3 minute read
FEATURE: NEW COUTA BOAT CLUB
New Couta Boat Club in fine shape
There is now a refined multi-million-dollar Mornington Peninsula home for these historic wooden fishing boats.
THE HISTORIC SORRENTO Sailing Couta Boat Club opened its new multi-million-dollar home just in time for the start of the summer sailing season, with members who helped pay for the new build welcoming its arrival with open arms.
On Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the club was established in the 1940s and features the couta, a workhorse of Port Philip Bay’s old fishing fleet.
While it has undergone several renovations in the past, this latest iteration will enable the club to peel back the glazing over the summer months and open the new venue up, allowing the club to have a greater connection with the seafront and beach activities.
“The club is thrilled to have a built for purpose clubhouse with far bigger areas for hospitality, administration and sailing,” club CEO Henry Dyer said of the opening.
An initial $6m budget blew out because of significant increases in building, material and labour costs and substantial design changes, but Dyer said a jump in applications as a result of the renovations resulted in the membership hitting its cap of 4500, up from 3000 members, since construction began.
“Thirty per cent of the new members are children or young adults, the rest are adult members,” he said. Despite some delays and exceeding the budget, members of the private club are thrilled with the result.
Members comments received included: “Congratulations on having the clubhouse open for summer when it seemed in doubt mid-way through the year”; “The bar is enormous and the additional room on the northern deck is amazing”; and “We can’t wait to see what the finished product of the dining room will be”.
Designed by Melbourne architecture and interior design studio Carr, the new club floorplate has been extended in two directions, allowing for hospitality areas as well as administration offices and boating facilities to comfortably expand with all taking advantage of spectacular ocean views and sunset vistas.
The pared-back venue used local limestone and timber battens throughout, referencing the venue’s natural surrounds and the boats the club is named after.
A handmade wooden marina and jetty has also been built to service the couta’s support vessels including 20 RIBs and wooden-hulled power boats.
The capital works were funded by membership subscriptions and the issuing of Member Bonds, alongside a fundraising campaign which had a target of $1 million.
“The demographic is quite well off. It’s a very popular club, most members are paying subs that are comparatively expensive compared to other clubs,” Dyer said.
Couta boat and off-the-beach sailing has continued throughout the year uninterrupted.
Dyer said the new facilities are five-star with a mid- to high-end restaurant experience. Members and sponsors are quickly filling up spots for weddings and events at the new venue.
“There wouldn’t be a better club in Australia in terms of facilities,” Dyer concluded.