history
The Royal
North Sea Yacht Club is a well known sailing club at the Belgian coast (Ostend). It was established in 1947 by Commodore
Georges Timmermans, the founder and first commodore of the Belgian Navy during
the second World War. In the early years
the club was closely related to the Belgian Navy, even the pennon of the yacht
club was inspired by the flag of the Belgian Navy. Today, King Philippe of Belgium is the
Honorary Commodore of the Royal North Sea Yacht Club.
In the
early years, the Yacht Club hosted sailors with Dragons and Snipes, races were
organised in the salty and tidal waters of the Belgian coast on the North
Sea. Since the early ‘50s the Royal
North Sea Yacht Club has been the home of the Belgian dragon scene, hosting the
Open Belgian Championship every year in August.
75th anniversary
The Royal
North Sea Yacht Club has been very active in the organisation of international
sailing races. It has a successful
reputation in the management of major sailing events, not only in dragons, but
also in dinghies, SB20 and Offshore Yachts.
The Yacht
Club manages 2 marina’s in the port of Ostend, where it attracts thousands
of international visiting yachtsmen every year .
The Royal
North Sea Yacht Club is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022,
and is honoured to have been granted the organisation of the famous Dragon Gold
Cup for the 4th time in its history to this unique event.
The
legendary club has attracted numerous sailors from all over the world during
its rich history. Many visitors discover
the yacht club while cruising along the shores of the North Sea.
In recent
years, the club is very proud to have one of the country’s youngest and most
vibrant racing fleet. Not only do these
members attend the regular club races, they also attend multiple national and
international sailing events.
Prince Albert greeting the Dragon owners in Ostend
To celebrate the ascension of the trone in 1951, the Royal North Sea Yacht Club
presented a dragon to HRH King Baudoin I.
The king baptized the boat with the name “Elan”, his scouts name. Elan became the Belgian royal dragon under
sailnumber BEL 20, and also participated in the Olympic games in Naples in
1960.
The original flag letter of Elan, in name of “Sa
majesté Le Roi Baudouin I-er de Belgique” also mentioned that no shipping
duties were to be paid as the yacht was owned by the king.
