Until the early 1960’s sailing on Darwin Harbour was almost non-existent with many believing it was too dangerous due to the tides. The Darwin Sailing Club was formed in March 1963 with the aim "to promote and encourage the building, sailing and racing of all types of sailing craft in Darwin and surrounding waters."

Darwin Sailing Club boasts spectacular sunsets, stunning warm weather year round, close proximity to quality cruising ground with Indonesia only 2 days sail away!  DSC has access to a huge Harbour that allows a variety of racing for all classes from one location. Members are varied and the club has a welcoming relaxed atmosphere where shoes can be optional and the hospitality is second to none.

DSC is an accredited Discover Sailing Centre offering Tackers, Out There Sailing, Dinghy, Keelboat & Powerboat. Programs are delivered across the community including schools, Defence, youth diversion, community groups and regular learn to sail programs. The club delivers Tackers programs at both their club site and Lake Alexander (2km away).

Classes supported and types of sailing: 
DSC offers a variety of sailing options across multiple classes including Twilights, Match Racing, Harbour racing, offshore racing and organized social cruises. 
Racing is conducted in the Dry Season (April-Oct) when the Harbour is free from stingers, crocs and cyclones. Darwin Harbour is 5 x bigger than Sydney Harbour, has 8m tides, a sandbar in the middle (a great picnic spot) and is a commercial shipping port making some interesting racing when Harbour Courses are scheduled.

Initially dominated by off the beach Catamarans these days fleets are a mix of Minnow, Laser, Tasar, A Class, large multihulls and keelboats. DSC has a number of club owned boats with a range of dinghies & Elliott 7’s that are also often chartered for club racing.

Due to the accessibility of quality cruising grounds such as Indonesia & the Kimberly large multihulls are currently the fastest growing fleet.

Key club events:
•    Darwin to Saumlaki International Yacht Race
•    Australian Maid International Youth Match Racing Regatta
•    NT Womens Keelboat Regatta
•    Sandbar BBQ
•    Commodore’s Open Day, with themed sail past and Navy Ship

The Club has hosted numerous National & International Championships for A Class, Tornados, Tasars, Lasers and Minnows. More recently they have hosted Arafura Games, International Match Racing Events. The next major event will be the 2022 Oceanic Laser Masters Championship. 
The DSC was host to the Darwin-Ambon International Yacht Race from 1976-1996.  The event grew to attract 100 yachts from across the globe that created a festival atmosphere in the lead up at the club each year.  This race has since been replaced with the shorter Darwin-Saumlaki Race making it more accessible to more people and retaining the strong ties with the Maluku Province in Indonesia.

Club members have participated in National and International Championships since 1965. The honour board of National and World Champions, as well as place-getters for the Club is impressive.

In 2020 the Darwin-Saumlaki Yacht Race and other planned trips to major regattas were cancelled due to travel restrictions. In true NT spirit almost 100 sailors from DSC made the 1000km/600nm trek by road & sea to Gove to compete in the inaugural Gove Regional Regatta and support another “local” NT club.

Membership:
Darwin Sailing Club is made up of 280 sailing members and 496 social members.  Although fifty percent of members are over 50yrs in age the younger member numbers are slowly growing.  Due to the transient nature of the Territory 25% of memberships are replaced each year as people leave town. DSC has 41% female membership and most would agree 50% on race days. This is attributed to the relaxed atmosphere and the attraction of social sailing for members who do so alongside partners and family.

Club history/achievements: 
In 1963 when DSC was born the APEX Rotunda was used as a Clubhouse until a temporary Clubhouse was built covered with chicken wire and thatched with coconut palm fronds. Stage 1 was opened in 1966.

The Club was severely damaged by Cyclone Tracey in December 1974, but with hard work by Club members the season opened as planned on 13th April 1975 with 43 boats. 

From humble beginnings the club now boasts 2 x secure boat parks, 2 x boat ramps, boat storage sheds, a sailing tower, large clubhouse with conference rooms, award winning bistro, licensed bar and arguably the best beer garden and sunset in town.
In 1988 Club members built and sailed the "NT Spirit" in the Bicentennial Around Australia Yacht Race. The 41ft boat was built on the lawns of the club and trucked to the start line in Sydney, it was sailed by 80 local sailors over 11 legs. The DSC was the only club with an entry. 

Female participation is a success story at DSC:
When the 2020 Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta in Melbourne was cancelled, a few devastated locals got together and created the inaugural NT Womens Keelboat Regatta. The 20 original sailors turned into 80 women on water over 3 divisions and 13 boats, including 3 interstate teams crewing our Elliott 7’s. The regatta was put together in only 8 weeks with overwhelming support from all members and will feature again in the 2021 calendar. At the DSC the roles of Commodore, Rear Commodore Sailing & Sailing Manager are all occupied by women.

Current Commodore: Lucille Panting