The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a

yacht club A yacht club is a sports 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 mari ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. 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 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. History The ...

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

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and 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 population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

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. 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. Barrack Street jetty area, c

In 1880 a jetty was built at the foot of William Street on

Perth Water Perth Water is a section of the 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 to the west – a large wide but shallow section of river, ...

. The clubhouse opened in 1889 and in 1890 it 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, bu ...

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 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

on the recommendation of Governor Sir Frederic Napier Broome, and the

Lords of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

granted the club the Royal Warrant to fly a

blue ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

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

burgee A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization. In most cases, they have the shape of a pennon, pennant. Etiquette Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while under way ...

was replaced with white burgee, featuring a red triangular

St George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, 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 the cru ...

with a

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece 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 13th cen ...

in the upper canton. 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 James ...

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 or ...

, became unusable.

America's Cup

WA Maritime Museum - Joy of Museums - Australia II 2

RPYC fielded the yacht

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

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 Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the 1977 America's Cup and the 1980 America's Cup. In

1983 The year 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 Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

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 language, Frenc ...

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 successful ...

'', 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 consis ...

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 Lexen, 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 winged ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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

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 vis ...

at a newly established annex during the Australian summer months between October 1986 and February 1987. The American challenger '' Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by

, beat the Australian defender '' Kookaburra III'', 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 flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

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: * Noel Robbins (Sonar Class - won gold at the 2000 Paralympics) * Jamie Dunross (Sonar Class - won gold at the 2000 Paralympics) * Graeme Martin (Sonar Class - won gold at the 2000 Paralympics, 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 wa ...

, won gold at the 2016 Paralympics) *

Elise Rechichi Elise Maree Rechichi Order of Australia, OAM (born 11 January 1986) is an Australian sailing (sport), sailor from Perth, Western Australia. Rechichi and crewmate Tessa Parkinson represented Australia in the 470 (dinghy), 470 class at the 2008 S ...

( 470 Class - won gold at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

) *

Tessa Parkinson Tessa Parkinson OAM (born 22 September 1986) is an Australian sailor from Perth, Western Australia. Parkinson and skipper Elise Rechichi represented Australia in the 470 class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Qingdao, China, winning the gold me ...

( 470 Class - won gold at the

) * Rachel Cox (Skud18 Class - won sliver at the

) * Colin Harrison (Sonar Class - won bronze at the

, won gold at the 2016 Paralympics) * Russel Boaden (Sonar Class - won bronze at the

, won gold at the 2016 Paralympics) In 1979, the RPYC organised the 20,000 kilometre

Parmelia Race The Parmelia Race, Plymouth to Perth, 1979 was a feature event of the Western Australian 150th Anniversary Celebrations, 1979. Competitors were invited to recreate the 1829 voyage of the merchant barque ''Parmelia'' bringing the first British sett ...

from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

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

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

.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.

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 ...

, 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) was 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

References

Further reading