Push the Boat Out day at Whitefriars Sailing Club
by Alistair Baird 18 May 2017 01:26 PDT
14 May 2017
Push the Boat Out day at Whitefriars Sailing Club © Alistair Baird
If you need a long range forecast then check to see when Whitefriars Sailing Club is running its Push the Boat Day as they've had unfailingly good weather over the last few years and Sunday 14th May was no exception.
For a change to recent weeks, the wind came unglued from north and even kept to a steady breeze all day: enough to keep the visitors entertained but with no risk of them taking a swim!
The club prides itself on its friendly welcome and for putting family at the centre of its sailing and racing itinerary. There's no secret formula to this. When you see the grins on children's faces, who have never been in a dinghy before, never mind being able to steer it, under the watchful eyes of an experienced club sailor, it's impossible not to smile as well!
There were just short of a hundred visitors on the day, made up of 25 families, as well as individuals keen to revisit a sport that perhaps they'd tried at school many years before? The RYA Training Centre flag fluttered happily from the start hut, burgers were served to a hungry team of club volunteers and visitors, and we even had a visit from our RYA Regional Development officer, Tony Wood, though it's not certain if he was on official business or knew the food is worth the journey to Whitefriars SC.
If you put the effort into Open Days, the reward assures the club of new memberships, but more importantly fresh ideas and enthusiasm as well as new friends.