armdale yacht club prison

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Armdale Yacht Club: Promoting Sailing for More Than a Century

Nestled on the shores of Halifax’s Melville Island is the historic Armdale Yacht Club (AYC), the second oldest yacht club in Nova Scotia, which prides itself on its friendly atmosphere, collegial club culture and inclusivity to boaters and non-boaters alike.

The club’s history goes back to 1920, when a group of young men organized a club out of Stoneman’s Armdale Boat House on the lower end of Halifax’s Quinpool Road. After the initial club was torn down, the group relocated to what is now Regatta Point on the city’s Northwest Arm. By 1947, the group relocated again to their current location on Melville Island, which they rented from Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND). 

Although Melville Island currently hosts the AYC, its history goes back much further than that. Since 1732, the island has been a private estate, hospital, quarantine station, military prison, prisoner of war camp, a military training station and an ammunition depot.  All the buildings used by the AYC today, according to past club commodore Sarah-Jane Raine, are original buildings dating back to the 1800s.

“They’re all original. Our clubhouse, when you stand in the centre part of it, was put there in 1808. DND allowed us, over a period of time, to add around the perimeter — the last piece being out in 1968,” said Raine. “The stone jail is still there, and it was built in 1884, and it is pretty well original to what it was back in 1884. The cells, now, are rented out on a yearly basis to the members for storage.”

While the AYC is steeped in history, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a modernized club with all the services and facilities one would see in any Atlantic Canadian yacht club. The AYC offers wet and dry winter storage, a slipway and cradle system with a maximum capacity of 35 tons, daily and seasonal marinas and moorings, water and power hookups and a fuel dock.

With a membership of 198 boating members and 86 social members, the AYC hosts an large fleet of Bluenose and Roue sailboats, which are regularly put to use during the club’s weekly races.

“We do PHRF racing on Wednesdays, one design racing on Thursdays, weekend races and we have a significant cruising group,” said AYC Commodore Jeff Nelson.

The AYC also hosts six regattas every year, the largest being their Harbour Islands Classic where boaters race around all the islands in the Halifax Harbour. The club also hosts the AYC Opening Regatta, the Ice Breaker Regatta, the Die Hard Regatta, the Mark MacNeil Memorial Race and the Commodore’s Cup.

The club, like many, offers a learn to sail program for both youth and adults. The AYC also offers a program called Broader Reach, which seeks to introduce sailing to new Canadians in the Halifax area.

“Nova Scotia is surrounded by water, and a lot of people would like to be out on the water,” said Nelson. “When we looked at our programs, we kind of discovered there wasn’t any on-ramps for people arriving in Nova Scotia to get them on the water, so we developed the Broader Reach program, which has been quite successful in bringing new people into boating.”

The Broader Reach program has brought people from an assortment of backgrounds, from Ukrainians to Mexicans, Brazilians, Syrians and beyond.

Beyond sailing, the club makes a point of engaging their members in monthly social activities. This, according to AYC’s Communications and Marketing Officer, Brian Blakeney, allows the club’s 86 social members to regularly participate in club activities.

Even when the club goes off and does their cruising functions, we try to take it to a place where socials can drive to. We try to involve them as much as we can,” said Blakeney. “We had casino night, we had jazz night, we had a wine tasting and jam sessions on Friday night.”

Club members and visitors can also take advantage of the full-service bar and restaurant at Spinnakers, located onsite. The location also offers catering for functions held at the club through Horizons Catering, hosted by Executive Chef Andy Thomson.

Between the historic location, the regattas, the amenities and the services provided at the AYC, the clubs management had a lot of positive things to say about their spot on the Northwest Arm. Their favourite thing about Armdale Yacht Club, however, is the collegial spirit and friendly attitude of their membership.

“It’s a very friendly outgoing club, and I’ve had that said to me by new members. They’ve always felt welcomed here. People will talk to them, even if they don’t recognize them,” said Raine. “You always see groups of people standing together and chatting. If you come up into the clubhouse, it can be a stranger just here for the first time or here for 25 years; they’ll speak to you.”

“We’re steeped in history, but we have one heck of a good time,” said Nelson.

