About Tanga Yacht Club

TYC is a place for families and yachties to spend the day relaxing by the ocean, taking dips in the water. It’s beautiful, and at dusk the inky blues of the sea meet the pinks and yellows of the sky to create one heck of a sundowner backdrop. You have to see it to believe it.

Facilities

As a member of the yacht club you anchor for free (even leaving your boat here for months at a time if you wish), you’ll receive fresh, clean drinking water with which to fill your tanks and the showers are excellent. There’s also free wifi in the bar and onsite facilities for doing laundry (by hand) and you can use their P.O box address for deliveries (address on contacts page).

The boatyard beneath the club has a workshop with electricity where you can carry out maintenance tasks, and there’s a team of guys who can help with your bigger projects. The boatyard also has some moorings available which you may be able to rent, Asani will be able to advise once you arrive. There’s a pulley system that works as a secure dinghy dock.

All of the staff here are absolute diamonds. From the commodore to the committee members to the bar staff, they all go out of their way to help out yachties, show them the sights and make sure they have an unforgettable time in Tanga. The pièce de résistance, however, is the beer at 2,500 Tsh per large 500 ml bottle (just over $1 USD), and yes, takeaways are available.

Types of membership, costs and application

The yacht club is inexpensive to join and loves to welcome new members.

Temporary membership

A temporary membership costs 60,000 Tsh / $25 USD per month and requires a 100,000 Tsh / $43 USD deposit which naturally you get back at the end. You pay the deposit directly into the bank which is a painless process.

There’s a form to fill in which asks for your address and passport numbers and requires signatures from two members of the committee which is also easy to arrange. Just ask Max, the office manager, for a form. As a temporary member you receive a book with a unique bar number that you top up with cash (either at the bank or by card at the bar) and then all of your drinks come off from there. When you run low on funds you just top up again.

Daily Membership

If you are only staying for a short period you’ll want to pay the weekly fee of 40,000 Tsh / $17 USD (which is still inexpensive for what you get) and buy your drinks with coupons.

Opening hours of bar and restaurant

Opening hours are daily from 1100 (ish) to 1430 (ish) and then again from 1730 to 2200 (ish) except on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when it’s open all day.

The delicious on-site restaurant has the same opening hours.

The restaurant

It’s worth crossing the Indian Ocean just for Cecelia's fish and chips. There’s no tiny portion of something soggy here. It’s a crispy, lemony bounty piled high on the plate that makes your mouth start watering the moment you see it coming from the kitchen.

But let’s not be unfair to the other dishes, because they are awesome too. Like the fish paka - fresh fish in a coconut sauce - which you can have with rice, or chips or a huge mound of mash (FYI the Tanzanian potato is a marvel, so that mash is something else), or the beef pita pocket; a lighter lunchtime bite that’s packed with flavour, or the KFC chicken (yup, they cater for everyone here).

Bottom line, there is a huge selection of local and international dishes available and likewise with the bar, takeaways are available. Prices are extremely reasonable.

Opening hours are Wednesday and Thursday from Noon (ish) to 1430 (ish) and then again from 1730 to 2200 (ish). On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays the restaurant is open all day.