In the wind: November 5, 2025
False Creek Rowing Machine Programme is Back!
False Creek Rowing Club is back at Jericho this off-season. Membership in the erg programme is open to all.
Off-season fitness training at the Jericho Sailing Centre
The False Creek Rowing Club is delighted to begin hosting a rowing machine programme as a partner of the JSCA from the beginning of November to the end of March.
We would like to invite all members of the JSC community to learn generally about rowing, and particularly how the ergometer can be an excellent fitness resource for all ages. Introductory sessions will be held on Wednesdays during November at 6pm. If you want to come and try for free, please get in touch with us in advance.
Coached erg workouts will be held every Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm from the beginning of November until the end of March. In addition, joining this program will give you access to the rowing machines on your own time. For more information, please visit https://falsecreekrowingclub.ca/row-with-us/erging/. The programme will cost $325 in coaching fees + $55.90 Rowing BC and Rowing Canada fees + $125.28 if you aren’t already a member of Jericho Sailing Centre Association.
If you have questions, please contact us via email at questions@falsecreekrowingclub.ca
Batten Down the Hatches – Storm Season is Upon Us
It’s time to winterize your craft. Drains need to be unclogged, craft need to be secured, furled sails need to be de-rigged, kayaks and canoes should be stored upside down. When did you last check your boat?
Every off season, vicious wind and rain storms rip through the Jericho Sailing Centre compound looking for loose tarps, boat covers and poorly stowed gear. When they find a loose tarp they can turn a hibernating boat into a flying projectile potentially damaging neighbouring craft. Members are responsible for ensuring they have “battened down the hatches” on their equipment stored at the Jericho Sailing Centre. If your boat causes damage to neighbouring craft you can be held liable.
We encourage you to check your craft regularly year round, particularly before & after gnarly windstorms. It’s time to winterize your craft. De-rig furled sails that can blow lose and flog in heavy winds. Remove any parts or equipment that can be easily removed (most thefts occur between Oct.-April). Hull and cockpit drains should be checked and unclogged. Make sure water doesn’t collect inside your hull or cockpit – if it freezes and expands it can cause major damage. Kayaks, canoes and other racked boats without hull or cockpit drains should be stored upside down so that water does not accumulate inside. Not only does the extra water weight threaten the health of our racks it can have disastrous effects on on your craft. We’ve seen kayaks break in half from the weight of accumulated water.
NEW PAY PARKING PASSES NOW IN EFFECT
Spring/summer parking passes for the lot directly south of our facility expired September 30. Seasonal passes for the next period October 1 – March 31 are available from EasyPark via their email: mp@easypark.ca, with the subject ”Jericho Seasonal Pass Lot 69”; in the email body include: your full name, phone number, licence plate, make and model of the vehicle. All net parking revenues go to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to allow them to fund park amenities, such as the Jericho Pier.
November 11: Remember the Jericho Beach Air Station
by Mike Cotter
Canadian Forces Base Jericho (what is now Jericho Beach Park) from the air circa 1940s, cropped from a much larger image. The pier top left is the precursor of the Jericho Beach Pier. Building 13 (now the Jericho Sailing Centre) is just to the right of the base of that pier. Photograph courtesy of Triathalon Mapping Corporation (Pacific Survey Corporation), City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 59-09.
The bells that now toll here are wind whipped stainless halyards ringing a forest of anodized aluminum sailing dinghy masts; but it wasn’t always that way.
Department of National Defence Building 13, now known as the Jericho Sailing Centre, was a hustling, bustling place during the Second World War. Here, Canadians carried out their solemn duty to serve our country, to stand with honour to defend and preserve the freedom and peaceful way of life we all cherish today.
What is now known as Jericho Beach Park and the adjacent lands south of 4th Avenue were all part of the largest military training base in western Canada; Canadian Forces Base Jericho Beach. The foreshore, which was hemmed with a concrete wharf apron, 4 large airplane hangers and a Marine & Stores Building (now the Jericho Sailing Centre), was RCAF Jericho Beach Air Station, a flying boat and seaplane base. Through the CFB Jericho Beach passed thousands of western Canadians in their metamorphic journey from civilians to soldiers, launched from here to the eternal hell that is war. Too many never came home.
The Jericho Beach Air Station’s focus was civil defence; launching recognizance missions from this shore to patrol the BC coast, looking for signs of enemy vessels and/or aircraft. This original Jericho “ocean access facility” featured floating wooden launch ramps, steel wheeled launch dollies, winches, winch ropes, indoor flying boat storage, armed guards and barbed wire; lots of barbed wire. The crews and personnel of Royal Canadian Air Force Squadron 4, launched flying boats and seaplanes from here; craft like the: Blackburn Shark, Fairchild 71, Vickers MKII, Canso Catalina and the mainstay of the fleet, the Supermarine Stranraer – a sub hunter-nicknamed “the Whistling Birdcage” by flight crews for the sound generated by it’s biplane wing shrouds and rigging in flight.
