Leisure Sailing
Of the Club’s 1,200 members we see less than 100 racing most Sundays. If you are one of the members who isn’t racing, then please read on…
Sailing committee has agreed to help ensure our members who don’t race get value-for-money from their membership, and encourage our members to get out sailing more at Grafham. Over the next two seasons we are aiming for a significant increase in the number of activities for “leisure sailors” both on and off the water.
The first stage in this process is to identify which of our members would be interested in leisure sailing events of whatever form. There will be a tick-box on the membership renewal to indicate if you’d like to be notified of such events; please provide an email address so we can contact you easily.
The second stage is to work out what this group of members want. Whilst some members simply use GWSC to store their boat and sail elsewhere, it would appear that there is a large group of members we aren’t providing for as only a handful are out sailing most weekends. We know that leisure sailors are a diverse group, sailing different types of boat, with a wide range of experience, and some simply want to sail on their own when the weather is good; rest assured we have no intention of stopping that!
During 2010 there are a number of events planned:
• “Supervised Sailing” on Wednesday evenings and Saturdays. If you want closer supervision from a rescue boat, this is for you. It doesn’t matter why – there will be a quick briefing in the wet bar before the start of each session to find out what members want from the session; whether it be some informal instruction to help develop skills, more confidence for those sailing with children, practicing capsize drills or simply getting to know other members. If you have family who want to watch, there is a possibility of launching one of the committee boats. These sessions will be free.
• Saturday 17 July: Early summer leisure sailing event. We will be encouraging everyone who’s not sailed already this season to get their boat on the water. Lack of crew will not be an excuse, as we’ll help pair you up in the bar during the day. We’ll aim to get a photographer on the water for those who want photos of their boat.
• Saturday 7 August: A day where members can invite friends and family to experience sailing at one of the finest inland locations in the UK and launch their boats at Grafham for free (although prior registration will be required so we can provide sufficient safety cover). If you’d like to advertise this event within your class association or similar please contact myself. In addition to this day, remember you are allowed to bring guests to crew your boat at any time; simply sign them in at the gate.
• Saturday 28 August (bank holiday weekend): Late summer leisure sailing event. The exact format has yet to be decided, although a GPS-treasure-hunt has been suggested. Providing there is sufficient interest, this event will be followed by an end-of-season dinner in the bar.
In the longer term we are investigating whether it is possible to get permission to land on the far shore. A night sail has been suggested, but there are clearly safety issues to overcome before we can plan in detail. However, there are a number of things we can arrange more easily if there is sufficient interest; a day-sail at another local club, a group weekend in the Lake District or a yacht charter in the Solent. During the winter, I am confident we can get good speakers for evening lectures, but would you be interested? If you are interested in anything here, have ideas what else we can provide, please get in touch.
For ALL LEISURE SAILING POSTS CLICK HERE
Contact: Chris Otley
Leisure Sailing Fleet Captain
Wayfarer 9014
