The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. It is the third oldest yacht club in Australia after the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the

Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS) is a yacht club located in North Sydney, Australia in the suburb of Kirribilli. The squadron was founded in 1862. It has occupied its grounds in East Kirribilli, near Kirribilli House, since 1902. Hist ...

.History & Timeline
Royal Perth Yacht Club It is based at the

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

Marina on Pelican Point and at the Fremantle Annexe in Challenger Harbour. Royal Perth Yacht Club is a member of the

International Council of Yacht Clubs The International Council of Yacht Clubs (ICOYC) is an international organization that operates at the level of Commodores of yacht clubs through a Commodores’ Forum. Its vision is to improve the quality of the services yacht clubs provide to th ...

. Since 2000, Royal Perth Yacht Club has hosted the Sailability WA program to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to engage in sailing activities.

Early history

The Royal Perth Yacht Club can trace its origins to 1841, when a group of sailors staged a modest regatta to celebrate

Foundation Day Foundation Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the founding of a nation, state or a creation of a military unit. This day is for countries that came into existence without the of gaining independence. The term overlaps with natio ...

. A subsequent regatta was held in 1843, and then the First Perth Regatta was held on 18 June 1851. In 1865, this original group of pioneer sailors formalised the Perth Yacht Club. Early regattas at the club included yacht races and gig rowing races. Duck hunting was also popular at this time. In 1865, Knight was elected as founding President of the Perth Yacht and Boat ClubUren, Malcolm. Sails on the Swan, W.A. Newspapers, 1965. and at meeting on 17 March 1870, the first sets of “Sailing Rules” were framed. Royal Perth Yacht Club have an original copy of the Rule Book dated 1880 within the Club Archives. The earliest trophy, dated 1885, is displayed in the club's Wardroom Trophy Cabinet. The first Ladies Committee to be associated with the club was appointed by General Committee in 1885. The first mention of Junior Members in Minutes from 1910 read – “Gentlemen over the age of 16 and under 21, not being the owner of a boat, may be accepted as a Junior Member”. There was no nomination fee and the annual subscription was one

guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, equivalent to in . In 1880, a jetty was built at the foot of William Street on

Perth Water Perth Water is a section of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River on the southern edge of the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It is between the Causeway to the east, and Narrows Bridge (Perth), Narrows Bridge to ...

. In 1889,

Talbot Hobbs Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, (24 August 1864 – 21 April 1938) was an Australian architect and First World War general. Early life Hobbs was born in London, the son of Joseph and his wife Frances Ann Hobbs (née Wilson). E ...

submitted plans for a new clubhouse. The plans were drawn and the tender of two hundred and thirteen pounds was accepted, equivalent to in . In the same year, the

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

, Sir Frederic Napier Broome, declared the clubhouse open at a banquet to celebrate the occasion. In 1890, the club received the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

on the recommendation of Governor

Frederick Broome Sir Frederick Napier Broome (18 November 1842 – 26 November 1896) was a colonial administrator in the British Empire, serving in Natal, Mauritius, Western Australia, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Western Australian towns of Broo ...

. At a general meeting in 1891, the old blue Perth Yacht Cub

burgee A burgee is a distinguishing flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to ...

was replaced with white burgee, featuring a red triangular

St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with ...

with a

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the coronation crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13t ...

in the upper

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

. In 1903, the Commissioners of the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

granted the Royal Perth Yacht Club a

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

for the club and members to fly The Plain

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...

of His Majesty's Fleet. The Blue Ensign was first raised at the clubhouse by

Frederick Bedford Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, (24 December 1838 – 30 January 1913) was a senior Royal Navy officer and Governor of Western Australia from 24 March 1903 to 22 April 1909. Naval career Bedford was born on 24 December 1838, and ...

, on July 4, 1903. In 1920, the clubhouse was extended and the club formed the

Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) was a reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy. Formation In late 1920, the Navy Board proposed the creation of an Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve scheme, with approaches made to yac ...

in Western Australia. The club shifted to

Melville Water Melville Water is a significant section of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. It is located west and downstream of Perth Water, from which it is separated by the Narrows Bridge. Name Melville Water was named in 1827 by Captain Jam ...

in 1953 when the William Street site, through

siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...

, became unusable.

America's Cup

WA Maritime Museum - Joy of Museums - Australia II 2

RPYC fielded the yacht

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

in the 1974 America's Cup, the first aluminium yacht to compete in the regatta, and the yacht

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

1977 America's Cup The 1977 America's Cup was held in September 1977 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, '' Courageous'', skippered by Ted Turner, defeated the Australian challenger, ''Australia'', skippered by Noel Robins, in a four-race sweep. ''Courageo ...

and the

1980 America's Cup The 1980 America's Cup was held in September 1980 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, ''Freedom (yacht), Freedom'', skippered by Dennis Conner, defeated the Australian challenger, Australia (yacht), ''Australia'', skippered by James Hardy ...

. In

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, an

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

representing the Royal Perth Yacht Club fielded the ''

Australia II ''Australia II'' (KA 6) is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Skippered by John Bertrand, she was the first successf ...

'', skippered by John Bertrand, against defender ''Liberty'', skippered by

Dennis Conner Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two Star World Championships, and three wins in the America's Cup. Sailing career Conner was born September ...

. ''Australia II'' won the

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams cons ...

s to win the America's Cup - the first winning challenge to the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

, which had successfully defended the cup over a period of 132 years. ''Australia II'' innovative design by

Ben Lexcen Benjamin Lexcen Order of Australia, AM (born Robert Clyde Miller, 19 March 1936 – 1 May 1988) was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to ''Australia II'' which, in 1983, became the fir ...

