Sailing
Get out on the water in Port Douglas.
Discover sailing in Port Douglas, from a relaxed Wednesday sunset sail to member sailing aboard the club’s J24s, exhilarating member races and the excitement of Race Week.
Member races and activities are announced throughout the year. Keep an eye on your member emails and the club’s Facebook noticeboard for upcoming dates and details.
Wednesday sunset sailing
Join us for WAGS, when volunteer members welcome visitors aboard their own yachts.
Arrive at the club from 3:30pm on a Wednesday, sign the disclaimer and stay nearby while skippers select their crews. Places cannot be reserved or guaranteed, and sailing depends on yacht availability and weather conditions.
There’s no sailing fee. Participants are expected to return for dinner and drinks at The Yachty afterwards.
WAGS is a club-organized sailing activity. All skippers must comply with the WAGS supplementary sailing instructions.
Come to the club at 3:30pm on Wednesday to sign up. Please write your name and sign the WAGS disclaimer and make yourself comfortable. This is a waiver for insurance purposes—it is not a list for selecting crew members.
The skippers will arrive at the club between 4pm - 5pm and choose their own “crew”. They will be personally asking you to join them on their private yacht for a sail. You need to stay in the club in order to be personally selected by the skipper.
Places cannot be reserved in advance. Skippers choose their crews personally.
Places depend on available yachts, skippers, crew and weather. Signing the WAGS disclaimer doesn’t secure a place and some visitors may miss out.
If someone asks you to go sailing, the yachts generally depart around 4:30 pm and return to the club for dinner and drinks around 6:30 pm.
Sailing is free, thanks to volunteer members.
Participants are expected to purchase dinner and drinks at the Yachty bar & restaurant afterwards. WAGS is crucial to the club’s viability, so all food and beverages consumed at the club must be purchased on-site.
When the Bureau of Meteorology issues a strong wind warning for Cairns Coastal Waters, WAGS sunset sailing is restricted to Dickson Inlet and Packers Creek for safety reasons, or participating skippers may cancel the event entirely at their discretion.
We do our very best to cater for everyone but people regularly miss out and for those people we ask for your understanding as it is a voluntary exercise after all.
Member sailing aboard our J24s
PDYC owns and operates two J24 sailing boats, solely for the benefit of members. The PDYC Sailing Committee manages these boats.
Members can sail a J24 in the capacity as either skipper or crew in accordance with PDYC Safety Management Plan and the J24 Rules.
To use a J24 please read the Rules and submit an application.
Race Week
Join us for racing on the Coral Sea and good company ashore.
Port Douglas Race Week takes place each year in May. We invite all yachts to join us for an action packed week of sailing, music, food & fun.
We are fortunate to enjoy one of the best playgrounds for our sport that nature could provide and each year we host a six race series sailed on the beautiful waters of the Coral Sea off Port Douglas.