Corinthian Fund
The dictionary defines Corinthian as: “Of or pertaining to an amateur sailor or yachtsman; as a Corinthian race (one in which the contesting yachts must be manned by amateurs)”. In various ways Kingston Yacht Club members have been supporting amateur sailors since 1954. Traditionally it has helped our aspiring sailors to get to events that would be otherwise financially difficult or unachievable. The Pan Am Games, Youth World Championships, Canadian Youth Championships and World Championships are typical of the events that have been supported.
In 1954 the KYC crew of Harry Jemmett, Hank Connell and Barry Gilbert qualified for the North American 16 and under championship to be held in Holland Michigan. The Club’s poker group lead by Mr. Bob Partridge passed the hat and collected $60.00 to go towards the travelling costs. The young KYC crew won the championship being the first Canadian crew to do so, defeating many high profile American sailors.
When KYC was awarded the 420 World Championships in 1967, Col. Cam Jones was the driving force behind making sure KYC had their sailors competing, even though KYC did not have any 420 dinghy’s at the club. Cam raised $8,400.00 for the club to purchase four boats, which would be used for KYC crews to compete to see who would sail in the World Championship. Our rookie sailors performed very well against veteran 420 crews from around the world. The best finish was Harry Jemmett and Fred Siemonson ending up in fourth place. The boats were sold to various individuals and the contributors recouped 75% of their donation.
These events set the stage for the formal creation of the Corinthian Fund at the Kingston Yacht Club. In 1979, using a borrowed boat, Jeff Boyd, Gord Crothers and Peter Jones qualified to represent Canada at the Pan American Games in Ponce, Puerto Rico in the Lightning Class. In need of a competitive boat for the games, the KYC members (lead by Harry Jemmett) again came to the table. This time 140 members donated $100.00 each toward the purchase of a new competitive Lightning with the thought of selling the boat after the championship and then creating a permanent “Corinthian Fund” that would be able to support the Club’s sailors into the future. Thanks to the support they received the KYC Crew won a silver medal at the games! Since then the Corinthian Fund has been continually “Paying it Forward” supporting KYC sailors as they travel and compete at various championships.
Through annual voluntary donations, the KYC Corinthian Fund continues to grow its capital and has a mandate to distribute the annual interest. The fund was incorporated in 1994 and is administered by a committee that is separate, but controlled by, and reports to the KYC Membership.
Donations help the fund grow, we would love your support.
Members Account donations can be made by clicking here
e-transfers can be made by emailing controller@kingstonyachtclub.com
Kindly put "Corinthian Fund Donation" as the message in any e-transfer donations. Please note that e-transfers will be automatically deposited and a security password will not be required. For first time payments, a password of kingston can be entered, for example.
Gord Crothers gordoncrothers@gmail.com
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