, included features such as a reduced waterline length and a short chord

winged keel The winged keel is a sailboat keel layout first fitted on the 12-metre class yacht '' Australia II'', 1983 America's Cup winner. Design This layout was adopted by Ben Lexcen, designer of '' Australia II''. Although Ben Lexcen "had tried the wi ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

was interviewed at the celebrations on the morning of September 27, 1983 at Royal Perth Yacht Club, where he made the famous statement to journalists that "Any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum". RPYC hosted the 1987 defence off

Fremantle Harbour Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval visits ...

at a newly established annex during the Australian summer months between October 1986 and February 1987. The American challenger ''

Stars & Stripes 87 ''Stars & Stripes 87'' (US 55) was the 12 Meter challenge boat sailed by Dennis Conner in his bid to reclaim the America's Cup from the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia in 1987. Design and development ''Stars & Stripes 87'' was built in 19 ...

'', sailed by

, beat the Australian defender ''

Kookaburra III ''Kookaburra III'' (KA 15) was the Australian 12 Metre yacht sailed by Iain Murray in the 1987 America's Cup held off of Fremantle, Western Australia. Murray won the Defender Selection and ''Kookaburra III'' represented Australia in the Ameri ...

'', sailed by Iain Murray, four wins to nil in the best of seven series. This regatta marked the last time that

12-metre class The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. ...

yachts were used in the America's Cup. The entrance road to RPYC in Crawley was commemoratively renamed Australia II Drive. To mark the 30th anniversary of the America's Cup victory, the second mast of the Australia II was permanently installed by the foreshore outside the clubhouse from which the undefaced

Blue ensign The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...

and Club

are flown.

Notable sailors and events

2008 Australian Olympic team 074 - Sarah Ewart

A number of sailors from RPYC have competed in the Summer Olympics and Paralympics. These include: *

Rolly Tasker Rolland Leslie "Rolly" Tasker AM (21 March 192622 June 2012) was an Australian sailor who won Australia's first Olympic sailing medal, at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. He and Malcolm (Huck) Scott won a silver medal in their 12m2 Sha ...

, - won silver at 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, Australia's first

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold medal, gold, silver medal, silver, and bronze medal, bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respect ...

in Sailing (

12 m2 Sharpie The 12 m2 Sharpie was a type of Sharpie (boat), Sharpie sailing boat designed in 1931 by the Kröger Brothers in Warnemünde, Germany. The peak of the class was in the Sailing at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. The o ...

Class) *

Noel Robins David Noel Robins, OAM (3 September 1935 – 22 May 2003) was an Australian sailor. He began sailing as a child, and became partially quadriplegic after receiving a spinal fracture from a car crash at the age of 21. He was the sk ...

, - won gold at the

2000 Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

( Sonar Class) * Jamie Dunross, - won gold at the

( Sonar Class) *

Graeme Martin Graeme Martin, OAM is an Australian Paralympic sailor. Biography Martin was born on 11 March 1949 in Perth, Western Australia. Formerly a firefighter, his left leg was amputated after an accident that occurred while he was fighting a fire c ...

, ** won gold at the

( Sonar Class) ** won bronze at the

2008 Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

( Sonar Class) ** won gold at the

2016 Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

( Sonar Class) * Elise Rechichi, - won gold at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

(

470 Class The 470 (Four-Seventy) is a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a centreboard, Bermuda rig, and centre sheeting. Equipped with a spinnaker, trapeze and a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, it is designed to plane easily, and good teamwork i ...

) * Tessa Parkinson, - won gold at the

(

) * Rachael Cox - won silver at the

(

Skud 18 The SKUD 18 is a class of racing sailing boat. It is a lead-assisted skiff with a tube-launched asymmetrical and a modern high performance stayed rig. The boat was created for trials held by the International Association for Disabled Sailing w ...

Class) * Colin Harrison, ** won bronze at the

( Sonar Class) ** won gold at the

( Sonar Class) *

Russell Boaden Russell Boaden (born 15 December 1969) is a Paralympic sailor from Australia. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and a won a gold medal in the Mixed Three Person Sonar the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Personal Boaden was born ...

, (Sonar Class ** won bronze at the

( Sonar Class) ** won gold at the

( Sonar Class) * Matt Wearn, - won gold at the

2020 Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

(

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

Class) In 1979, the RPYC organised the Parmelia Race from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, England to Perth in order to mark the 150th anniversary of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

.Parmelia line honours to Endeavour
''Sydney Morning Herald'' 22 November 1979 page 8 Competitors were invited to recreate the 1829 voyage of the merchant barque ''Parmelia'' bringing the first British settlers to the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

Jon Sanders Jon Sanders (born 1939Jon Sanders was sixty six in 2005 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian yachtsman. Early years Born to Colsell Sanders, a professor at the University of Western Australia, and Dorothy Lucie Sanders, a well-kno ...

was the first sailor to circumnavigate Antarctica solo, circling the continent twice from 1981 to 1982. Sanders is the record-holder for the longest distance ever sailed continuously by any vessel following his triple non-stop solo circumnavigation of the globe from 1986 to 1988. RPYC hosted the

2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships The 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships was held in Perth, Western Australia, this was the third edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. As it used to ...

, a significant qualifying event for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Early history

America's Cup

Notable sailors and events

See also

References

Further reading