Augusta Yacht Club

Sailing waters

The clubhouse looks out over the Blackwood River, and the racing happens on Hardy Inlet, the river's broad estuary. Courses are set according to wind and tide, running over the estuary's broad upper reach and down toward the town jetty — a flexible playground of sheltered water that suits the club's mixed fleet of catamarans, monohulls and trailable yachts. The rowing skiffs use the same water, heading out in most conditions three mornings a week.

The wider setting deserves explanation as general context: Augusta sits where the Blackwood reaches the sea, a few kilometres from Cape Leeuwin, the headland where the Southern and Indian Oceans are regarded as meeting. That gives the town a maritime character out of proportion to its size — the estuary offers protected small-boat sailing, while the ocean beyond is among the most exposed coasts in the country, a contrast sailors here live with daily.

The town's boating culture extends beyond the yacht club's gates: the Augusta Rowers stage their annual Picnic Regatta, a St Ayles skiff gathering held on the Blackwood that draws crews to the town, and the yacht club's own skiff fleet feeds into that scene. For visitors, the practical details are simple. The club is reachable through its secretary by email or phone; the racing is on Sundays through the warmer months; and the clubhouse on the riverbank — renovated by members in 2020 with external cladding and a clubroom for about fifty — is where everyone ends up afterwards for the social wind-up.