Lazy Sailing as Deben Push the Boat Out 

Deben YC planned a day of ‘Lazy Sailing’ – an unstructured opportunity to mess about in boats as part of Push the Boat Out.

Deben Yacht Club in Woodbridge opened its doors and invited people to come along and have a go at sailing as part of RYA Push the Boat Out weekend (17-18 May 2014).   

The event, part of National Watersports Month, saw 260 open days and sailing taster sessions take place across the country, drawing some 24000 visitors and inspiring over 17,000 people of all ages and abilities to take to the water. 

The day was timed perfectly to coincide with glorious spring weather bathing the southern parts of the country.  Temperatures in East Anglia were well over 200C, with a perfect southerly breeze.  The club had planned a day of ‘Lazy Sailing’ – an unstructured opportunity for members to mess about in boats.  

John Adams of the club said: “A challenge had been issued to members to try to break the record for the number of boats / sailors on the water – a total of 69 sailors made it out onto the Deben to enjoy the champagne sailing conditions.   

“The day also saw the inaugural ‘Round the Island in a reasonably-priced Topper’ challenge, a chance to set the best time from the club line, around the island off Kyson Point, and passing through Loder’s Cut.  The best time of the day was set by the current Commodore, John Adams, at 19m23s…. a marker laid down for others to try to beat.”   

Several new members joined on the day, hoping to make the most of further ‘Lazy Sailing’ days through the year, as well as club racing, and Regatta Week in August. New members are always welcome for both dinghies and yachts – visit www.debenyachtclub.co.uk    

The club will be holding a further “Try Sailing Day” on 13 July which is open to the public, so if you’ve ever thought about having a go at sailing then this is your chance.   

RYA Sport Development Manager, Duncan Truswell said: “We’re grateful to the many clubs, centres and volunteers who supported Push the Boat Out. This year 140% more clubs took part and as a result we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people attending the events and those experiencing sailing.   

“Push the Boat Out is all about people connecting with their local sailing club or provider and discovering how easy it is to get involved in the sport. So far we know that clubs gained more than 1,000 personal memberships and over 500 families became members of the clubs they visited. For our clubs and the sport this is a huge success.  We’re now analysing the great feedback we received from the clubs and using it to inform the planning of next year’s event in order to deliver a bigger and better opportunity for clubs to promote themselves in 2015.”