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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
Justin Plumpton writes:![]()
I found this when helping my parents to move house. No idea of the date, but there are some familiar Blakeney names.![]()
It's a while since the club had a dinner dance!
Sam Lulham writes about Easter Series Races 3 & 4:![]()
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A blue, bright and breezy morning greeted the 11 sailors and 8 boats who made the early start on Sunday morning. Linning up by the slipway there were two Seaflys, a Solo, a Streaker, two Lasers / Ilca ( 1 radial and 1 full) a Phantom and a Mirror Dinghy. Race Officer of the day was Hugh Jones, assisted by Bridget. The first course started at the Cooke posts, heading down the cut and out into the channel where a figure of 8 was sailed – around marks 6,4, Lapwing, 7 and 8.![]()
A westerly wind of force 2 – 3 provided the envious Champagne sailing conditions and the course allowed every point of sail to be used. A fantastic reach out of the cut had boats planning up to mark 6. The fleet was led by Roger Beavis in his phantom, closely followed by Alan and Angela in Merlin. Roger chose to stay on the Watch House side, while Alan and Angela decided to tack away and head towards Morston. From this point on Merlin had clear air and sailed off to lead the fleet around the course for 3 laps, crossing the line in just over 47 minutes. A hard-fought battle in the middle of the fleet then evolved before an orderly queue was formed resulting in a great race. Unfortunately, the Mirror had to retire after spinnaker issues resulted in some major re-rigging out on course, but after that they looked to have great fun spectating and sailing in the perfect conditions.![]()
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A slightly diminished fleet started the second race, by this time the tide had turned. The course started with a beat up to 10, a run to 4, a reach to 8, then another run down to the X mark which was laid instead of sending the boats all the way down to 6. Another great figure of 8 course, giving every boat design equal advantage. This time Alan and Angela gained the lead by the windward mark and led the way. Everyone enjoyed a great run down to 4, Simon and Steve in Summer Breeze having a great time with their spinnaker. Jo Smith in the Streaker was on the tail of Andrew in his Laser, hunting him down. Roger looked to be having a great time in his Phantom but unfortunately missing the line at the start of the second lap resulted in a disqualification. ![]()
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After the race the conditions held for a run back down the Channel, and then a reach back into the cut bringing everyone promptly back to the slipway. ![]()
A sublime morning on the water for all concerned followed by a post-race de- briefing and chat with coffees and Bacon Butties at Birdy’s Bake House.![]()
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Photos to follow
Hugh Jones writes about Easter Series Race 1![]()
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Saturday provided a pleasant evening for the first race of the Easter series. A late tide gave just enough time for 1 race, starting and finishing in the cut.![]()
Seven racers were tempted by the 10-15mph wind and warmer temperatures. It was a Seafly first and second with Alan and Angela prevailing over Simon & Steve, and Andrew in his Laser just beating Jo (guest appearance in Amy's Streaker) for third place. ![]()
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Séan's intrepid Flotilla team gave the racers plenty of room in the cut and even shared their chocolate brownies in the dinghy park later.![]()
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Thanks to Bridget for being my assistant (the only time I get to tell her what to do) & Terry/Harry in the patrol boat.![]()
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Photos to follow
Séan Moore writes about the flotilla event on 12th April 2025:![]()
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Eight boats and eleven sailers congregated on the Carnser on Saturday evening for what was to be the most perfect opening event of our Flotilla series.![]()
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The sun shone and a gentle easterly breeze made for ideal conditions in that our departure along the cut was a fetch to beam reach allowing rusty helms and crews to reacquaint themselves with the intricacies of their respective duties.![]()
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All this was preceded by a fair amount of reacquainting our selves with the intricacies of rigging our dinghies. It’s surprising how much one can forget over the winter lay off.![]()
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I enjoyed shouting pearls of wisdom at those unfortunate enough to be within earshot but everyone seemed quite happy making their way towards the Watch House and having a little exploration of the Cley channel before landing at Rat’s Head where refreshments were taken.![]()
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Conversation and nibbles flowed freely only for the land based event to be brought to a conclusion by the fading light. A pleasant sail home ensued requiring a little beating to make it back to the mouth of the cut.![]()
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Thanks to all who participated especially the patrol boat crew. It was great to see Chris back in harness.![]()
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I do hope we have such favourable conditions on Wednesday morning 16th April, when our next event will commence at 08:30.![]()
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I hope you can make it.
