Silver Wing sails for gold 

Silver Wing SC open their doors so local community can 'have a go'

Silver Wing Sailing Club in Wraysbury encouraged even more people to get out on the water this summer by holding a Sail for Gold ‘Have a Go’ day on 13 May 2012.  

Silver Wing’s ‘Have a Go’ session was part of a nationwide initiative from sailing’s governing body, the RYA, to bring the excitement of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as close to home as possible for everyone, regardless of where people live.  

Members of the public were able to visit the club, a newly recognised RYA training centre, and try sailing for free the guidance of experienced instructors.  

Philip Bergquist, Treasurer at Silver Wing, said: “Last Sunday was one of those days you dream of. We had sunshine, good wind, great support from the membership and fantastic support from the local community visiting our club.  

“We estimate that we had over 140 visitors, including young, old and many families. For most of our guests it was their first time on the water and it was great to see their enthusiasm and beaming smiles.  

“We had an area for children to be taken out by some of our junior members using our recently purchased RS Fevas. This was very popular and was complemented on another jetty where adult and family taster sessions took place. Here we used our Laser 2000 boats that we had purchased through support from Sport England.  

“Our promotional efforts this year really paid off with many visitors from the local community who either heard about the event via our poster campaign, local radio or through the press. Some visitors were lured by our recent success in becoming an RYA Training Centre and were very keen to see our facilities and hear about our training plans.   “

We now understand just how busy a summer we have in making sure all our new members get the support and training they need to really enjoy the sport of dinghy sailing.”  

To find out more information about Silver Wing visit http://www.silverwingsailingclub.co.uk/index.html    

To find out more about Sail for Gold programme visit www.rya.org.uk/sailforgold