The Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club, a fixture on the Sydney waterfront for 112 years, is on fire.

Smoke can be seen billowing from across the harbour. A CBC reporter on the scene says it looks as if at least half the building has already been destroyed.

Firefighters expect to be on the scene for several more hours.

"It's just such a piece of our history. There are so many things that happened in this building and it's a shame It's just hard to look at right now. It was a wonderful old building, it kind of wrapped its arms around you and you felt like you were home," said former manager Jennifer Rowe.

The club was recently in the news when it was purchased by Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and its charter was reassigned to a new marina outside Sydney.