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Round Pond was completed in its present form around 1730 as part of Kensington Palace Gardens for Queen Caroline, the wife of George II. The gardens were opened to the general public around 1830 and the Round Pond became well known for the sailing of model yachts.

Model Yachting in the Royal Parks reaches back to 1827 at which time boats were sailing on the reservoir in Green Park. In 1834 the pond was altered and surrounded by railings and the model yachtsman moved to the Serpentine in Hyde Park. In 1838 the Serpentine Sailing Society and in 1845 the first London Model Yacht Club was established.

This club ceased to exist in the 1850s as members took to sailing larger boats on the Thames. Then in 1872 the Serpentine Model Yacht Club was formed. The membership was limited to 20 because of the size of its boathouse. Following intercession by The Prince of Wales a larger boathouse was soon built with frontage directly on to the Serpentine.

Then in 1876 the Model Yacht Sailing Association (MYSA) was formed, sailing on the Round Pond, and is the oldest existing model sailing club in the British Isles. The London Model Yacht Club (LMYC) was established in 1884 also sailing on the Round Pond. One more club shared this sailing water in 1884, which was the George. Originally there was no boathouse and meetings of the club were held in a room over some nearby Turkish Baths.

In 1887 LMYC was able to get two boathouses built in Kensington Gardens fronting on to Perks Field, one of which was leased to MYSA.

The two clubs merged in 1972 and they are now generally known as MYSA Kensington. During the early 1900's many of the leading designs and innovations came from members of this club -- Daniels, Braine, Tatchell, Admiral Turner, and Littlejohn amongst others. When the pond was drained in 1923 the found the remains of 150 yachts embedded in the silt.

Sadly, in 1987 the two old clubhouses were demolished and the MYSA moved to a much smaller boathouse. Membership declined significantly, but in the last 10 years the advent of radio sailing has caused the membership to grow back to about 40 individuals.

The club has stood the test of time and celebrated its 125 years jubilee in 2001.