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Small Boat Club of SA

Garden Island, SA

Small Boat Club of SA is listed by YouSail as a Boat club in Garden Island, SA. Its listed boat classes include Boat club. Check the club directly for current programs, facilities and membership details.

  • Boat club
  • Adelaide metro - Port River
View location ↓Official website ↗Call club
Small Boat Club of SA sailing club
Satellite view of Small Boat Club of SA
Satellite view of Small Boat Club of SA
Editorial sailing illustration for Small Boat Club of SA
Editorial sailing illustration for Small Boat Club of SA

Small Boat Club of SA contact details

Club facts and photos come from YouSail. The import date records when we received the data, not when each club detail was verified. Confirm current programs, fees and access with the club.

YouSail data imported 17 Oct 2026.

Grand Trunkway, Garden Island SA 5015

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Location guide

Where to find Small Boat Club of SA

Listed address: Grand Trunkway, Garden Island SA 5015, Garden Island, SA, Australia

Sailing region: Adelaide metro - Port River

Club racing, training and storage may use a different gate, beach or launching area. Confirm the meeting point with the club before travelling.

Get directions ↗More clubs in SA

Sailing waters

Angas Inlet and the adjoining Barker Inlet are shallow, mangrove-lined estuaries, and local knowledge starts with the tide: depths outside the marked channels are minimal, and the causeway built to reach Garden Island in the 1960s blocked tidal exchange, accelerating siltation that members have watched creep ever since. Keel boats keep to the channels and move around mid-tide or better; tinnies, kayaks and shoal-draught craft have the run of the place.

The reward is some of Adelaide's most protected small-boat water, with dolphins from the adjoining sanctuary regularly working the channels and pelicans standing on the channel posts. Fishing for bream, whiting and flathead along the mangrove edges is a club staple, and the inlet is calm water for teaching kids to sail or paddle. The slipways and yard get busy in late winter as boats prepare for the season, and club races and social sails use the inlet and the Port River.

Ashore, the club is reached via Grand Trunkway over the North Arm bridge, and Port Adelaide's chandlers, engineers and pubs are minutes away, which is where members fuel, provision and source parts. Visitors should note the club is a private members' facility, so contact ahead rather than arriving unannounced, though new members and visiting boats are genuinely welcomed.

For anyone contemplating a home build or a long restoration, the hardstand's long-term rates and the resident expertise are the club's trump card, and the Saturday bar session is where the local knowledge, tide quirks, mud banks and all, is freely handed out.

Club details, boat categories and facilities

A broad category such as “Dinghy” or “Yacht Club” does not confirm specific active fleets. An affiliation season is shown as supplied by YouSail; an older season does not establish current affiliation.

Region
Adelaide metro - Port River
Club type
Boat club
Australian Sailing affiliation reported by YouSail
Not verified
Boat or club category reported by YouSail
Boat club
Membership applications
Yes
Clubhouse
Yes
Organised racing
Yes
Social sailing
Yes
Accessibility information
Not verified
Boat storage
Not verified
Launching facilities
Not verified
Bar or restaurant
Not verified

Club activities and services

  • Berthing & moorings
  • Haul-out / slipway
  • Boat storage
  • Boatbuilding & repairs
  • Sailing club

The detailed sections below were adapted from YouSail’s earlier profile and are maintained separately from the live directory facts above. Confirm time-sensitive details with the club.

About Small Boat Club of SA

Club on Garden Island beside the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary catering for small to medium yachts, power boats, tinnies and kayaks. Offers marina berths, traditional chain moorings, a hardstand for long-term builds, two working slipways for vessels up to 20 tonnes and a trailer-boat launching ramp with pontoon.

Club history

The Small Boat Club of SA exists because of an eviction. In 1962 the Harbours Board told the boat owners who had long anchored in a cove of the Port River that the ground was needed for wharf development, and hinted that a formed boat club might be found another home. The boaties took the hint, founded the club that year, and were allocated mangrove land on Garden Island fronting Angas Inlet, where members cleared virgin coast and built the club from scratch; incorporation followed in June 1966.

Whether the Small in the name referred to the boats or the founding membership is still debated. Through the 1970s the club grew past a thousand members, with boats packed fore and aft on moorings, and it retains that practical, hands-on culture today. It caters deliberately to small and medium craft, yachts, power boats, tinnies and kayaks, and sits beside the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary in protected estuarine water a short drive from historic Port Adelaide.

Among Adelaide clubs it occupies two niches nobody else fills: it is the only club in the city offering traditional chain moorings, and the only one offering affordable long-term hardstand sites for home builders and restorers. The clubhouse is a renovated, volunteer-run affair with a licensed bar opening Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sunday afternoons, and the membership includes a strong share of tinkerers, trailer-boat fishers and families using the calm inlet waters.

At its 1970s peak the moorings were packed cheek by jowl, and photographs from that era of sailpasts and slipway launches still hang in the clubrooms.

Details to confirm with Small Boat Club of SA

YouSail has not confirmed the following fields. This does not mean the facility is unavailable.

  • Australian Sailing
  • Accessibility information
  • Boat storage
  • Launching facilities
  • Bar or restaurant

Include the relevant questions in your enquiry and ask for the current arrangement for your boat, dates and access needs.

Membership and visiting requirements

Use Garden Island as the starting point for your travel check. Confirm the actual meeting point for your intended activity; it may differ from the club’s postal address. Include preparation and pack-up when comparing the journey with other clubs.

YouSail records the boat or club category as Boat club. Ask which are currently active on the day you can attend, whether there is a suitable learner or crew pathway, and what equipment you would need.

Use the first-enquiry template to get a clear reply, then take the visit scorecard to compare boat access, the calendar and the complete joining arrangement.

Planning a visit to Small Boat Club of SA

How do I arrange a first visit to Small Boat Club of SA?

Contact Small Boat Club of SA through its current official contact details and describe your experience, dates and intended activity. Ask for the meeting point, equipment arrangements and the next suitable session in Garden Island, SA. A directory listing does not confirm a booking.

Are beginner lessons and boat access confirmed at Small Boat Club of SA?

The available record does not establish current lesson places or general boat access. Ask the club about the activity you want; missing information does not mean it is unavailable.

Other clubs to compare in SA

Explore alternatives in the same state. Check travel times and current activities with each club.