The Lake Ontario Club Cruising Association (LOCCA) will hold its 2010 Annual General Meeting at Ashbridge’s Bay Yacht Club on January 16th, 2011. This year’s meeting is expected to be lively as the membership addresses the controversial policy changes by the Yacht Clubs on Toronto Island that no longer allow organized cruises from other clubs.

“We are alarmed at the number of Clubs around the lake that are enforcing a less welcoming approach to the hosting of individual sailors as well as Club cruises.  An example would be the Toronto Island Yacht Clubs, that have become more and more restrictive in their reciprocal privileges to both individual boaters and organized cruises.  There appears to be a movement to stop supporting true reciprocal privileges, ending a tradition of over 100 years on Lake Ontario”, said Bruce Hannah, President of the Association.

LOCCA is a representative association of over 30 of the Yacht Clubs on Lake Ontario and part of their purpose  is to enhances and support yacht club cruising programs, provide a platform to discuss issues of importance to boaters, their respective yacht clubs and to hosting clubs, as well as to coordinate club cruises on the greater Lake Ontario.

Another objective of LOCCA is to take advantage of new technologies to create a web-based virtual organization, thereby creating an environment whereby the executive team, the membership, the Cruising Fleet Captains and the individual boater can work or consult directly online thus avoiding the need for face time meetings. To that end this year’s annual meeting will allow member Clubs that cannot attend in person to do so using Skype, an online conferencing tool. This will be of particular importance to many Clubs on the US side of the Lake where the travel times make the trip to Toronto prohibitive.

www.locca.org