Lots on offer at Lackford Lakes as St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Association’s season begins
Preparations are in hand for the St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Association’s 2019 season which commences at the end of this month.
Based at Lackford Lake SESCA’s programme is busier than ever with on-the-water activities scheduled on nearly every day throughout the summer.
Club dinghy racing is being held on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings, while social sailing and training mainly takes place on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons.
It is a great feature of the club that it has its own fleet of dinghies and kayaks, so that you don’t need your own boat to be able to sail or paddle.
The highlights of the season will be the club’s “7thAntigua Sailing Day Regatta”, which is being held on Sunday, June 2, and the RYA “Push the Boat Out” Open Day, which is being held on Sunday, May 5.
The regatta celebrates “Antigua Sailing Week” and is being supported by the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority.
There will be a special prize for the Sea Cadets who it is hoped will be well represented.
The Open Weekend is another fun occasion and a great opportunity for members of the public to visit the club and try sailing or kayaking for free.
SESCA is an RYA recognised training centre so will again be running a number of Learn to Sail courses and a new series of monthly Sailing Support Sessions for members looking to improve their skills.
The club’s disabled sailing group, WASH Sailability, will be sailing on Thursday mornings, in addition to their usual Tuesday and Saturday morning slots, to meet the increase in demand for places.
Meanwhile, the club’s junior sailing group, Young People Afloat, which will be sailing on Wednesdays and some Monday evenings, continues to be heavily oversubscribed and has a substantial waiting list.
The club’s three Sea Cadet Units – Bury St Edmunds, Mildenhall and Newmarket – are also thriving and will each be running several sailing and gig rowing sessions per week. The cadets are looking forward to getting out in their new RS Quest and Zest dinghies and doing some more racing.
The Suffolk Scouts, who run nearly all their watersports activities at Lackford, have also expanded their programme this year and will be running multiple sessions for Cubs, Scouts and Guides from across the county. Finally, Priory School will be continuing their paddling outings on Monday evenings.
Anyone interested in dinghy sailing (pottering or racing), canoeing, kayaking or windsurfing is welcome to visit the club to see what is on offer.
Membership fees are cadet £25 pa; adult £62 pa and family £90 pa.
For further information go to www.westsuffolksailing.org.uk