Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club Logo

Founding

The Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club was founded on 4th August 1922 by a group of dedicated yachtsmen wishing to establish a private yacht club closer to their homes in Point Piper, on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour in Australia.

At the time, the focus for Sydney Harbour sailing was on the northern shore, with the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (RSYS) and Sydney Amateur Sailing Club (SASC) in their present locations, while the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) was located in the city.

An exciting opportunity to create a new yacht club to serve the yachtsmen in the eastern suburbs of Sydney was recognized.

Heritage

The club was originally named The New Yacht Club, later called the Southern Yacht Club and subsequently renamed The Prince Edward Yacht Club in honour of the official visit to Sydney by His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) who arrived in Australia aboard the battlecruiser HMS Renown to great fanfare in May 1920. The Club celebrated its Centenary in 2022 in great style with formal events for club members and a Sailing regatta which included all yacht clubs on Sydney Harbour.

Royal Warrant

The RPEYC’s original burgee was adopted on 2nd October 1925 and has since been updated to include the Royal Crown in canton. As it is named after Edward, Prince of Wales, the Club received approval to adopt The Prince of Wales’s feathers as its crest and was granted permission to apply the ‘Royal’ prefix to its name by His Majesty King George V in 1935. The Clubhouse proudly displays the racing flag of the Royal Yacht Britannia bearing the Prince of Wales’s feathers. This racing flag, believed to be one of only three in existence, was acquired by the Club from the effects of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1998. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh (formerly Edward, Earl of Wessex) visited the Club for lunch in 2014, fittingly arriving on a member’s boat. The Duke of Edinburgh visited the RPEYC again in 2023 to acknowledge the many Club members who are associated with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards in Australia.