Durban — This week’s feature in old and new Durban revisits the Royal Natal Yacht Club, the oldest yacht and sports club in Africa, the oldest yacht club in the southern hemisphere and the eighth oldest “Royal” yacht club in the world, according to the club’s website.
In May 1858 the Durban Regatta Club was constituted and organised its first regatta. It was later called the Natal Yacht Club until 1891 when it received its “Royal” charter.
References to yachting on Durban Bay are found in settler diaries dating from the late 1840s.
George Russell, in his book The History of Old Durban, writes that a half-day holiday was granted so that all could attend the first regatta.
The boats were not designed for racing and the bay was mainly sandbanks or mangrove swamps.
This was the birth of the Royal Natal Yacht Club. So successful was the regatta that it was repeated, sailed under rules and regulations which the Durban Regatta Club had drawn up.
By 1859, with 12 boats taking part, an appeal had to be made to the public to keep their pleasure boats clear of the course. In March 1863, the Durban Regatta Club changed to The Natal Yacht Club, organising its first regatta in November and attracting 13 entries.
By 1871 the Natal Yacht Club boasted 42 members.
For many years the club had no home. In 1891 plans were proposed for the erection of a building, 9m long by 6m wide and 3m high. The cost for the imposing “wood and iron” construction was £150, and another £20 was spent on furniture.
On February 17, 1891, at a special meeting of the Natal Yacht Club it was announced that Her Majesty Queen Victoria had granted the club use of the title “Royal” and the Royal Natal Yacht Club it was proclaimed, the first in southern Africa.
The first clubhouse was a wood-and-iron building, on brick piles, which stood on the site occupied by the law courts. In those days the water of the Bay was higher and the brick piles were needed to keep the building above water level.
In 1892, a new committee room was built for £20 and 18 shillings, a verandah for £22 and water-borne sewerage installed at a cost of £5.
In 1894 the first steps were taken to secure a larger clubhouse to meet the demands of the growing membership. An area of freehold land was bought for £775, financed by debentures issued to members, and in 1900 a new clubhouse was erected on the corner of Victoria Embankment (now Margaret Mncadi Avenue) and Fenton Lane. This was the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s home for the next 90 years.
The Fenton Lane building was altered from time to time, and in 1956 was almost completely rebuilt owing to fire damage. The flagstaff fronting the club was the main mast of the barque Sally, which had broken up in Durban Harbour.
In 1990 when the Royal Natal Yacht Club sold the Fenton Road property and moved across the Victoria Embankment to its present site to have access to the water, there were still some parts of the old clubhouse which dated back almost a century.
Two world wars interfered seriously with yachting because Durban Bay was closed to all leisure activities. The RNYC remained open as a club, however, and today represents camaraderie, friendly competition, the pursuit of excellence and the taking of some responsible risk along with the braving of danger and, above all, the ability to have fun.
Independent on Saturday