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Prisons of Halifax’s past

November 25, 2014, 9:30 am

These days, if you’re convicted of a crime around here, you’re likely put in the paddy wagon and sent off to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside, or Truro’s Nova Institution for Women — but what was the one-stop shop for criminals decades, or even hundreds of years ago in Halifax?

Well, given our city’s rich history and lengthy timeline, there were, in fact, three main prisons that opened and closed over the years.

The most recently-closed down was Rockhead Prison , which  opened in 1854 and shut its doors over a century later. It was built near the corner of Leeds and Novalea (then Gottingen) in North End Halifax.

The old Rockhead Prison, which sat at the far side of the city’s north end. (Photo: Stephen Archibald)

The Northwest Arm Penitentiary  (or, the Nova Scotia Penitentiary) was built in 1844, right outside of Point Pleasant Park in the city’s far south end, and operated for 36 years when it was replaced by Dorchester Penitentiary (New Brunswick) in 1880. After that, the building served several different purposes, but was later demolished in 1948.

Rumour has it,  rock and rubble from this prison was used to build parts of Saint Mary’s University, just around the corner.

The Northwest Arm Penitentiary, right on the edge of Point Pleasant Park. (Photo: Nova Scotia Museum)

And thirdly, Melville Island Prison – which is now the Armdale Yacht Club – has a captive history of POWs dating back to the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s as well as the War of 1812. This site also held refugees escaping slavery in the US, as well as quarantined patients and various other prisoners over the years.

Directly across from the prison (er – yacht club), is the aptly-named, “Deadman’s Island,” where hundreds of soldiers and prisoners’ bodies now lie in unmarked graves.

A before and after shot of Melville Island Prison, which is now Armdale Yacht Club.

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Business Details

Carl Goodwin

902-477-4617

[email protected]

75 Burgee Run,Halifax,NS,B3P 0C9,Canada

Business name : Armdale Yacht Club

Although only 75 years old itself, the club can be tied to events dating back at least to 1732. The beautiful island we call home has, since the arrival of the Europeans, been a family estate, hospital, quarantine station, military prison, prisoner of war camp, recruit training station for the British Foreign Legion, ammunition depot and a yacht club. Wayward soldiers and sailors were jailed here as early as 1803. Beginning in 1808 French prisoners began arriving during the Napoleonic Wars. American prisoners captured during the war of 1812 also paid a reluctant visit to what by then had been named Melville Island after Henry Dundas, the Viscount Melville, a person of “provincial dialect and ungraceful manner”. In the early years, the island changed hands many times between various civilian owners, the British Army and the Royal Navy. The Canadian Military took control of the four acre island in 1905. The stone prison on the site was used during the first World War to house German prisoners of war. The Military moved out in 1945 and soon after, the founders of Armdale Yacht Club negotiated a long term lease for the land with the Department of National Defense Five buildings of that historic period remain. One of them is our club house. Built in 1808 it stands on the highest point of land on the island and gives a panoramic view of the Northwest Arm, the mooring field, marinas and yard activities. Pay a visit. Savor the legacy and the legend of Armdale Yacht Club. ^ Return to Top A Detailed History Of Armdale Yacht Club By: J. P. LeBlanc Incorporating the Armdale Yacht Club was not an event that suddenly rose from the sea floor of the Northwest Arm. It was years in the making. As the second oldest yacht club in Nova Scotia, Canada, AYC in its location has the longest association with sailing ships … bar none … certainly in Canada. At the mouth of the Northwest Arm is the oldest yacht club in North America. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron has existed since 1837. AYC has history and legend… far more than can be written here. In the 1920’s young men like Jack Buckley, Jim Egan, and Walter Piers led the way to the incorporation of the Armdale Yacht Club. First from a location close to Jubillee Road, then from ‘Mosey’ Stoneman’s Armdale Boat House and the Edmonds ground, AYC set itself up on Melville Island. A 1930’s challenge with those who raced on Chocolate Lake brought others to the Arm. The ‘Siskin’ was an early power boat. During the prohibition era she knew about “rum running”. Louis ‘Tookie’ Murphy (AYC’s 2nd Commodore) later became Siskin’s proud owner. Jim Egan, AYC’s first Commodore, was the owner of the other power boat ‘Comber’. When Mosey’s boathouse was torn down, a property on Edmond’s Grounds became the Club House. As membership grew, AYC moved to a second and larger house. The new location offered better moorings, a panorama of the Arm and a “great view of the races”. Then, twenty avid yachtsmen took steps to incorporate. This came from the efforts of Arthur J. Meagher and, passing by the Nova Scotia Legislature of the Armdale Yacht Club Act of 1937. The fee was set at twenty five (25) cents.