The wind and the sea were elements as important to those brave souls as they are to us today although their work was far more dangerous than our leisure time launches. A dead calm sea was difficult to take off from as the heavy craft’s hulls had to break through the salt laden surface tension to lift off. A sleeping sea was also treacherous to land on as it was impossible for sky skippers to judge altitude over a swiftly rising glassy surface.
Larger waves could also be a problem. There were many spills; eleven aircrew lives lost in mishaps during this period. In one episode a Blackburn Shark’s pontoons punched head on into an English Bay rogue wave in the late stages of a takeoff, flipping the bird and killing the crew.
It may soothe the prevailing pacifist nature of our modern day users to know that in over 1700 wartime sorties the original crews of Jericho never fired a shot in anger and their only contact with the “other side” was a mysterious, ineffective, invasion of incendiary bomb rigged weather-type balloons in the winter of 1944/45.
A monument, just south of the Jericho Sailing Centre entrance; the Jericho Hostel; Jericho Arts Centre; the Vancouver Park Board Maintenance compound, and the Jericho Sailing Centre are all that remain in Jericho Park in Remembrance of those flighty days and fearless crews. When the tubular bells of the Jericho Sailing Centre ring every November 11 they ring for all who served our country and particularly for those who served from these shores. Whenever we launch from Jericho we are exercising the freedom passed on to us from their weathered hands. Remember them well.
Service at Sea: On Water Remembrance Day Ceremony
Each year, leading up to the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month our good neighbours at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club hold a Remembrance Day Service on the water. The ceremony will be just east of their marina. Many of their past members served in the Canadian Navy during two world wars and current RVYC members do an excellent job of paying their respects in this solemn nautical tradition. Jericho Rescue will be on the water between 1030-1200H to pay respects on behalf of the JSCA and assist any attending paddlers who may wish to observe this unique maritime service. The service commences at 1045H. Please remember to display a poppy on your PFD.
SAFETY NOTICE: Dwindling Daylight, Wind Shuts Off, Minimal Rescue Resources
Any sailor finding themselves in this situation would be hoping they brought a paddle.
Now that the clocks have turned back, sunset is coming before 1700H. The wind frequently shuts down abruptly within an hour of sunset. If you are on a wind powered craft this means you have just run out of gas. The general rule of thumb for sailors pushing daylight is: never sail further away from home port than you would care to paddle; and, always carry your legally required paddle.
This fall on windy evenings we’ve noticed some folks sailing well into twilight hours. Sailing Jericho style craft after sunset is not recommended. Anyone launching should be fully aware that each sailor, paddler/rower is responsible for their own safety and that of their crew. Jericho Rescue resources are minimal at this time of year. Canadian Coast Guard is standing by on *16 on your cell. If you ran of wind and don’t have a paddle they won’t be too happy.
Limited Edition Jericho Sailing Centre 50th Anniversary T-shirts are back in stock now at the JSCA office while supplies last.
If you’ve been waiting for your special order limited edition Jericho Sailing Centre 50th Anniversary T-shirt come to the JSCA office.
Water and air temperatures are trending down, are you ready for the cold weather?
While it is not winter yet. Air and water temperatures are trending down on an almost daily basis. Realistically both won’t be warm again until next summer. If you intend on enjoying the water through the shoulder season and winter months, it is worth starting to plan how to do it safely. Click on through to our cold water blog post for more information.
Jericho Sailing Centre School Partners
Jericho Beach Kayak
JBK Will remain available for private sessions and winter programs. For bookings and more information, slap that paddle over to JBK
MacSailing
Closed for the season. For more information pull your tiller to Mac
Windsure
Closed for the season. For more information wing over to SURF
Galley Patio and Grill – Closed for the Season
The Galley is now closed for the season. Stay tuned in late winter / early spring for news on when it will re-open for next season.
Boaters’ Handbook: Your go-to guide for safe navigation within the Port of Vancouver
Navigating Vancouver’s busy harbour just got safer and easier thanks to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s new Boaters’ Handbook. The handbook is the ultimate reference—and a one-stop shop—for essential safety information, from how to operate within confined and restrictive waterways, to the radio channels to monitor and speed limits to follow throughout the port authority’s jurisdiction. Whether you’re boating or paddling in Burrard Inlet or the Fraser River, the Boaters’ handbook is your go-to to stay safe, informed, and enjoy your time on the water this summer.
Access the Boaters’ Handbook today on the port authority’s website.
To receive the latest information on boating safety within the waters of the Port of Vancouver, including handbook updates, subscribe to the port authority’s newsletter, here.
FIRST NARROWS TRAFFIC CONTROL ZONE 1
Safety Notice to All Users of the Jericho Sailing Centre & any other non-motor power craft users in Vancouver
“Vessel-related restrictions
All pleasure craft and sailing vessels must be under mechanical power when transiting through the First Narrows traffic control zone. It is prohibited to enter or transit through the First Narrows traffic control zone on board a personal watercraft, including jet skis and non-motorized vessels, such as sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards.”
