The Club caters for all types of sailing activity and has a large active sailing membership.
While typical keelboat sailing is the mainstay of the Club, dinghy sailing and especially development sailing is actively gaining momentum. Plans for incorporating other watercraft such as powerboats and kayaks into our annual On-the-Water programme are underway and promises to offer exciting opportunities for every kind of water enthusiast.
POYC offers a number of sailing races and cruising events throughout the year with our ever-popular West Coast Cruise, which is organised in conjunction with Saldanha Bay Yacht Club, having long been considered the premier cruising event of the West Coast, taking place every alternate December and caters for up to 40 vessels partaking.
The introduction of the prestige Diamond Coast Race to our racing calendar during 2024 offers a thrilling new opportunity for both local and international sailors with qualifying boats and rating certificates to take part in an unparalleled sailing experience navigating the Diamond Coast from the mouth of the Berg River in St Helena Bay to the small port of Luderitz in neighbouring Namibia. A true test of skill, endurance, and seamanship, the Diamond Coast Race promises the thrill of blue-water sailing and camaraderie of fellow sailors on a 400 nautical mile adventure.
For those not so keen on braving the big swells of the open ocean, sailing members come together every so often to offer a much calmer day-sailing experience to inexperienced members on the placid waters of the protected St Helena Bay.
Dinghies
Dinghy sailing principally takes place within the river although the Club has hosted the Dart 18 catamaran, Western Cape Championships as well as the National Championships offshore from the beach at Laaiplek.
The Club has a couple of dinghies for use by members and hosts two dinghy events per year. The first is the annual Great Berg River Race where the competition is between our neighbours, the Velddrif Yacht Club, and ourselves. Although the racing is competitive, the emphasis is on fun and fellowship between the two Clubs. The race is unique in South Africa as the competitors must go under the Carinus Bridge which is too low to sail under so the yachts must either be capsized and walked
through or heeled over in a very skillful manner to pass underneath the bridge!
This is lots of fun and generally draws great spectator appeal. The race is organised by one or the other club each alternate year.
During the last weekend of January of each year the Club presents the Port Owen River Race. This is an open event for all Western Cape Clubs and again although the sailing is serious it is a fun event followed by a genuine West Coast Snoek Braai with patats and apricot jam and everything!
For a bit of a taste of what the Port Owen River Race is all about, click on the video below, skilfully compiled by our commodore, Bruce Quayle, and whet your appetite for next year’s race!
Keelboats
The Club has a number of annual trophies that are sailed for and on average two race weekends per month are arranged during the sailing season.
Various overnight events are also arranged where the participants overnight in one of the anchorages within the bay.
The Club also presents and hosts the annual West Coast Cruise which caters for a max of 40 yachts and cruises along the West Coast. The event started in the late 70s and is still South Africas premier cruising event.
Powerboats
The Club caters for power boaters, for whom events are planned during the season. The Marina has a safe slipway for launching as well as safe berths at jetties within the main basin of the Marina. For more info on berthing in the Marina please contact the Port Owen Marina Authority.
Kayaking and Canoeing
Still in its infant shoes, kayaking and canoeing are slowly gaining momentum under the POYC banner. With the internationally acclaimed annual 240km 4 day long Berg River Canoe Marathon, considered one of the toughest (if not the toughest) canoe marathons in the world, finishing in Velddrif in June/July each year, POYC members are ideally located to enjoy what is considered some of the most famous and skill-defying paddling grounds of the globe.
Not only can paddlers test their competition kayak paddling against some of the best legendary paddlers of the world who happen to be POYC members, they can also enjoy idyllic kayak fishing, bird watching, or visiting friends along the Port Owen canals with its many public and private jetties and slipways.
We also have some formidable kayak, canoe, pedalboat builders and retailers right on our doorstep to assist club members in finding the best craft for their application and skill level.
For a bit more fun, paddlers also took part in the inaugural Lights-on-the-Water parade at Christmas time in December 2024 with members of the West Coast Canoe Club and the community, lighting up the waterways around Port Owen with thousands of Christmas lights, decorations, and festive song. We hope to make this a new local event to look forward to every Christmas!
Our club commodore, Bruce Quayle, has put together this beautiful video commemorating the inaugural 2024 Lights-on-the-Water event:
