2024 Season Preview

Members of the St Edmundsbury Sailing & Canoeing Association are looking forward to the start of the Club’s 2024 season, which commences at Lackford Lake, 5 miles NW of Bury St Edmunds, on Friday 29th March.

A full programme of events is scheduled with on-the-water activities taking place on most days until the beginning of November.  Dinghy racing is held on every Sunday morning.  Social sailing and kayaking can take place at any time, as long as two adult Members are on site using the 'buddy' system.

The highlight of the season’s programme will be the Club’s ‘11th Antigua Sailing Day Regatta’, which will be held on Sunday 16th June.  This fun event celebrates ‘Antigua Sailing Week’ and is once again being generously supported by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.

The Club marked its 40th Anniversary in 2020 and continues to flourish.  Membership numbers have increased steadily in the past couple of years, as many more people have been looking to participate in local, healthy, outdoor activities.

To meet this demand, the Club has expanded its training and hire fleet of sailing dinghies and kayaks to 40 craft, while also introducing stand-up paddleboards (SUPs).  It is a great feature of the Club that you do not need your own equipment to be able to sail or paddle.

Training capacity has also been boosted for Members, with a growing team of RYA qualified volunteer instructors. An extensive programme of Adult and Youth ‘Start to Sail’ and more advanced dinghy courses are now being scheduled to be run throughout the season.

The Club’s disabled sailing section, WASH Sailability, has also been flourishing with a significant increase in participants and volunteer supporters. WASH sailing sessions are now being held on three days a week – Tuesdays; Thursday mornings and on most Saturdays. The group caters for individuals with a variety of special needs, as well as people with a wide range of physical disabilities. 

Canoeing and kayaking opportunities have also grown dramatically, with weekly training sessions being held on the Lake and an active group of paddlers, who have been exploring the many rivers and waterways throughout East Anglia – even throughout the winter!

Increased income and funding have also enabled the Club to improve its onshore facilities with the addition of a new picnic area, new clubhouse furniture and storage facilities.

The Club’s Group Members are the Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Mildenhall Sea Cadets; Young People Afloat (a sailing youth club); Suffolk Scouts; RAF Honington; Norfolk and Suffolk Air Cadets; Finborough School and Priory School and they are all planning a full programme of-on-the water activities.

Anyone who might be interested in joining the Club is invited to look at the Club website www.westsuffolksailing.org.uk or contact the Club secretary on sesca.admin@gmail.com if they have any questions or require further information.