After sailing at Royal Perth Yacht Club for many years, I finally decided to become a member, I had been using their facilities pretty much free of charge and I felt a little uneasy about this. As I am not a boat owner, getting full membership was a little silly, so becoming a crew member was a great option for me so I can use the club faciities without paying pen fees.

However, full membership was somewhat difficult to obtain and prohibitively expensive, this is pretty much a rich man’s club – I just have a love of sailing. The club, located in Matilda Bay has perfect views of Perth city, after a day’s sailing, heading up to the clubhouse for a couple of drinks. We sit up the club and have magnificant views of Matilda Bay, King’s Park and the city.

The grassed area in front of the club offers wonderful opportunities for parties and barbecues, the mid-week functions are legendary after twilight races. There have been some pretty decent functions that I have been lucky enough to attend, they hold many private functions too, so the club is utilised during the week, not just weekends.

Viewing the pens from night, this is very much a boat owner’s club, but I always ask, who gets the greater joy from yachting and boating, the owner or the crew? I reckon the crews racing these yachts have a pretty good time, they really get the fun out of boating.

The famous scene during Australia II’s 1983 America’s Cup win over Dennis Conner’s Liberty, Prime Minister Bob Hawke enjoy the atmosphere stating “Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum” to the raucous roar of the crowd.