A Short History
1952 – 1984 approx.
Late in January 1952 eleven people met in the foreshore pavilion at Warneet.
They agreed on the need for a boating and angling club for Westernport.
On the 8 February 1952 WMYC was formed and on 8 March 1952 there were 36 people at the meeting to elect office-bearers.
This established Westernports first yacht club.
During the first year there were at least 37 meetings and 25 working bees held, two significant things were happening; one was the beginning of the clubhouse and the second was unifying the community in a major project.
Through the 1950s Warneet was a growing water sport centre. Victorian championship yacht races were held in various classes, and the Westernport Challenge began here.
WMYC saw the need for a slipway and a better boating jetty and at the end of the 1960s, after seemingly endless negotiations, a launching ramp and the new 600 – feet Warneet South Jetty were built. The Warneet South Slipway Club was formed to run these facilities.
The WMYC Clubhouse and its facilities became part of the Warneet Disaster Plan.
In 1969 the club established radio cover for the whole of the bay and extended it to a twenty four hour watch in 1973, in 1974 this was upgraded to provide communications with yachts in Bass Strait. These radio facilities were in the Tamo house.
Bill & Alwyn Tamo had been mainstays of the club since the early days and are now life members. Bill was Commodore from 1956 – 1972.
The clubs programs have attracted interest from well beyond Westernport.
The annual Warneet Around French Island Race (WAFIR) has attracted fleets of well over 200 competing yachts and is still a very strong race to this day.
Four Warneet multihulls sailed in the Queenscliff – Devonport Race and in 1977 Gary Bodworth’s Shilo won Line Honours.
In 1979 the Multihull Yacht Club of Victoria merged with WMYC and in 1984 the club was incorporated as the Warneet Motor yacht Club.
