False Bay Yacht Club has confirmed a R30m expansion to its 250-berth marina.
Cape Town’s famous False Bay Yacht Club has confirmed a R30m expansion to its 250-berth marina, prompted largely by an increase in visiting cruiser yachts. The marina is situated adjacent to the South African Navy base in Simon’s Town on the southern end of the Cape peninsula.
Club commodore Steve Casey said the project would involve an additional 48 moorings accommodating boats of up to 80ft, arranged in a new outer arm jutting into the bay.
“We’re still out to tender in terms of construction, but we’ve got permission from the navy, and the Environmental Impact Assessment is done and dusted,” Casey said, adding that the expansion would address a growing shortage of moorings. “The challenge we have is that we are running out of space.”
He said cruising yachts appeared to be growing in popularity, and Simon’s Town was a popular stop-off. “These round-the-world cruisers make a point of coming in here. It is becoming more and more popular,” Casey said. “We have our hands full juggling moorings.”
Part of the attraction of the False Bay marina was close proximity to shops and restaurants, as well as the yacht club’s own sling lift and repair facility. The club is also home to the SA navy’s cadet boatbuilding training school, Isivunguvungu.