The earliest document giving a hint of the foundation year of Penarth Yacht      Club was a printed programme of ‘Amateur Aquatic Sports’ to be held at Penarth beach on 4^th September 1880: sports comprising pleasure boat sailing, rowing, sculling, canoeing, swimming and a duck hunt. The first minutes, however, were not written until 1^st May 1893.

Penarth Yacht Club originated as a Gentleman’s club and is presently evolving, albeit slowly, into a first rate twenty-first century Club. The purpose-built Club House is over one hundred years old and is magnificently placed with views over the Bristol Channel. On the balcony, members and friends have spent not just one "happy hour" but many many happy hours, enjoying refreshments whilst watching the regular dinghy/cruiser racing and rowing.

In order to understand a Club, some history helps. Although it is only recently that women have been allowed to be full members, they have been a thorn in the side of the gentlemen from the earliest days. In the 1895 Regatta, a certain Mrs. Maillard entered herself for the singles rowing race but the male members refused to compete with her.

In 1904 gentlemen had no option but to band together to thwart the cheek of nurses and governesses. These ladies, when visiting the balcony, sent the children in their charge to remove the illustrated papers from the reading room. In the face of such vandalism, it was felt it necessary to maintain a notice saying "Dogs and Women are not permitted in the Main Deck". This was relatively recently taken down.

However, over time the male members have done an enormous amount to encourage equality, and indeed encourage women to participate. One current lady sailor recalls that she was given a sail to hide behind when changing in the boathouse, to ensure her modesty. To be fair, it wasn’t that far to run to the public ‘loo’ located on Penarth Pier.

Despite these little hiccups, there are many reasons to be proud of the achievements of the sailors at PYC. In the 1920’s the Seabird dinghies were skippered mainly by ex World War 1 Servicemen, who hopefully found the sea at Penarth peaceful after the traumas of the war. All Seabirds were subsequently requisitioned for naval service in World War II. The lighter and flightier Fireflies replaced the Seabirds after the war. These were in turn replaced by Enterprises in about 1960. In 1969, the members of Penarth Motor Boat and Sailing Club were evicted from their headquarters in what is now the Custom House restaurant in Penarth Marina. PYC’s struggling Enterprise fleet was therefore boosted by the influx of ex-PMBSC members, including Ron Dungey, Roy Barker and his highly inquisitive and enthusiastic son Ian.

Over the years, the Enterprises have lasted, whilst Fireballs and RS400s/200s have come and gone, mainly due to lack of boat-storage space. We currently have about 15 Enterprises regularly on the water for Club races, with as many as 20 at times. The standard of competition is high, with world-class sailors at the front of the fleet. Ian Barker and Simon Cook were world champions in the late 1980s. Cookie has repeated the performance with Ian Fisher and was runner-up in Ireland in 2004 crewing for Jeff Dyer of Penarth. He was just old enough to win the Enterprise Masters, held at PYC in 2006.  Ian, as we all know, went on to a silver medal helming the 49er at the Sydney Olympics.

The Club is an RYA training centre and has had an established programme for both youngsters and adults for many years. Laurie Pavelin and his team of qualified instructors and assistants have maintained superb training courses over many years. The length of the waiting list shows their popularity.

The young children start in Optimists on nearby Cosmeston Lake, before graduating to the sea on Monday and Tuesday evenings, as young teenagers. The adult course is run each year on every Thursday evening from April to October. Over this time, every sort of weather, tide and sea state you can imagine (the tidal range on the Bristol Channel is the second largest in the world) wait for the trainees. Experienced help and guidance is always provided on board until individuals feel comfortable to go it alone. Mirrors are the basic two-handed boat with Toppers for single-handed training. Laser, Topaz and 420 are also available. Many of the youngsters go on to join the Welsh Yachting Association and RYA youth training squads.

PYC uses Mirrors as the basic training boat, in order to assist in the transition to Enterprises. Laurie says "we just explain that an Ent is a big Mirror with exactly the same controls." The system works: at least 80% of PYC fleet started as complete beginners and have graduated through to regularly crewing and helming, with many buying their own boats.

Roy Barker, our in-house architectural historian, attributes the success of the Enterprise at Penarth to design..… "Whoever designed PYC’s boathouse in 1895 obviously did so with the Enterprise in mind, because the width and column spacing is just right thus allowing us to store twenty Enterprises in the limited space available".

All ages and levels of experience are welcome at Penarth Yacht Club. So whatever your weight, shape, height or colour of eyes - come and sail at Penarth Yacht Club. This Club has everything you want in sailing and socialising, including a bar, comfortable chairs and magnificent views.