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Armdale Yacht Club

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75 Burgee Run

Halifax, NS B3P 2B3

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The AYC offers a complete range of facilities and services to meet the needs of today's yachtsperson, their families, friends and guests... …

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Food is amazing! Beautiful restaurant with an amazing view of the northwest arm. I always love coming here. Staff are so nice and very hard working. I normally get the gluten-free panfried haddock (comes with potato croquet and buttered vegetables with lemon butter) it's DELICIOUS. Always make sure to make a reservation for lunches or for dinner (because they do get really busy) Highly recommend coming here.

Best food in all of Nova Scotia! I don't even like carrots and they made those rainbow carrots to die for. The haddock was perfect.

I'm giving this a three because of the food I had in the restaurant. I went the the club for a meeting. The space is beautiful with lots of open seating, windows all around so you can stare at the gorgeous views of the NW Arm and sailboats. The meeting room upstairs looked like it could hold 12 people and has a gender neutral bathroom nearby and bathrooms on the main floor. There was a tv in the upstairs room that you could hook a laptop up to for presentations, but you wouldn't want much text on any slides. The service was good. The major negatives were that it's not an accessible building and the food. I had fish cakes with whole wheat toast, beans, eggs and green chow. It ended up being one of the worst brunches I've had in awhile. I couldn't taste the fish over the pepper in the fish cakes and my over hard eggs were almost crispy. If you like your beans really sweet with a maple flavour, this would be the place, but they were too sweet for me.

Went there to get more info on sailing classes and ended up get a complete tour of the place and the old jail which is still in original condition. By the end of it we had brunch at the restaurant with amazing views of the harbour. Really good food, friendly staff and beautiful views. What else do you need to start a weekend?

Armdale Yacht Club is one of the nicer spots in my opinion. There is a lot of history behind the Armdale Yacht Club, it dates back to 1732 and since has changed many a hand, it is the second oldest Yacht Club in Nova Scotia. If this island could talk, it would be amazing to here the story's. The club use to be a family estate, a prison, a hospital, ammunition depot and finally the beautiful Yacht club. Apparently there are five buildings still remaining with historical connection. The club sits overlooking the Arm. There is so much to offer a member here it is not wonder people love it. You can book the club house as well for events, a great place for a wedding reception.

Food outstanding. Daily specials are very reasonable and top quality. Prime rib to die for and is accompanied by perfectly cooked vegetables. Dessert menu includes lots of chocolate offerings. Dining room offers great view of the Arm .

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Armdale Yacht Club Act, SNS 1937, c 105

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Armdale Yacht Club

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Armdale Yacht Club

After spending a week at the Dartmouth Yacht Club, we decided it was time for a change. Regrettably, the surroundings near DYC were predominantly industrial, far from the serene setting we sought. Following a visit to Yura’s house and a stopover at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), we set sail from DYC, heading towards the North-West Arm, located within Halifax, with our destination being the Armdale Yacht Club. Along the way, we made a brief stop at COVE, hoping to connect with our ex-colleagues, but they weren’t available at the time.

The Armdale Yacht Club possesses its unique charm. Situated on what is essentially an island, it boasts a yacht club office perched on a commanding hill, with its docks encircling the island. A bit of historical context adds intrigue to the place—this island, from the early 19th century, once housed a prison for prisoners of war, initially housing the French and later the Americans. In addition to the prison, there were facilities such as a hospital, officer quarters, and guard accommodations. In proximity, on Dead Man’s Island, lay a cemetery where deceased prisoners of war found their final resting place. In 1949, the municipality transformed the former prison into a yacht club, becoming a gathering point for yachtsmen from all corners of Halifax.

But most importantly, at this yacht club, we found a mechanic who agreed to attempt repairing our engine. The high-pressure compressor had been removed and sent for repairs, but it turned out that there were no spare parts available, leading us to endure a week-long wait for their arrival. During this time, we occupied ourselves with various other tasks on the yacht, including the use of our trusty folding bikes for exploring the surrounding area.