Wynyard Yacht Club

Wynyard Yacht Club (WYC) is based at 2a Old Bass Highway, Wynyard, on Tasmania's north-west coast. It is a busy community club with learn-to-sail programs for children, youth and adults, casual sailing and racing on Saturdays, a Sailability program for people of all abilities, and school and community programs.

The club also runs MAST powerboat licence courses and Try Skills sessions, supports marine rescue and general volunteering, and has a paddlers and kayak group. The clubrooms are available for venue hire. Contact the club secretary at secretary@wynyard.org or on 0488 384 117, or call 0459 108 066 for general enquiries. See our Wynyard sailing clubs page for more.

It's also one of the most decorated community clubs in the country. WYC has been named Australian Sailing Tasmania Club of the Year four times, and in 2014 it won both the Sport Australia Community Club award and Australian Sailing Club of the Year. Its members include Hansa 303 world champions Chris Symonds (para and open) and Manuela Klinger (doubles), and Mirror world champion Jess Andrewartha. About a third of its 130 or so members are 18 or under.

Learning to sail at Wynyard is open to everyone. The club runs learn-to-sail programs for children, youth and adults, and casual sailing sessions on Saturdays are a relaxed way to keep practising once you have the basics. For those who want to race, Saturday racing runs through the season.

Wynyard is also the North West base for Sailability Tasmania, which offers sailing for people of all abilities, and the club runs school and community programs to introduce more locals to the water. Off the water, MAST powerboat licence courses are held through the year — with sessions scheduled in October and November 2026 — and Try Skills sessions give people a taste of different water sports. Volunteers are always welcome, including in marine rescue.

The program is broad: sailboat racing and coaching, Start Sailing 1 and 2, Start Racing and Youth Tackers, plus Sailability (with nearly 30 members), paddling programs through Paddle Tasmania, powerboat licensing and marine rescue training. Club boats include Optimists, Pacers, Hansa 303s, a Laser and a Hartley TS16, so learners don't need their own boat to start.

The club is at 2a Old Bass Highway, Wynyard, on Tasmania's north-west coast near the mouth of the Inglis River, with Bass Strait on the doorstep. Its location gives sailors a mix of sheltered water for learning and more open coastal conditions for experienced crews. It is about 20 minutes west of Burnie.

The clubrooms are available for venue hire and serve as a base for the club's paddlers and kayak group as well as its sailors. For other clubs along the coast, see Burnie Yacht Club and Leven Yacht Club in Ulverstone.

Wynyard Yacht Club has grown into one of the most active community clubs on Tasmania's north-west coast, combining racing with learn to sail, Sailability, school programs and powerboat training. A recent highlight was hosting the 58th International Mirror Class Australian Championships in January 2026, bringing Mirror sailors from across the country to Wynyard.

The club was established in 1961 in a town of about 5,000 people, and it has become a genuine community hub. Its new multi-million-dollar clubhouse, with a ramp and floating pontoon, opened in September 2022. That year the club hosted the Tasmanian Youth Championships, followed by the Australian Hansa Class Championships at Easter 2023. It has now hosted several Australian championships and produced five national champions.