User:Happysailor/CBYC

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Cardiff Bay Yacht Club (CBYC) was formed in 1932 as Penarth Motor Boat and Sailing Club. It changed to its current name in 1999. It is currently the largest yacht club in South Wales and was made an RYA Volvo Champion Club in 2004 and is an RYA Active Marina.

The current clubhouse was opened in 1998 by HRH Princess Anne and was funded by a lottery grant. The club has a large marina with room for over 500 boats, two slipways (one of which is used by the dinghy section), a travel hoist for launching & recovering larger boats and a diesel refueling berth.

CBYC's activities include dinghy sailing, yacht racing & cruising. It also has a fishing section and it's own RYA Training Centre. The club also hosts a number of local, national and international sailing events including the Welsh Optimist Championships, BUCS Fleet Racing Championships , World Robotic Sailing Championships and has produced a number of national and international sailors.

History
Cardiff Bay Yacht Club was originally founded as Penarth Motor Boat and Sailing Club in 1932 when a small group of people got together and started to explore the Bristol Channel, cruising in company. The then Commodore of Penarth Yacht Club noticed the group and provided a small cup to be raced for, with a course around the East Cardiff Bouy. This first race for the Neal Cup was highly successful and the group of motorboat owners & crews formed the club.

The Marine Hotel, at the mouth of Penarth docks, became the unofficial headquarters of the club and the first season was celebrated in the winter of 1933. In the spring of 1934, the first offical club programme was prepared for the upcoming season and this was distributed to all the active club members which at the time, totalled about 24.

Over the next few years, the club because established and eventually moved it's headquarters to the Pilot Hotel, and with membership increasing steadily, prepared the first club rules.

In 1940 the club was temporarily mothballed due to World War II, bur was reconstituted after hostilities ended, and moved its premises to 81 Glebe St, Penarth, where the club remained until 1958 when the club started leasing 1 Marine Buildings.

These new premises were officially opened by the Earl of Selkirk O.B.E., A.F.C. First Sea Lord of the Admiralty on Saturday, 20th May 1959.

The current Clubhouse was opened in 1998 by HRH Princess Anne and houses the Club's two bars, changing facilities, admin/marina office, and the training room for the club's RYA training school.

In 2014, the club was fined £40,000 for breaching the Merchant Shipping Act after a 2010 accident in which two club safety boats collided during darkness.

Over the years, CBYC has helped produce a number of national and international sailors and champions.

Racing
Club dinghy racing takes place on Sundays between February and November and on Wednesday evenings between May and September. This racing is held jointly between CBYC & Cardiff Yacht Club and is open to both sets of club members.

The dinghy section are also host to a number of other Regattas & Racing events during the year which in the past have included an Annual Classic Flying Fifteen Open, a round from the Annual Severnside Enterprise Series, Laser 2000 Welsh Championships, Welsh National Optimist Championships , Welsh Open Laser Championships, BUCS Fleet Racing Championships , World Robotic Sailing Championships as well as a British Heart Foundation Charity Regatta and it's own Club Regatta.

The club is also host to training events held by the South Wales Regional Squads, Welsh National Sailing Squads & Team GBR sailing squads.

Yacht racing takes place throughout the year, with an average of 5 series being held each year. Racing takes place both in Cardiff Bay and in the Bristol Channel and is open to members from Cardiff Yacht Club as well as Penarth Yacht Club.

The club has also been host to a number of yacht racing events throughout it's life, with the most recent being the J/80 Nationals in 2007 and 2010 ) and the Shanghai Cup, which has been hosted at the Club since 1994.

Media
CBYC was one of the locations chosen by the BBC to feature in Season 2, Episode 8 of The Sarah Jane Adventures titled The Mark of the Berserker. Filming took place on 5 June 2008, and the episode aired on 10 November 2008.