Royal Varuna Yacht Club Pattaya: Thailand’s Elite Sailing Club

In Thailand, the Royal Varuna Yacht Club is a well-known private sailing club.

Here are 25 interesting things you should know about the Royal Varuna Yacht Club:

1.It is located located in Pratumank, South Pattaya, on Thailand’s eastern coast.

2. The club’s acronym is RVYC or สมาคมสโมสรราชวรุณในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์ in Thai.

3. This club is named after Varuna,the Vedic divinity that rules the oceans.

4. The club was established in1957 at Cosmopolitan Restaurant in Bangkok at Swiss-resident Walter Meyer’s initiative.

5. The initial name of the club was the Varuna Marine Club and officially opened on the weekend of 15–16 February 1958.

6. Walter Meyer became the first Flag Commodore and Prince Bhisadej Rajani was in charge of the sailing programme.

7. Prince Bhisatej is regarded as the godfather of sailing in Thailand, as he was the one who introduced the king to dinghy sailing.

8. On April 26, 1965, the club was bestowed royal patronage by the King of Thailand thus becoming the “Royal Varuna Yacht Club.”

9. On 14 September 1968, the king, accompanied by the queen, the crown prince, and princesses, officially inaugurated the Royal Varuna Yacht Club.

10. Its facilities include a restaurant, boat storage, boat repair, parking, a beach bar, swimming pool, and housing accommodations.

11. The Club House was opened in 2003 after extensive improvements in the reception area.

12. The first national sailing championship recorded in Thailand was the Enterprise Nationals and it was held at the Varuna Marine Club in 1962.

13. They provide boats for rent, that are available to members and guests, as well as storage space for private boats.

14. The Royal Varuna Yacht Club hosts professional national and international sailing competitions and events.

15. They organize frequent races for its club members and have a very busy sailing programme.

16. They provide courses and programmes all year round which are taught by RYA qualified instructors using modern sailing dinghies.

17. Royal Varuna Yacht Club has partnerships with 15+ international schools in Thailand with the intention of introducing sailing to the youth.

18. They have hosted numerous ISAF class world championships, including the 11^th ASEAN Optimist Championships in 1999 among others.

19. Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, one of the largest and most presigious keelboat and dinghy regattas in Asia, is owned and organised by the Royal Varuna Yacht Club.

20. This Regatta was inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of the King of Thailand.

21. The event has been held every year since during the first week of December.

22. The 2017 Optimist World Championship was organized by Royal Varuna.

23. RVYC is a member of the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT).

24. It has reciprocal agreements with many sailing clubs from England, USA, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, and South Africa among others.

25. Ordinary Family Membership fee for one year is 75,000 baht ($2,250 US)

Watch this video of Royal Varuna Yacht Club Pattaya: