Thorney Island Sailing Club’s Sport English Grant increases dinghy fleet for youngsters 

Thorney Island Sailing Club in Chichester Harbour has taken delivery of three new Feva dinghies thanks to a grant of £10,000 from Sport England, supported by the Royal Yachting Association.

Located in the middle of Chichester Harbour Thorney Island Sailing Club has been progressively expanding its facilities and programmes to help get more people into sailing.

“Since 2012 the club has actively engaged with the RYA Regional Development team to improve participation and promote sailing,” explains the club’s David Goodman.  “Firstly we wrote a Club Development Plan and subsequently through the award of the Sport England Small Grant were were able to buy an RS Vision dinghy and a Rigiflex Safety boat which both have been supporting an adult development programme.”

Following this success the club reviewed its plan and decided to focus on further expansion, this time in the Junior section. A second successful bid was made to Sport England and in early June the club took delivery of the three new RS Fevas.

“The Juniors are delighted to take on these boats and they have been extensively used since June,” says David. “They have particularly enjoyed using the spinnakers around the harbour.” “The new boats have allowed the club programme to be extended including running a Start Racing and Sailing with Spinnakers course for the first time.”

On the water, the club’s standard weekend session has benefited from the extra capacity – the average attendance for this event has increased since the new boats arrived.  The numbers increased to a fantastic 52 youngsters who took part in the annual Junior Week at the club.