Sailing and canoeing club marks its 40th anniversary

Members of the St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Association celebrated the club’s 40th anniversary, at Lackford Lake, at the weekend, with the running of the 8th Antigua Sailing Day Regatta.

The idea to establish a sailing club, at the then recently flooded gravel pit, was originally conceived, in the late 1970’s, by the sailing section of the Greene King Sports & Social Club.

The club was officially founded in 1981 with financial assistance from Bury St Edmunds Rotary, the St Edmundsbury Yachting Association and Bury St Edmunds Council.

Since then, the club has been built up to become the flourishing watersports centre that it is today.

The club has now over 240 active members and provides the watersports facilities for the Bury St Edmunds; Newmarket and Mildenhall Sea Cadets; Suffolk Scouts; WASH disabled sailing; Young People Afloat (a sailing youth club); RAF Honnington Kayak Club and Priory and Culford Schools.

Members and the current commodore, Norman Savigar, were pleased to welcome back several of the founder members and past commodores, including Barry Service, Alan Turvey, Guy Forkes, Margaret Gardiner, Ian Ferguson and Carl Day.

The association with the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority came about, eight years ago, as a result of the club holding a fun event to coincide and celebrate Antigua Sailing Week.

Reports of the event came to the attention of the tourism authority, who were so impressed with the initiative that they came onboard as event sponsors and have been supporting the regatta ever since.

Competitors were welcomed by gusty and shifty conditions, which proved challenging and provided some entertaining viewing for the spectators onshore.

The open event was won by Sam and Margot Parrett sailing a Wanderer with Mike Steele second, in a Laser, and Jon and Nate Senior third, in another Wanderer.

The junior event was won by Bertie Parrett, in his Optimist. Bertie also came fifth in the open event.

A steel pan band provided lunch time entertainment and gave a genuine Caribbean flavour to the proceedings.

Prizes for the racing, treasure hunt and fancy dress competition were generously supplied and awarded by Cherrie Osborne, director of tourism, for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.

It is hoped that Antigua Sailing Week, which was sponsored by Greene King and the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, will be held again from April 30 to May 6, next year.