For over 50 years families have flourished sailing on our beautiful lake in the Cotswolds. We have a track record in producing dinghy sailors who regularly succeed at the regional and national levels, as well as supporting our youngest (and not so young) novice sailors to get on the water and join in the fun.
We are a family-friendly, volunteer-led, sailing-focused club, with a strong racing fleet. If you align with our values and you are keen to participate in all our club offers, please consider applying for membership.
We are different from most sailing clubs in the area because we own our lake, clubhouse and the grounds that surround it. This gives us considerable freedom in offering members a range of benefits, designed to further the sport of sailing.
Get on the water at any time: Year-round access, 24hrs a day, to the lake, grounds, boat parks and clubhouse for sailing and recreational purposes. (Occasionally access may be restricted for maintenance purposes or for health and safety reasons; or in accordance with local restrictions, eg. covid). For an additional fee, our boat parks offer safe and convenient storage for your craft close to the water’s edge. Separate storage for road trailers can be arranged (for an additional fee).
Win a trophy in our extensive programme of dinghy racing and regattas: members can compete for free in our year-round programme of fleet racing. Whether a beginner or an experienced sailor, we offer a safe and competitive racing experience on a lake that can at times be very challenging to sail on. Most Sundays we offer at least two races, sometimes three, and in the summer this is complimented by our Junior race programme. The highlight of our racing year is our annual 10-day regatta, held at the end of August each year, and our prizegiving, celebrating success on and off the water. In addition, we host regular open meetings, Wednesday evening racing (summer only) and one-events such as ‘Sailor of the Year.’ There are plenty of trophies to win – including ‘Most improved’ and ‘Best Capsize’ plus our annual ‘Rose Bowl’ race (yes, it’s a rose bowl!). Please see our racing calendar for more information.
Cruise at sunset: whilst we can’t always guarantee the wind will blow, we do sometimes have the most beautiful sunsets. With three islands, it’s fun to enjoy a leisurely cruise around our lake, especially when the lake is quiet, and members can sail at any time. We even have a night sail in the regatta!
Improve your sailing with subsided sail and powerboat training: Our members benefit from free or highly subsided RYA sail and powerboat training and coaching, run at the club by the club’s volunteer RYA instructors; instructors who are trained up and supported by the club. Interested in becoming an RYA instructor? We sponsor members’ instructor training in return for members volunteering to instruct at the club. Our courses are popular and book out quickly, so keep an eye on club newsletters and sign up via the members-only area of the website.
Be part of a community: Regular email newsletters keep you in touch with what’s going on at the club. Enjoy a lovely programme of racing, sail and powerboat training and associated social events, talks, BBQs, water-slide, bonfires and our annual 10-day regatta each August. You’ll have access to a members-only area of our website to manage your membership; with electronic race registration and access to racing results; electronic sign-up for duties, training and to sign-in guests, plus one-stop-shop access to all the club’s policies. minutes of committee meetings and notices so you can get involved in how we are run. Get to know members through our member-only Facebook page, and there’s an opportunity to join our weekly volunteer maintenance crew (Thursdays at 9 am) to help keep our lake and grounds looking beautiful. There’s also tea and cake served every Sunday afternoon at the clubhouse if you just want to sunbathe and natter after a race.
Enjoy our lake: You can stroll around our lake in about 25 minutes, pause to watch the wildlife from one of our lake-side benches, or spread out a picnic rug and while away the afternoon swimming and sailing with family and friends. For a small fee, members can bring guests to the club (however, the same guest may not come more than three times in a year.) Members can swim (please use a pull-buoy), paddleboard, row, canoe or paddle at any time, provided it’s safe to do so. and racing is not disrupted. To complement our racing and training programme, members can also camp and caravan overnight at the club, provided it’s booked in advance and it’s not a ‘no camping’ night. BBQs and fire are also allowed (if off the ground) as long as the ground is not too dry.
Doing your bit to help: we are volunteer-led and run, so everyone’s expected to pitch in and do more than their bit. We expect every adult over the age of 18 to do at least one full-day duty each year, plus either one weekday maintenance duty or a weekend winter work party. The type of duty you might do depends on your aptitude and competence and is a great way of meeting other members. Duties can be on the water (for example, as Race Officer or safety boat crew) or off the water, helping in the galley or with other jobs to help the smooth running of the club.) If you are very keen, you can join the management committee or volunteer for one of our non-committee roles. The club can only operate if everyone does more than their bit to help!