The club was founded in January 1937 when 24 people attended a meeting at the Soldiers Memorial Hall in Bairnsdale with the purpose of forming a motor boat and sailing club; they decided to proceed and named of the club Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club (GLYC).  

William D’Avila Tilley, a jeweller and pawnbroker who retired to Paynesville in the mid-thirties, offered $100 by way of an interest free loan to construct and equip a clubhouse. He also offered land at Sunset Cove, as a site for the new club; for his generosity, Bill Tilley became the first Life Member of the GLYC in 1938.

Today GLYC is an accredited Discover Sailing Centre that has 258 members plus 143 extra family members, membership categories include family, honorary, intermediate, junior, life, senior and social. 

GLYC has a very strong youth and women cohort through their family membership category, of which is supported through their sailing calendar. Despite the challenging times with bushfires and COVID-19 the club has managed to not only maintain membership they have experienced 3% growth from the previous season. 

GLYC is closely tied to the local community.  As the central hub of the town, the club hosts many community groups and events including:

• Probus monthly gatherings
• Weekly quilters group
• CFA Annual Awards Dinner
• Paynesville and District Community Bank Branch
• Bendigo Bank monthly Board Meetings
• Paynesville Business and Tourism Association quarterly committee meetings
• Paynesville Lions Club Seniors Annual Christmas Dinner
• Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea

and the town’s three major annual events:

• Paynesville Music Festival
• Paynesville Classic Boat Rally
• Marlay Point Overnight Race

Classes supported and types of sailing include:

• Powerboat
• Green Fleet
• Dinghy
• School Programs
• School Holiday Tackers Programs
• Division Cool - Division Cool runs each Sunday morning, weather permitting after our Christmas break when our sailing school has completed. Division Cool is focused on:
  • Extended sailing skills
  • Having Fun
  • Learning Team Skills
  • Diversity in Sailing Skills

GLYC encourage female participation on all levels from junior through to Twilight sailing, including a female Race Officer who is pro-active, not only at our club, but other clubs locally and in Melbourne. The club host monthly Female Skipper Races as part of this Twilight Series. The club also highlights female sailors at the club through the awarding of their annual Female Sailor of the Year Award.

Key club events:

Post-Christmas was a challenging time for Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club due to bushfires in East Gippsland.  Access to the region was limited and there was constant smoke haze.  Despite these challenges the club still managed to run two Australian Championships , Summer Tackers School Holiday learn-to-sail program and the Marlay Point Overnight Race.

As a volunteer run club, GLYC consistently encourages and supports their strong volunteer base. The club has an annual ‘Volunteer’s Bash’ where all volunteers are invited and encouraged to attend an evening of fun, food and beverages.

The club also partially or fully subsidises members for all accreditations and courses for their who volunteers wish to gain to support the running of the club; from race management through to DSC qualifications and anything in between.

With growth in Junior membership, the club are working to develop Junior skills to allow Juniors to move into intermediate sub-committee roles and then onto the Committee of Management.  They also work closely with their Juniors in a mentoring capacity to take on Assistant Instructor roles, until such time as they have the relevant hours and age to be Instructors for our DSC.  Club Race Officers are also mentoring members to look at ways they can develop their skills and do the relevant training to become Race Officers.

The club’s Club Publicity Officer is proactive in the community and has a strong presence in supportive regional newspapers and WIN, the regional television network. They have active Facebook and Instagram accounts, along with an up-to-date website, a weekly email newsletter and the club’s flagship monthly newsletter ‘Wanderer’. GLYC recently had the pleasure of promoting the club to the Minister for Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford.
 

For more information on Gippsland Lakes Yacht Club (GLYC) visit https://sailglyc.com/