Update
The sounding of a bell will signal last drinks at St George Sailing Club before the dilapidated old building, jetties and decks are demolished and replaced with modern facilities.
The club will close on August 20 and is due to reopen by the end of 2020, with a focus on good food and promoting junior sailing.
A message to club members says, "After more than 55 years, the last beer will be poured on Tuesday, the 20th August 2019, with nibblies served from 6pm and a simple ring of the bell signifying last drinks".
"The president, board of directors and management have worked tirelessly in the last few years to get us to the stage of securing the club's future and adding to its 122-year history."
For a sample of what will come with the redeveloped club, members are invited to visit the Manly 16ft Skiff Club, with which St George Sailing Club amalgamated in 2010.
Earlier story - July 16, 2019
St George Sailing Club intends to focus on dining in a friendly atmosphere and promoting junior sailing when it reopens late next year after a knockdown-rebuild.
Bayside Planning Panel approved the $12 million redevelopment of the Sans Souci club, saying the plans were "of high quality".
The old building, jetties and decks will be demolished by the end of the year, and replaced by a single storey club with wraparound decks, jetty and pontoon.
The clubhouse will be entered via a boat rigging deck next to boatsheds.
Club manager John Tsambouniaris said the new-look club would focus on dining in a friendly atmosphere and promoting junior sailing.
The building would have an abundance of natural light, multiple alfresco areas, function rooms, diverse dining for 150, bars, conference room, uninterrupted views of the bay and state of the art sailing amenities, he said.
Mr Tsambouniaris said the project would be modelled on the Manly 16ft Skiff Club, with which St George Sailing Club amalgamated in 2010.
"In 2015, Manly skiffs underwent an extensive renovation that saw them catapult in all areas of trading, especially in dining, making them a destination hot spot," he said.
Mr Tsambouniaris said award-winning architect Jon Jacka and builders Join Constructions were chosen "because we wanted to build something different to other clubs".
Mr Jacka said the club occupied an "amazing position", and it was an exciting project to design.
"It's going to change this area in a big way, I think," he said.
"The boatsheds are at the entrance and you will walk past them on a rigging deck where the action is, especially on weekends, to a clubhouse over the water," he said.
"A lot of the work we have done on the clubhouse is to make it feel like it's outside when you are inside.
"There are sliding doors around the building, which all open up, and the structure has vaulted ceilings, making it very light, and part of the roof will open up.
"One of the critical things is the rigging deck ties the club and sandy areas of the beach together. At present, they are blocked by the building.
"The clubhouse is smaller than the existing building in terms of floor areas, which is partly because of budget but also because of sea level rise, which meant we had to raise the deck of the whole building roughly one and a half metres above where it is now.
"One of the benefits is you have the boathouse and the club at the same level."
The structure will be built mainly from timber, and some of the hardwood in the existing building, which is up to 60 years old, will be repurposed.
Memorabilia from the club, which was founded in 1897, will be displayed in a mini-museum.
