Inland & ICW · New Smyrna Beach
Volusia County club on the Intracoastal in New Smyrna Beach, formed 1928 by 36 charter member families. Heritage of cruising and regattas dating informally to the 1880s.
Navigation race on the Indian River. Each skipper plots their own route around five virtual marks. Open to all sailboats, members or not.
Downwind pursuit race with a staggered start on the Indian River, from Smyrna Yacht Club toward Mosquito Lagoon. Open to all sailboats.
The club dates its founding to 1928, when thirty-six charter member families organized it, but boating on this stretch of the Indian River goes back further: the club traces informal cruising and regattas here to the 1880s, when New Smyrna was a landing before it was a beach town. The clubhouse sits on South Riverside Drive, directly on the Intracoastal.
The racing has one trait that sets it apart from most private clubs: the fall regattas are open to any sailboat, member or not. The Binnacle is a navigation race: each skipper plots their own route around five virtual marks on the river, so local knowledge counts as much as boatspeed. The Brewers Cup is a staggered-start downwind pursuit toward Mosquito Lagoon. A private dining club that throws its start line open to the public twice a year is rarer than it should be.
Visiting sailors from affiliated yacht clubs can request the visitor dock, and should read the club’s own guidance first: the tide at the dock runs up to three miles an hour in either direction with about three feet of range. Time your arrival for slack water and the dock is easy; fight the current mid-tide and it is not.
Smyrna Yacht Club is a private club. Membership is subject to the club's approval. For current membership costs and how to apply, contact the club's membership office. Members of reciprocal yacht clubs can usually arrange visiting access with advance notice.
Featured Private Inland & ICW · Eustis · est. 1953
Racing and sailing club with 60+ days of one-design racing each year on Lake Eustis, among the busiest race calendars in Central Florida. Active MC Scow, Flying Scot, Wayfarer, and Laser fleets. Partners with Lake Eustis Youth Sailing Foundation for adult and junior instruction.
Private Inland & ICW · Indian Harbour Beach · est. 1907
Founded 1907, one of the older yacht clubs on Florida's east coast. Sits at the mouth of the Banana River adjacent to the Intracoastal; relocated to its current Indian Harbour Beach campus in 1960.
Reciprocal Inland & ICW · Fort Pierce · est. 1980
Power, sail, and social club organized 1980, on the Indian River Lagoon at Seaway Drive in downtown Fort Pierce. Monthly offshore PHRF races plus spring, fall, and all-ladies regattas; any YCA-club member is welcomed, with transient berths next door at the city marina.