Welcome
Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron is one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious yachting and boating clubs.
RSAYS has a long and illustrious history in the South Australian yachting scene dating back to its founding in 1869 and continues to play a significant role in South Australian sporting and wider community life.
Sitting on and around a totally sheltered basin just inside the mouth of the Port River at Adelaide’s Outer Harbor, the Squadron boasts a fully-serviced marina with many related services within the basin.
The Squadron has a strong heritage in keelboat racing, conducting midweek twilight racing in the summer and weekend races throughout the entire year. Cruising and social events are also a very large part of club life with numerous events scheduled each year by a group of enthusiastic club members.
Facilities for members, their guests and families are magnificent, with our beautiful and historic clubhouse having recently undergone a spectacular internal modernisation while retaining its exterior charm.
The clubhouse boasts full dining and bar facilities and a most popular outdoor Quarterdeck overlooking the picturesque marina. As well as providing a haven for members it is also one of the area’s premier function venues. Weddings, engagement parties, anniversaries, business meetings and fund-raising dinners can all be individually designed to suit your needs. Whatever the occasion, the staff at Royal South Australia Yacht Squadron look forward to welcoming you.
Marina Facilities
The Squadron has a fully-serviced marina with more than 200 marina berths ranging from 10 to 30 metres, each with power and water utilities. In addition, there are 130 hardstand berths for trailable vessels and dry stands for sport and one design boats housed on jinkers, all with 24-hour security access. All competing yachts will be able to take advantage of the clubs storage after entering the VX Australian Championships, at no additional cost.
The on-site 3.5-tonne Sheet Pile Wharf Crane is used to lift small to medium sports boats in and out of the basin and when needed further crane facilities can be bought in to increase the capacity to launch and retrieve yachts. There is also a Mast Crane on site and the Squadron has two maintenance pontoons situated on the Northern and Southern banks.
A dual launching ramp is located on the northern side of the marina and a sail drying area is located on the lawn adjacent to the slipway.
Sailing Programme
The Royal South Australia Yacht Squadron offer year-round competitive sailing in a variety of categories. The waters in and around the Port River are not only regarded as some of the best in the state, but in Australia as a whole. Keelboat racing is a major focus and proud tradition of the Squadron, with more than 100 races scheduled each year in numerous dedicated series. This diversity offers members and their guests a wide choice of sailing and racing options including Point Score Series using AMS or Personal Handicap systems, Etchells ,J24 One Design and sports boats, Offshore and Inshore Series.
The Squadron is the home of the Adelaide Etchells and J24 Fleet. A revamped 2020-21 race program has seen the fleet enjoy competition over 8 Sundays, from October to April in tight racing and friendly atmosphere off the water over a drink or two. Two Divisions of keelboats race on Saturdays over Summer, and monthly on Sundays in Winter. In Addition, there is an inshore series dedicated to the SheSails Race Group for women.
The Winter Series offers the chance not only of year-round racing, but the chance to keep body and boat in trim for the summer racing season. Squadron racing provides a great training ground for those intending to compete in the Sydney to Hobart or Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race.
Amongst its members, RSAYS boasts winners (2010, 2013 & 2014) in both these iconic events as well as crew aboard the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race winner Ericsson 4 and the 1983 America’s Cup winner, Australia II.
Regattas and Event Hosting
Royal South Australia Yacht Squadron is highly regarded by those seeking a venue for regattas and major sailing events and has staged numerous prestigious championships over the years. These events are always very rewarding, with the associated media coverage raising the profile of the Squadron, which is able to showcase its facilities to a wider audience. Leading sailors get to experience all that is good about RSAYS, while for spectators it provides the opportunity to see some of the sport’s best at close quarters. The Squadron previously has played host to many Australian Championships in , drawing many favourable comments from organisers and participants.. With fantastic facilities in the clubhouses, the Squadron is a delightful place to spend downtime and the gateway to some of the best sailing waters to be found anywhere.
