Birthday bash for an inspiring club

Watching the sun glisten off white yachts as they glided through the sea from a seat at The Cruising Yacht Club was enough to inspire Julie Saw to learn to sail.

It was the late 1980s and Mrs Saw had joined the Rockingham club with her now husband Steve, to watch him sail, but found herself enticed by the sport

“In the afternoon I would sit in the yacht club and watch Steve sail and then I thought ‘I’d love to be part of this’,” she said.

“Then someone said to me ‘why don’t you? You can’.”

At 28 years old Mrs Saw said she discovered she had a natural knack for sailing, and only six weeks after picking up the sport was asked to sail in the State team.

Her skills took her to various competitions with the highlight of sailing in the Women’s Keel Boat State Championships in the early 90s.

Now a life-member of TCYC, Mrs Saw said she had watched how the club had influenced hundreds of Rockingham residents, sparking their desire to sail and creating life long friendships.

This August Mrs Saw said 900 members were invited to celebrate the club’s history and reminisce old times as the TCYC headquarters turned 21-years-old.

TCYC, originally built in 1958 on the corner of Val Street in Rockingham, with the input of 150 founding members, was knocked down in 1991 and rebuilt to make way for an influx of members.

Mrs Saw said before the club was named TCYC it started as a gentleman’s group know as the Friday Club which would meet at the Rockingham Hotel.

“From what I’ve read from different sources it was a case of, the Swan River, with all the racing that was happening up there, becoming very congested,” she said.

“So a group of men from the Safety Bay, Kwinana, and Rockingham areas decided to form a group.”

It was not until October 26, 1956 that the group was renamed TCYC, which set the wheels in motion for the construction of the first club.

“Looking back at photos and reading history inspired us to have our own celebration,” she said.

Mrs Saw said over the years she had volunteered in the “galley”, as a sailing instructor and with race control but it was her memories on the water sailing which she cherished most.

“It was just about getting out there and it was a bit of a challenge,” Mrs Saw said.

She said her and her husband’s love of sailing had transpired to her children, who had also joined the club and learnt to sail.

She believed it was this domino effect which kept TCYC thriving.

TYCY general manager Damon Chandler said being a part of the club became a “way of life”.

“People who sail here and have a commitment to the club — they give up their weekends, they give up evenings, they give up days,” he said.

“I think it is that family feeling among members and it is not just about sailing members, it is about the social community that a club provides.”

TCYC will celebrate with a party this Saturday night.