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Welcome to Blakeney Sailing Club
No matter the weather you will always find a warm welcome at the dinghy park at Blakeney. Do come along and say hello.
We sail in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The harbour is tidal but protected by a spit of land, which leads to Blakeney Point. It is an ideal location for sailing or the added challenge of racing. We also welcome kayaks/canoes and paddle boards.
Are you a seasoned sailor or you are just tempted to have a go? Have you got a boat or would you like help deciding which would most suit your needs? The club has members who have sailed at Blakeney for forty years and some who have only just started.
There is a comprehensive programme of events for members from March to October. In addition, during July/August we have we have mid-week holiday sailing, Fun Week and the annual regatta with a traditional bank start, which are open to non-members.
We do not have a Club House, but there is a dinghy park in which dinghies and kayaks/canoes can be stored and the club hut which is the meeting point for all events. We have two Patrol Boats for safety cover and a Committee Boat anchored in the race area.
The Club is run a committee which are all volunteers, and all members are expected to help out with Race Officer/Patrol Boat duties.
We also hold a number of social events throughout the year including BBQs, Prizegivings, winter pub series etc.
Enjoy browsing this site and our Facebook and Instagram pages.
News, Upcoming Events, & Updates
10th September 2025![]()
Rear Commodore Séan Moore writes:![]()
Floundering, floundering, FLOUNDERING! How very dare he?![]()
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Not so much a collision more of a Blakeney kiss I would say as Amax and the patrol boat came together at the end of a long and tricky beat up the cut against a roaring ebb tide. Patrol boat helm, David R, being a Norfolk boy, may not know that, “You Pillock!” is a term of endearment in Leicester where I come from.![]()
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I was held responsible as I was seen to be Floundering rather than masterfully dealing with the the vagaries of swirling lifts and headers coupled with the tide. All a matter of perception I guess.![]()
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But let’s start at the beginning. Eight boats and eleven sailors assembled on the dinghy park in sunshine and a gentle south easterly breeze. The predicted 9.3 metre tide would result in a flooded car park so it was very kind of Patsy to offer parking in Back Lane.![]()
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The decision was made to launch and congregate off the Watch House before sailing to the Cley sluice gates. We were pleased to welcome Julian and Julia in their Wanderer and Bob in his Topper, all of whom we have not seen on Flotilla previously, and who showed themselves to be more than competent sailors. Jeremy, sailing solo, along with Lucy and David completed the Wanderer fleet. These do seem to be ideal Blakeney boats.![]()
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Even Joe abandoned Crab boat Unity in favour of his trusty Laser while John in (or is it on?) his Dart catamaran completed the fleet.![]()
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As we made our way along the western end of the Cley channel the wind increased and swung to the east making progress more difficult. Such was the height of the tide that many of the usual landmarks were submerged making navigation rather difficult as I became increasingly disoriented. Rather than admit this I announced plan B which was to head back to Rats Head (or did we decide to call it Blakeney Heights now) and take refreshment there.![]()
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Landing on a lee shore is pretty easy but departing from it something more of a challenge. Unfazed the fleet arrived and refreshments were consumed.![]()
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The challenge ahead was hardly mentioned and a dignified departure was achieved with excellent help from David and David in the patrol boat.![]()
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Good progress was made towards the mouth of the cut and that is where the real fun began. John has reported forty tacks recorded on his GPS device (see the two photos) to make it back to the slipway. Well done him and Bob who were, to the best of my knowledge, the only two boats to make it back unaided.![]()
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We were nearly there when the aforementioned incident took place which, combined with a dropping breeze and increasing outward tidal flow, resulted in a lively conversation between my darling crew and I and the inevitable acceptance of a tow home.![]()
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Once ashore we were regaled by Bob on his introduction to sailing. As an eleven year old newspaper delivery boy one customer invited him to go sailing at Blakeney. They set off in the gentleman’s Albacore. During the sail Bob was told that he had been recruited as the gentleman’s wife had, no doubt following a lively conversation between them, leapt out of the boat near Morston and swam back to Blakeney!![]()
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Once Bob had departed Trish told me I was, “On notice!”![]()
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Thanks Bob!![]()
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All in all a brilliant morning in excellent company. Thanks to everyone.![]()
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Our next outing is scheduled for Wednesday the 24th.
10th September 2025![]()
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The club set sail in two cohorts, the flotilla sailors and the racers. With winds gusting 12-22mph from SE and a significant high tide at 9.3 (over the road), it was choppy water but GREAT fun!![]()
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Your photographer apologises for forgetting to charge the club camera - no wonder it would not turn on 🙁![]()
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A report from the flotilla sailors may follow but in the meantime here is the result of the race today.![]()
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Seafly Open this weekend, looking forward to seeing in Seafly 704, John Claridge as helm, boat builder of the Seaflys at Lymington, and Pete Saunders sail maker in Seafly 704.![]()
Other visitors include, I think Robert Odling in perhaps 198. No doubt we will be frequently local hostelries
6th September 2025![]()
Invitation Race from Stiffkey Cockle Club![]()
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Congratulations to Terry Cottle in Nonsuch, a fabulous evening. We all had a wonderful time, brilliant sailing, lots of wind, lovely crews / helms and a great BBQ afterwards. It couldn't have been better!![]()
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Looking forwards to a repeat in 2026 😀
7th September 2025![]()
SUNDAY RACING CANCELLED![]()
Dear Racers, we have decided in view of running it a bit close with sun down on Sunday night and wind forecasts still showing F4 gusting F6 for the evening that we should cancel racing this Sunday. Duty persons and PB crews please note.![]()
Marcus and Andrew
27th August 2025![]()
Séan writes:![]()
Days don’t get much better than this!![]()
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A civilised start time, lovely sunshine and a perfect SW sailing breeze greeted the largest Flotilla fleet of the year so far. Ten boats and fourteen sailors.![]()
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It was decided to make Stiffkey Freshes our destination as we had not been there this season. Fortunately Sue said she knew the route so, having assembled the fleet at the end of the cut, we set off on a close reach towards the pit. We experienced some decent gusts as we progressed but all the teams appeared equal to the challenge. It was good to see Hugh on his maiden Blakeney outing in his Cormorant dinghy which made remarkably good progress under its single sail. Will was with us for the second time in his restored Mirror and made a good job of sailing it single handed.![]()
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On arriving at the Freshes I entered the water and immediately fell over, a tribute I thought to Julius Caesar, who famously said, having suffered the same humbling experience when arriving in Britain, “I came, I saw, I ate ginger bread tray bake!” or words to that effect.![]()
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The sun drenched view of the point from Stiffkey was a delight as was the return sail to Blakeney followed by a challenging beat up the cut. Many thanks to the patrol boat crews who rendered assistance to those in need.![]()
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Sadly one of our number suffered damage to the transom of their boat whilst coming ashore. Having made many mistakes myself over the years, I now adopt the following procedure on approaching land.![]()
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I furl the jib as this improves visibility and slows the boat. I uncleat the rudder and half raise the centre board in anticipation of grounding. It is hard to overstate the value of a slow approach. I hope that is helpful.![]()
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Our next event is on Wednesday the 10th September.
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