Story that ran in the Community Advertiser - May 2009

Boost for sailing as new clubhouse opens

 

Over the past few months it has been interesting to see the new Helensburgh Sailing Club clubhouse taking shape. This month it finally comes into use. Nick Cowie reports on the successful completion of a project that at one time looked like floundering.

 

Helensburgh Sailing Club was formed in 1951 to encourage amateur boat sailing in the waters around Helensburgh. Its active membership, drawn from within a fifty-mile radius of Helensburgh, includes a thriving Junior Sail Training Group and a well-established Challenger (Disabled) Fleet. And of course it is a RYA-approved training establishment.

 

It reared an Olympic Gold Medallist in Mike MacIntyre, round-the-world yachtswoman Emma Richards, current Olympic team manager Stephen Park, and a number of European, British and Scottish Champion sailors.

 

However, despite the enthusiasm of the club members and their talent, nothing could disguise the fact that the old flat-roofed timber clubhouse, augmented by two Portakabins, gave the false impression that this was a club down on its luck and fading fast.

 

That was apparent as long ago as November 1995, when a sub-committee appointed by the club recommended the raising of the dinghy park to a safe level to avoid flooding, and the building of a larger modern clubhouse to meet anticipated future needs.

 

Unfortunately, the Lottery funding application was declined and the project subsequently floundered.

 

However, four years ago the committee seized the initiative and resurrected a trimmed-down project which has resulted in the new, very attractive 450 square metre timber-clad building. Club members raised £150,000 towards the cost and successfully put a business case to the Clydesdale Bank to raise another £350,000.

 

The overall objective is to increase the number of people who have access to sailing as a hobby, train them properly and safely, and thereby increase the membership of the club.

 

There was a need to cater for Junior and Adult Sail Training, Dinghy and Keel Boat Racing, Cruising Members, Sailing for the Disabled, Club Meetings and Social Functions.

 

The Club's Commodore, Alan Jeffreys, says: "This led to two distinct areas. The wet area includes changing rooms, toilets and showers, including disabled facilities. The dry area takes in a club lounge plus a dining room with a kitchen for preparation and serving of food.

 

"We are delighted with the new clubhouse, and we hope that the new facilities plus our very reasonable fees for mooring and membership will not only bring in new members, but encourage use by other organisations for meetings and functions, bring in additional school groups, and attract an increased number of pupils into formal sail training via the RYA Scheme."