing Association of Northumberland Strait Class 3 boat probably Zenith

Bottom work at low tide