Flotilla sail 12th April 2025![]()
Some feedback:![]()
“thank you so much for a lovely outing this evening, for organising and help with rigging and launching! the weather you organised could not have been kinder for those of us on our first outing of the season, bravo! 👏😸”![]()
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“Very kind. We do feel a little guilty claiming any control over the weather!”![]()
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“And a big thank you from me too. The nibbles were pretty special too 😋”![]()
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“Can I third that. I think the racers missed out there.”![]()
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“Thanks for all the help. A great start to the season.”![]()
Thanks to Chris Key for photos
2nd April 2025![]()
Midweek Racing![]()
A bright, cool and breezy morning greeted the first of the season’s Midweeks and Flotilla sessions today. With a bit of jiggery pokery, we mustered 3 boats for the Pursuit race: only Dave R had appeared for a Flotilla sail but was quickly persuaded to make the numbers up for a race; Alan C and Simon H duly swapped their Patrol Boat Duty for Zippidee, and Simon and Steve in their highly finished Seafly made up the quorum. Marcus F and George were RO and ARO for a Cut start and then pursued in the PB.![]()
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With the wind a steady ENE and blowing at F4-F5, a course was set from Sim Posts, reaching then running down to 9S, turning round (avoiding a gybe) and then laps of a figure of eight – beat to 6S, reach to 7S, reach to 5P, run + reach to 9P, until the sand ran out. Dave Rowe was off first in his Radial ‘Topsy’ at ‘-3’ minutes, although a grounding of his rudder and the typical snarl up with mainsheet, rudder downhaul and bridle meant he was 20 seconds off the start when his gun went. Simon S and Steve P made a neater job of it at ‘-7’ minutes, in hot pursuit. Simon H and Alan C, having fiddled with a reluctant halyard on the hard until about 1 minute before their start, then making a dubious spin on the line, set off in cold pursuit. Dastardly and Muttley in the PB then followed the lot of them a bit behind, after putting the starting kit back in the Hut. By the time the PB was out of the Cut, Dave R had made it to 9 and was beating back. Simon and Steve, though well in front of Zippidee, had a wobble with the kite up, gybed and had an early bath… so the doctors slipped through. Steve P strained to get the boat up again, but he made it without too much mud on the sail, despite Simon S relaxing, prone in the boat, letting his crew do all the work – typical double-hander helm! Anyway, the kite took a bit of time to unscramble from the jib allowing the doctors to get well away. Meanwhile Dave R was making a good fist of it hiking hard up to 6 – a long beat in quite a chop at times with the wind against tide, and in a low freeboard laser getting quite wet!![]()
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Half an hour in, and S&S had recovered themselves and were sailing well but quite a way behind; Dave R was out in front and working hard showing that despite using only a radial rig, the wind was strong. He had about a leg or two on the doctors up to this point but they had one or two more bits of sailcloth than he did, and they were about to show this advantage. On the long run down from 5 to 9 they were able to fly the kite for most of the way and gradually hauled him in. Marcus and George, who had spent the middle of the race pottering about in the centre of the circuit, taking pictures when they felt like it of anything they fancied – a pilot gig from Mevagissey had also appeared from somewhere ( had they rowed up from Cornwall?) - started to realise the finish might be close and drove about more purposefully. In the final 10 minutes it even became exciting! On the last three legs: 6 to 7; 7 to 5 and 5 to 9 the black Seafly noticeably made up ground and it was a question of whether Dave R (now quite tired) could last the 60 minutes in front or the mean doctor machine would overwhelm him. The PB had to be manoeuvred close to 9 and to windward of both boats to ensure a fair finish was observed. As the hourglass ran out, Zippidee had overhauled the laser on the outside, to the tune of about 3 feet, about five 5 boat lengths from 9, but Dave was closer to the mark. ![]()
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In the end we awarded a joint 1st to both boats and honour (and later humour) was preserved. Looking back up the course, S&S had settled down well by now and had made up ground on both leaders but were still some 400m away. Remembering to actually tell the third boat the race was finished, the PB dashed off to meet them and together all boats sailed happily home. ![]()
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So a ‘no show’ for for the first Flotilla of the season, but the wind was a bit strong but at least the master plan of putting the Midweeks and Flotillas on the same day paid off with one event able to take place. ![]()
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…And the handicaps pretty much worked….. for once. ![]()
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Well done all round.![]()
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