The Royal Cape Yacht Club, one of Cape Town's oldest institutions, is facing removal from its current berth at Cape Town Harbour as the Ports Authority demands more space for ship repairs, and the servicing oil rigs.
But members of the yacht club are adamant that they want to drop their anchors at the same spot they've been since 1947 when their current lease expires in 2023. The club has been in existence since 1905.
The club's general manager Marcus Reuter says members were weighing up “all the options”, and said they would follow all the due process but added that “options [about a future location] had to be presented to the club” by the Ports Authority.
Sailor Vitor Medina says the current location was steeped in history and tradition for the club's 1200 members.
“We are in negotiations with the Ports Authority and the city. Unless we are forced to, we are not keen to leave,” said Medina
Yachts in the marina are surrounded, on both sides, by industries doing ship repairs and servicing oil rigs.
Cape Town port manager Sipho Nzuza said the Ports Authority was keen to expand its ship repair business, along with servicing the oil and gas vessels.
“We need to find a correct position for them (yacht club). We see them as being in the wrong place,” said Nzuza.
Nzuza said Cape Town could not compete for the lucrative ship repair and maintenance market because the harbour simply had no more space.
“We have 13 000 vessels visiting the harbour each year but when it comes to ship repairs we can only service 53 vessels. We are losing a lot of business to other countries,” said Nzuza.
He said more jobs could also be created with ship repairs, with a single oil rig currently moored at the harbour employing 600 people over several months.
Nzuza said a possible move to the V&A Waterfront, which was privately owned, would “foster more tourism activities” which could boost the fortunes of the yacht club. This would also coincide with the completion of a planned passenger cruise terminal at Cape Town Harbour's E-Berth, with direct links to the tourist attraction.
But the club's former commodore, John Martin, said a move to the V&A Waterfront would be much more costly to the members, and make it more “elitist”.
While he acknowledged that the club membership, where adults paid R3700 annually, consisted of “very wealthy” individuals, there were also black and coloured "development" sailors who made use of its facilities.
“We've been trying to bring more previously disadvantaged people [into the club]. Some of those young guys we've trained have gone on to become skippers, and one is even captaining a navy vessel,” said Martin.
The club's “future committee” chairman Thomas Swanna said it was looking at options which included the V&A Waterfront or the next door Granger Bay.
“We've engaged in a study with the provincial government, which will provide a qualitative analysis of the value that the club brings to the economy.”