Walvis Bay - Docking
Antoinette, the Walvis Bay Yacht Club manager asks that anyone planning to visit Walvis Bay should email the Yacht Club before setting sail at: wbyc@iway.na
Anchoring and Mooring:
All boats will be at anchor at spaces allocated to visiting boats. The anchorage area is just past the southern end of the commercial harbor. Space is quite restricted due to dredging, although the holding is good.
There is also minimum three meters depth between Pelican Point and the Yacht Club, so it is not necessary to use the main shipping channel. It is highly suggested NOT to enter the harbour area during the night, but to anchor inside Pelican Point until the morning.
Mornings tend to be calmer, with the wind picking up by the afternoon so visitors are advised to get a slip inside the jetty as strong afternoon winds can damage boats tied to the outside. The afternoon winds can also create swell in the anchorage and harbor.
The Pelicans and Seals here are king!
Moorings:
There are limited swing moorings available. Spaces are allocated on a first-come first serve basis as only the northern side is available. Most mooring balls are privately owned. The Yacht Club has a swing mooring available at a cost of NAD$150 per day.
The Marina sheltered mooring is available for visiting yachts at a cost of NAD$230 for a monohull and NAD$460 per day for a catamaran. Potable water is available at a cost of 15cents per litre. It is about a 10 – 20 minute walk from there to the yacht club.
Dinghy Docks:
The WBYC has a dock that can only be reached by dinghy. There is also a commercial tourist dock which can be used.
Ashore:
Almost everything is available for visiting yachts in Walvis Bay. Repairs are easy to do as there are good mechanics and machine shops with German quality.
It is a long walk to the town centre from the yacht club, however, the town is safe.
Security:
Walvis Bay is fairly safe on and off the water. While incidents of theft are few and far between, be vigilant as crimes are mostly crimes of opportunity. The Yacht Club advise not to leave valuables in the dinghy at the dinghy dock, as there is not 24 security to look after your assets.
Always be vigilant when using your credit card/pin number, as cloning does happen in Namibia.
See this report from cruisers who visited in December 2024.
From Sea Fog to Magical Desert Landscapes
Last updated: January 2025
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Related to following destinations: Namibia, Walvis Bay
Port Navigation
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May 2023 update:
The Yacht Club has a pontoon (NAD 200 per day, which includes the fee for the Yacht Club). No water and electricity. It’s a bit of a walk (10 min) to the yacht club from there. The YC Manager Antoinette was most helpful. Be sure to email her before you set sail for WB (wbyc@iway.na). She’ll take you to the authorities by car.
The town itself is not very inspiring but has everything you need (albeit a bit of a walk away – 3.5km to the supermarket). It’s difficult to hire a 4WD car in Walvis Bay. We managed all roads with a 2WD through Superior Car Rental. Friendly and easy-going service. They have automatic transmission cars and will meet you at the Yacht Club. Contact Jalene: +264 81 4655992.
Walvis Bay is large commercial port, but has an anchorage with yacht club aside from the main commercial docks. The anchorage has many mooring balls which seem to be mainly privately owned, but believe the yacht club may maintain a few. The anchorage is exposed to wind and we had a consistent 20-25 kts of wind most days which would come up towards mid day. Mornings were nice and still so best to head to shore earlier. The small waterfront consists of several restaurants and casual cafes and food was decent.
The local yacht club is the feature with helpful staff and popular restaurant. Checking in requires a taxi ride to port and was fairly straight forward. Stores are a taxi ride away and charged about 30 NAD (2.50 USD) per person. There is modern mall called Dunes Mall that has many major brands from South Africa. Cell reception was really poor at the anchorage and WiFi was equally poor at the yacht club.
Fuel and water can be arranged through Steven – Namib Marine Services. A trip to Swakopmund is a must. Local seals are friendly and have been trained to board the charter boats to entertain patrons so expect a visit. Beautiful flamingos and enormous pelicans can be found along the anchorage. Overall we felt safe, but felt little need to remain in Walvis longer than needed.
Updates from Walvis Bay Yacht Club:
Our Mooring Fee is N$150-00 per day.
Yacht Club Fee is N$300-00 per week (which includes fresh Water, Showers, Wifi, Electricity).
Daily Shuttle to Swakopmund (reliable & safe) N$170-00 per person return. Visitors will be collected from the Yacht Club and taken to Swakopmund & will be collected when they are ready to return to Walvis Bay. (EC – Execu-Cab) +264 81 267 3392 or + 264 81 205 9934.
Bulk Fuel & Water can be delivered to your boat.
Our Restaurant offers great food & service.
We visited Walvis Bay earlier this year and consider it a dangerous harbor for the following reasons. It is very shallow and open north and from time to time strong northeasterly winds send a big swell into the harbor which whilst we have there destroyed a pier, damaged restaurants and made the surf landing at the yacht club impossible. There is usually a certain amount of surf. Dredging has reduced the area available for anchoring considerably.
We anchored well outside the mooring field and after checking the holding for several days in all conditions we traveled inland for a few days. However, the mooring of a yacht belonging to a club member was moved into our anchor radius whilst we were away and a collision resulted causing considerable damage. No responsibility was accepted. If you would like more information please email me at roger@wapitiyacht.com.
Meanwhile, we would recommend that boats are never left unattended, which is also what the harbor master recommends.