Boater’s Handbook the essentials of informed navigation within the Port of Vancouver.
English Bay Safety Seminar
Never Take Water Safety For Granted, Be Boaty McBoatSafe…
Users of the Jericho Sailing Centre share Vancouver’s largest playground with Canada’s busiest port and are required to know and exercise the “rules of the road” while recreating in this area. Users should be aware of shipping lanes, ships transiting between the lanes and anchorages, and Traffic Control Zones. All non-commercial vessels shall stay well clear of commercial vessels including ships at anchor.
The English Bay Safety Seminar was developed for users of the Jericho Sailing Centre to help keep them safe while at play on the waters of English Bay. The seminar covers basic water safety fundamentals along with user specific information drawn from the logs of the Jericho Rescue Team who have intervened in thousands of “sea disasters” over the past 50 years.
Why make your own mistakes when you can learn from the mistakes of others? Don’t challenge Darwin’s theory, make sure your water safety knowledge is the fittest it can be. Your survival may well depend upon it. Find the missing links and fill in the gaps in your water safety knowledge.
Sail the Slideshow on our Website
For more Safe Boating information check out Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Guide
Jericho Sailing Centre Etiquette
Common sense and consideration of fellow members help make the Jericho Sailing Centre a true community centre with a friendly salt water community atmosphere. Here are a few etiquette reminders to keep things sailing along smoothly:
- Do not leave your craft unattended on the shoreline for extended periods – share the shore.
- RAMPS, and the areas adjacent to launching ramps, are for craft launch/retrieval only. Do not rig, repair or otherwise loiter in this area.
- Do not leave or rig your craft in the rinsing areas adjacent to hosing stations.
- The Jericho Sailing Centre is a SMOKE/VAPE FREE facility. There is No Smoking/Vaping permitted in any Vancouver Park or beach area.
- Give pathway users the right of way and bear in mind they may be distracted and not aware that you are crossing the pathway with your craft or launch rope.
- Launch dollies are for launching/retrieval only (not for storage) and must be returned to the fence immediately after use.
- If you launch from your own dolly or trailer return it to your storage spot after launching.
- Do not use the winches unless you are familiar with their safe operation. Winch instruction is available from staff or Jericho Rescue Team members. Only members or registered guests may use winches & dollies.
- Only leashed, well behaved, non-barking/whining dogs are allowed in the compound, no dogs are allowed in the building or on the deck. Do not tie dogs to the base of stairwells or in other traffic areas. Do not leave your dog onshore while you are on the water. The City prohibits dogs on beaches. In consideration of other Jericho users please consider leaving your dog at home while visiting the Jericho Sailing Centre.
- Please coil hoses immediately after use and conserve water.
- Do not block aisle ways.
- Rinse racks are for rinsing not drying.
- Swimming is prohibited in front of the Jericho Sailing Centre.
On the Water-Safety is Your Responsibility
On the ocean there are elements of risk that common sense and personal awareness can help reduce. Regardless of how you decide to use the ocean always show courtesy to others. Please adhere to the code listed below and share with others the responsibility for a safe ocean experience
It is every member’s responsibility to know and observe the rules of the road when on or near the water. Here are some key rules which every Jericho member must know and practice.
0.5 IT IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY TO AVOID A COLLISION
1. Always wear your P.F.D. on the water. PFD’s MUST be properly fitted.
2. Sail powered craft have the right of way over power craft, paddle and rowing powered craft.
3. All non-commercial vessels shall keep well clear of commercial vessels.
4. It is illegal and extremely dangerous to pass between a tug and it’s tow.
5. A port tack sailing vessel shall keep clear of a starboard tack vessel.
6. A windward vessel shall keep clear of a leeward vessel.
7. A vessel clear astern shall keep clear of a vessel ahead.
8. Any vessel overtaking another shall keep clear.
9. A vessel tacking or gybing shall keep clear of a vessel on a tack.
10. The area south of the orange can buoys is for training or transiting only.
11. Swimming or wading on the beach in front of the Centre is prohibited and is particularly dangerous for small children.
12. It is unsafe to loiter or let children play near the bottom of launching ramps.
13. Stay well clear of the end of the Jericho Pier as fishers cast lines as far as possible
14. Be cautious of pathway traffic when launching/retrieving
15. Do not leave your craft on the shoreline for extended periods of time
16. Stay at least 300M clear of ships at anchor in Vancouver Harbour & construction at Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.
17. Be aware of the low water hazard (<4′) wharf remnants between ramps #3 & #4.
Common sense goes a long way toward maintaining a safe environment. Membership in the Jericho Sailing Centre Association is contingent on members knowing and observing the Safe Ocean Sailing rules.