Royal Belgian Sailing Club

The Royal Belgian Sailing Club (RBSC) is the largest sailing club in Belgium with over 2500 active members. The RBSC was founded in 1863 by sailing enthusiasts from Ghent. Attempts to organize competitions on the Scheldt failed; instead, they were held on the canal linking Ghent to Terneuzen (Zealand, The Netherlands). After the First World War, the RBSC moved from the Lys to above canal where Langerbrugge became the new base of operations but industrial expansion tended to drive yachters to the Scheldt. After the Second World War, during which there was some local activity on the Lys, the Terneuzen yachting port was opened (1947), again as a result of cross-border cooperation. From 1951 Zeebrugge became a further base of operations; the club expanded, thanks in part to the growing number of vessel classes and additional bases such as Heusden, Duinbergen, and Het Zoute (both on what is now Knokke-Heist territory) were started. In 1995 further development of Zeebrugge yachting...