Anglesea Motor Yacht Club’s new home set to open this year

AFTER almost a decade of planning and preparation, the redevelopment of the Anglesea Motor Yacht Club’s facilities is on track to be completed by the end of the year.

The new clubhouse at Point Roadknight has been designed to maintain the “quaintness” of the old building but with an upgraded look and feel, with better kitchen facilities, a new bar area, toilets upstairs and a lift, as well as improved downstairs showers and increased storage space for the club’s rescue boat and other summer services.

The roof will be installed this week, with the wall structures to follow and fitout to begin in the next few weeks.

Anglesea Motor Yacht Club commodore Wes Smith said the club was delighted with the progress and acknowledged the work by done by local builder Renfrey Group, which started the works in April.

“It’s just amazing after all this time that the end is in sight and it’s a real credit to our hard-working committee and the support of our members and supporters.

“The club has endured many challenges along the way due to the sensitive nature of the precinct and the fact that there are a number of authorities which we are beholden to, all of which have their own statutory requirements that we had to meet. This has taken a power of work and considerable time.”

He said the land around the club was particularly environmentally sensitive and required a conservative approach.

“We worked closely with the traditional land owners with the cultural heritage requirements, and also with the authorities in regard to vegetation management surrounding the site.”

Mr Smith was keen to stress the new building was an upgrade of the existing facilities.

“Parts of the building were 60 years old, in disrepair and did not meet current building standards.

“We have not developed a Taj Mahal and definitely not gone over the top.

“Our approach has always been to bring the clubhouse up to speed with current and future expectations. We have been able increase the existing footprint to accommodate updated bathroom and kitchen facilities and improve other amenities.”

The club has contributed almost $700,000 to the project’s $1 million budget, with the rest coming via a Surf Coast Shire grant of $47,000 and a loan from the Bendigo Bank.

Mr Smith praised the support of the club’s members and supporters.

“Right from the word go our members and the community have got behind this project and have encouraged us every step of the way,” he said.

“We are fortunate to have a terrific major sponsor in Great Ocean Road Real Estate and we are so grateful for the support we’ve had by the many financial donors from our fundraising initiatives.”

The club has 250 family members and 11 community group members. During the summer holiday season it is home to the Rusty Anchor Bar, hosts the community Roo Run, the ASLSC Rock2Ramp swim, VicSwim programs, junior sailing activities and is a base for life saving patrols.

As well as sailing, the club has an active fishing group, the Rusty Anglers; and Urquhart’s Bluff Boardriders.

To see photos from a time-lapse camera monitoring the progress of the redevelopment, head to the AMYC website.