Sailing At Island Yacht Club

The Island Yacht Club sailing committee welcome you to the sailing section.

The Island Yacht Club Cruiser Sailing fraternity consists of many keen sailors who participate in cruising and racing within the clubs extensive and exciting waters.

Within the club you will find a wealth of knowledge and support on hand. Our sailing members share a common interest and with that always offer a warm friendship to any new sailing member regardless of their sailing experience.

From the clubs moorings, accessible by most from 2 to 1.5 hours either side of HW, you have easy reach of the open mouth of the Thames Estuary. The Island Yacht Clubs sailing area delivers a wide range of sailing conditions from shallow water navigation to open water cruising. For the weekend sailors, the club has a wealth of creeks and rivers which intertwine between the coastal marshes in which to explore, alternatively within easy reach are many war time historic landmarks or local harbours and marinas to visit.

Accessible to all members are the clubs 'Cruise in company' events. Organised by members; the vigorous agenda of cruses are of particular advantage for less experienced skippers to help them gain confidence with the aid and support of fellow members in close proximity. Typically, most cruises will also set aside time for socialising at the end of a days sailing.

The Island Yacht Club organises Club Cruises so that members can enjoy the extra reassurance of cruising in company. This can give skippers the chance to explore further afield than they would normally on their own. We always have a good time on our cruises, the aim is normally to keep the days sailing to around 6 hours so as to make the passage easier for lightly crewed boats and for families with children.

In recent years, apart from the traditional Commodores cruises and local weekend cruises, we have organised fortnight cruises during the school holidays. One was to the South Coast, we got as far as Brighton, and visited Ramsgate, Dover, Eastbourne, and Rye. (as a result of strong head winds we curtailed our plan to cruise to the IOW, however some members went by train and ferry to see family and watch the Round the IOW Race) Another cruise was to the East Coast and this was supported by 5 boats, 3 of them with young members on board.

The 2024 Sailing Programme

Last updated 3:54pm on 8 April 2024