Abbey Sailing Club
Established 1933
Thinking of joining?
We welcome new members whether you can sail or not. We have club boats
for you to use and will help you pick up the basics and get out on the
water, come along and have a chat.
Dinghy sailing is not difficult to master, at least at a basic level.
If you want to sail by yourself there are many single handed dinghies
around, one of the most popular at Abbey is the Laser, which is simple
to sail and fairly cheap to buy second-hand, a good example can be had
for just a few hundred pounds and often there are boats for sale at the
club.
If you’re looking for a more family orientated dinghy then
there are lots of two handed dinghy classes, some which can comfortably
accommodate four adults. At Abbey both the Enterprise and Wayfarer are
popular and both sail well on the river. The Enterprise is smaller and
lighter to handle and can be sailed with a crew, or even single handed.
The Wayfarer is larger, but is straight forward to handle and goes well
on the river. There are many other dinghy classes available and lots of
other types of boats at the Club, it’s all a matter of what
you want to do and what you prefer.
Sailing on the river is both pleasant and safe, with no tide to worry
about, a gentle stream and the safety of the bank not far away, it is a
good place to learn, that said, the winds can be tricky and a good deal
of skill is needed to sail fast and well.
Basic boat handling can be picked up with just a few hours on the water
and someone is always around to help you rig the boat and handle it in
the dinghy park. Once you feel confident you’re welcome to
use the club boats for FREE, provided you have taken out either a
temporary or annual membership. We have a range of boats for members to
use, both single-hander and larger boats that can be sailed with a crew.
On Sundays we normally hold a morning and afternoon handicap race in
which many members participate. It’s all for fun and to help
develop sailing skills, so it’s not taken 'too' seriously. We
also have an occasional inter-club match with other local clubs, either
on the river at Abingdon or at their home water, again it’s
all fun and not too serious, we like to enjoy our sailing. Why not pop
along and have a chat about sailing at Abbey.
... If you're completely new to sailing, you can read about what's
involved in the Basic
Techniques by clicking HERE
Last up-dated 9 January 2011