Clayton Bay Boat Club

Sailing waters

Clayton Bay occupies a riverbank site on the Lower Murray, roughly midway between Milang and Goolwa, and the boating geography within reach of the clubhouse is remarkable. As the report of the club's 2021 Flying Fifteen regatta put it, Lake Alexandrina is effectively on the doorstep and the Coorong within sight — three distinct boating environments reachable without ever pulling a mast down.

Freshwater sailing has its own texture: no tides to plan around, sandy shallows to read, and long reaches of open lake water once you clear the river mouth. Club racing happens on the waters around Clayton Bay and Rat Island, and the river here carries a sailing tradition of its own that long predates the clubhouse: the fleet of the celebrated Milang to Goolwa Freshwater Classic sails straight past Clayton Bay each year. When members want to go further, organised cruises run to Finniss, Currency Creek, Narrung and Milang, and push on into the Coorong itself.

Onshore, the club is well equipped: hard stands, a launching ramp and short-stay marina berths handle the trailer-sailer fleet, while licensed clubrooms with a bar and kitchen, showers, toilets and an outdoor barbecue area handle the sailors. The club belongs to the Alexandrina Council area, in the state seat of Finniss and federally Mayo, with mail collected at PO Box 397, Milang. Adelaide is about an hour away by road — close enough for visiting sailors to tow down for a weekend, far enough for the river to feel like another world entirely.