On May 14th 2018, Abersoch Sailing Club was formed and the current committee was elected via a Skype call.
That makes today officially Abersoch Sailing Club’s 1st Birthday!
The club has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a Facebook page set up to gauge interest in forming a dinghy sailing club, run by and for dinghy sailors in Abersoch.
From the official formation of the club, to gaining RYA Affiliation, to our first race on 28th July 2018, won by Jonathan Waddington in his Mirror (who actually started the race crossing the line the wrong way!) to our first every prize giving and AGM at the end of August and gaining 50+ members, ASC has achieved a remarkable amount in such a short space of time.
The racing has been close, competitive and fun for those competing and spectacular to watch for all those on shore. Our short start lines have led to competitive starts and our courses which are set daily provide excellent high-quality racing. Our use of average lap times has also led to racing becoming more accessible for beginners whilst allowing more seasoned racers to get their daily fix. We have also released out 2019 Sailing Programme which can be found on the club website.
We have also conducted popular Junior Race Training sessions on Monday mornings with the aim of supporting and improving the skills of our junior members. We held sessions dedicated to starts, boat handling and boat speed and saw real improvement in all those who took part which resulted in some of our junior members placing well and winning prizes at the end of season prize giving – signs of real encouragement for all. The dates for this year’s sessions can also be found in the 2019 Sailing Programme.
The club has also developed a thriving social scene and members have enjoyed a variety of socials from beach curry nights to a village bar crawl as well as club meetups in the Vaynol over the holidays. We are also pleased to introduce a social membership for 2019 for members who would like to support the club off the water.
Looking forward to 2019, we are delighted to host Lancaster University Sailing Club for a weekend of sailing and racing in late June as well as the introduction of our Fun Race, which will be held Bank Holiday Monday at the end of August which is open to members and non-members alike. Furthermore, there is plenty of sailing to be done and prizes to be handed out!
As we move forward, we strive to keep the club’s ethos at the centre of everything we do – provide high-quality dinghy sailing for an affordable price.
We look forward to seeing you all out on the water, here is to another fantastic summer of sailing!
The ASC Committee.