Elton Sailing Club 'Push The Boat Out' weekend
by Mike Seger 21 May 2014 22:00 AEST
17-18 May 2014
Elton Sailing Club situated in Bury, Lancashire certainly saw the plan come together on Saturday 17th May as their 'Push The Boat Out' weekend got under way bathed in sunshine and packed with visitors.
Elton's three Senior Instructors, six Dinghy Instructors, five newly qualified Assistant Instructors and six Level 2 Race Coaches were all on hand to ensure the expectant visitors had a Taster Day to remember.
Elton's gates are open at 8am every Saturday to accommodate the Open Water / Triathlon Swimmers and for this week, a Topper Association Training Day was also taking place,
As well as this early activity a rare sighting of a White Winged Black Tern at Elton Res had been posted on the various Bird Watching Websites which resulted in a rush of eager bird watchers arriving en mass to make the area even busier.
Elton S C has adopted a policy of offering 'Tasters Sessions' to anyone at anytime throughout the year but the focus on this weekend aided by the RYA, Local Press and by Members efforts proved to be rewarding in every sense with a good uptake in membership and promises of return visits.
The "Tasters" started at 1pm and by 1.15pm all of our Club Training Boats were out on the water in an ideal F2 breeze and glorious sunshine.
Our OnBoard sessions began last week and the returning Juniors spent the full afternoon afloat using our fleet of Optomist Dinghies along with our existing Juniors afloat in our fleet of RS Feva's.
Thanks to Adam McGovern,the RYA North West Regional Development Officer, we had the use of the RYA.'s "Go Sailing" gazebo which we set up on the lawn to give out the various "goodies" and literature associated with Push Your Boat Out Initiative.
Sunday was Club Racing as usual and several of the interested parties from Saturday came back to see us in action and to take part in the 'apres sail' activities that form an integral part of who we are at Elton Sailing Club.
The full outcome of the weekend, in terms of taking up Sailing as a sport, will not be know for a few weeks yet as some people go away to think about things or complete their holidays before making a decision but the signs are positive and the seed has been planted.
Would we do it again? Yes!
Next Event: Laser Open (North West Travellers) on Saturday 14th June, briefing 10.30, £10 entry.