The current clubhouse complex was designed by Fankl and Luty[7] and was completed in 1999.The clubhouse is the only building built in the Thames itself being raised upon stilts above the waters below,[8] and is open to the public each year[9] as part of the London Open House.[10] The complex includes an engineering/machining facility, sailoft, woodworking facility, an indoor work area with a capacity for two or more boats, a wedding and conference venue,[11][12] plus a three-storey clubhouse situated on a dolphin in the tidal Thames reached by a bridge from landside. The complex is disabled access friendly.[13]
History
Thameswatermen and river workers founded Greenwich Yacht Club in Yacht Tavern[14] in Greenwich on 10 March 1908. For many years the club met at the tavern. Later the Clubhouse was situated for many years on the beach adjacent to the current clubhouse. Originally, it was a beached Thames Sailing Barge "Iverna", then later a hut on the Mudlarks beach. In more recent times the club was based in what is known as the "old clubhouse" at the end of Riverway. That site was required by English Partnerships, as part of the preparation for construction of the Millennium Dome, and in exchange English Partnerships provided the club with new facilities on the previously redundant Peartree Wharf.[15][16] Greenwich Yacht Club took occupation of the site early in November 1999 with a temporary clubroom in what is now the Wedding Venue. The new clubhouse was opened in June 2000.[16]
The residential building directly behind the club has been named Iverna Quay, as a reference to the beached Thames sailing barge "Iverna".[17]