“CFSA Montreal”  -  A brief history and description of the Club

Club’s current name: CFSA Montreal – 5ASG Montreal Sailing Club

Club’s current status: “Owned” by Dept. of National Defense, 5th Area Support Group, under direct command of Canadian Forces Base St-Jean sur Richelieu

Purpose of the Club (from the Club’s Constitution)

“Increase the quality of life of members of the military community by providing sport and recreational services suitable to the needs of the members. Specifically, to provide sailing facilities, teach sailing and promote boating under appropriate conditions.”

Evolution of the Club:

The Club was originally founded in 1955 as the Montreal Squadron of the RCNSA (Royal Canadian Naval Sailing Association). With the unification of the armed forces in 1969 it became the Montreal Squadron of the CFSA (Canadian Forces Sailing Association). There were many CFSA squadrons throughout the Canadian military system, some of the main ones being Shearwater, NS,  Kingston, ON,  Trenton, ON,  Esquimalt, BC,  and even in foreign bases such as the Rhine Sqdn in Germany.

The CFSA organization was disbanded in 1994 due to military budget cuts. Squadrons which were located on properties owned by DND but not on actual military bases, were closed and the properties sold. The Montreal Sqdn was one of very few which were not closed. The Club then came under direct command of CFB Montreal, as one of it’s many sports facilities for military personnel, and became the 5ASG (Area Support Group) Sailing Club. The property is still used for actual military training exercises as well.

We still have informal affiliations with the few remaining CFSA’s throughout the system, which have been converted to the same status as ourselves.

This year (2005) is the 50th Anniversary of the Club’s existence, and we are planning many events to celebrate this summer.