The Puerto Galera Yacht Club
The Puerto Galera Yacht Club (“PGYC”) is located on the North shore of Mindoro Island, a little over 100Km South of Metro Manila. The yacht club was founded in 1991 by a group of cruising yacht owners who wanted a permanent centre for sharing cruising information with foreign yachts visiting the Philippines. Puerto Galera was chosen because it is a natural typhoon shelter and is easily accessible from Metro Manila. 2017 marks the PGYC’s 26th anniversary!
The Puerto Galera Yacht Club is a member’s club but the facilities are open to the general public, except for during the Annual General Meeting on 31st December each year.
Puerto Galera is listed in the UNESCO affiliated The Most Beautiful Bays In The World and is primarily a tourist town, built on scuba diving since the early 1980s. Prior to the introduction of scuba diving the only tourists who came to Puerto Galera were those seeking a secluded beach with very few amenities and no luxuries – before 1980 there were only a scattering of bamboo cottages along a few of the beaches, with no electricity and no telephones. Today, Puerto Galera is a bustling tourist centre with more than 50 dive shops and more than 100 resorts and resort hotels. The range of sports available goes far beyond scuba diving; Puerto Galera now offers snorkeling, freediving, trekking, boldering, kayaking, mountain biking, jet skiing, parasailing, golf, a shooting range and, of course, sailing.
Yacht Club Moorings
The yacht club manages and maintains 32 moorings for resident and visiting yachts of up to 50-foot LOA. Larger yachts can find safe anchorage within the bay area but there are some restrictions on where an anchor may be dropped, because most coral areas within the bay are protected.
The PGYC moorings are inspected annually for wear and corrosion; the mooring lines are replaced as required. The ultimate objective is provide safe mooring for yachts even if a typhoon passes overhead – as has happened once during the past 25 years.
A service boat is provided that operates most daylight hours and into the evenings, to take sailors and staff to and from yachts on any of the 28 moorings in the primary mooring area close to the club. The four moorings located in Dalaruan Bay are visited twice a day by the service boat.
Small Boat Program
In 2003 the PGYC launched the Small Boat Program, a charitably funded sailing school for school kids and families who want to learn how to sail. The Small Boat Program offers free, basic sailing lessons to all the schools in Puerto Galera, for any student above the age of seven who wishes to learn. If students want to learn beyond the basics, and they still want the tuition to be free, then they are recruited to assist in cleaning, maintaining and preparing the fleet of 20 sailing dinghies.
The first 10 sailing dinghies, modeled on the famous two-person, Mirror dinghy, were built by the PGYC with funds donated by members and corporations. The most recent addition of 10, single-person, Olympic-class Optimist dinghies were purchased with funds donated and profits from PGYC sailing regattas. The club also has a 30-foot keelboat for advanced training, purchased with profits from sailing regattas.
During the past five years, international schools from as far away as Hong Kong and Dubai have sent their students to the PGYC to learn to sail, because the water is clean, the weather superb and the quality of sailing instruction is considered to be equal to the best in Asia. Income earned from these sailing lessons also help the PGYC to maintain and expand its training fleet, but the core of the funding comes from regatta profits.
Sailing Regattas
By tradition, the PGYC has organized regatta events at every Easter, New Year and Halloween (All Souls). Also by tradition, these regatta events are open to all yachts and all crew, no matter their nationality or their club affiliation. The club lowers its gangplank for virtually anyone interesting in the sport of sailing.
If you are interested in sailing in one of the most beautiful bays in the world, learning from some of the world’s most seasoned sailors or, if you simply want to be part of one of the most friendly yacht clubs on the planet then come and visit the Puerto Galera Yacht Club.
Cruising Rallies
The PGYC organizes cruising rallies for local and international cruising yachts, helping them to explore some of the places that they would not normally visit. The rallies are open to all yachts and visiting sailors and tourists, who do not own a yacht, are actively encouraged to participate.
If you want to discover more about the Philippines by sail than you ever could by air then join a PGYC cruising rally.
Other Club Facilities
The PGYC Friday Night Barbecue is a special weekly event, offered throughout the year, and welcomes sailors, local resort owners and Puerto Galera visitors from all around the World. Great food and cold beers served al fresco.
The PGYC is also well known for its spacious restaurant and the selection of a la carte dishes offered daily. Within the area of Muelle Pier you cannot find a better place for an enjoyable lunch or a romantic dinner than at the yacht club.
The PGYC restaurant and bar area can be hired for functions. It has become a popular place for wedding receptions, debut parties and other celebrations, where privacy and a tranquil atmosphere are preferred.
For more information about the Puerto Galera Yacht Club please use:
- Website: www.pgyc.org
- Email: PGYC Clubhouse
- Mobile: +63 917 520-5874
- Landline: +63 43 287-3401
If telephoning from overseas, please note that Puerto Galera is at GMT+8