Watersports · Venues & Clubs

Watersports Venues and Clubs in Nigeria

Where to paddle, sail, surf and ride the waves.

Photo: Dotun55, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Checked 30 September 2026

Best places

Where to enjoy watersports in Nigeria
Place	What to do	Notes
Lagos Lagoon and Five Cowries Creek	Powerboats, jet ski, wakeboarding, regattas	Venue of the E1 Lagos GP and the Lagos Boat Regatta
Lagos Harbour, Magazine Point	Sailing	Lagos Yacht Club races most Saturdays
Tarkwa Bay and Lighthouse Beach	Surfing, swimming	Reached by boat from Lagos; best waves in the dry season
Badagry	Sailing, boating, heritage regattas	Finish of the overnight Badagry Race
Epe, Ilaje and Arogbo	Canoeing	Home communities of Nigeria’s Olympic paddlers
Jabi Lake, Abuja	Canoe sprint, kayak, rowing	1,000 m canoe lane opened in 2018
Oguta Lake, Imo State	Boating, leisure	One of Nigeria’s largest natural lakes
Kainji Lake, Niger State	Boating, fishing	Man-made lake behind the Kainji Dam

Clubs

Lagos Yacht Club, Magazine Point, Onikan, Lagos Island. Founded 1932. Classes: Hobie 16, Lightning, Tarpon and Laser. Flagship event: the overnight Badagry Race, about 140 km.
Lagos Motor Boat Club, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. Founded 1950. A members’ club for boat owners on the lagoon.
Navy Sailing Club, Ojo, Lagos.
Jabi Boat Club, Abuja, home of the national canoe lane.
Surf schools at Tarkwa Bay: Nigeria’s first surf school was founded there in 2015.

Stay safe on the water

Always wear a life jacket on Nigerian waterways; it is the law on Lagos ferries and boats. The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) run safety campaigns, especially in the “ember months” from September to December, and in 2025 the Federal Government donated 3,500 life jackets to LASWA.