Marine services in Yamba

Sailing club

Where the Clarence River meets the sea, Port of Yamba Yacht Club has built the kind of easygoing sailing scene that river-mouth towns do so well. Founded in 1998, it is a young club by NSW standards, and it wears that youth lightly — the door is open to sailing yachts and motor boats alike, and the NSW tourism listing for the club promises "safe sailing for all ages in all types of sailing boats from ocean-going keel boats to off-the-beach dinghies". On a typical race day around a dozen yachts front the starter, drawn from a pool of perhaps twenty-five to thirty boats, according to a visiting ocean sailor who also described Yamba's sailing fraternity as "awfully good people" with a strong local scene. The clubhouse sits inside the Yamba Marina at 3 Yamba Road, and much of club life orbits it. A large social contingent keeps the calendar busy between regattas, and the club's own invitation — "visitors are always welcome for a drink, a chat and a sail" — sums up the tone. The club's licensed bar, known as the YAMBAR, opens from five o'clock on Fridays and on every race day, and a monthly newsletter keeps far-flung members in the loop. Twice a year the club hosts full regattas drawin