Yacht Club History

The Club, once described as, “the little club that’s round the bend and up the creek”, was established in 1933 by Percy F. Westerman who went on to become its first Commodore.  Percy was an author of boys’ adventure stories and lived on a barge near the current clubhouse where he wrote many of his 178 books.  A collection of these books is now housed in the Wareham library. 

Redclyffe enjoys the outstanding beauty of the River Frome and its name was inspired by the nearby red sandstone cliff which overlooks it.  The Club burgee has a red background with a yellow kingcup in the centre and these flowers can be seen at springtime along the riverbank.

 After two previous clubhouses the current one was built and financed by members in 1987/8.  It is maintained by Club Members and the “Monday Club”, a group of Members, mainly retired, who meet every Monday morning to carry out maintenance work as necessary.  For many years the Club has laid and maintained its own moorings; and all work is co-ordinated by the Hon. Moorings Officer.  In 2008/9 the Club embarked on a major project to replace all the pontoons fronting the clubhouse.  Once again this was financed by the membership, who were also very much involved in the work.