A sailing club welcoming dinghy sailors, cruising sailors, rowers, kayakers, paddleboarders and everyone who loves messing about in boats. The Stour Sailing Club was formed in 1936 and is situated on the south bank for the River Stour in Manningtree. The clubhouse was purchased in 1970 and is in an enviable position facing the river.
It features fabulous facilities incorporating a very friendly club bar with balcony, library, parlour, toilets & showers. Opposite the clubhouse on the waterfront, the club offers access to a short concrete slip leading to a gravel hard. Next to the hard you'll find a compound with benches and a race starting hut.
It features fabulous facilities incorporating a very friendly club bar with balcony, library, parlour, toilets & showers. Opposite the clubhouse on the waterfront, the club offers access to a short concrete slip leading to a gravel hard. Next to the hard you'll find a compound with benches and a race starting hut.
Services
Our West Compound, with direct access to our slipway, has storage space during the sailing season for about 90 small boats. These include tenders in racks and on the ground, canoes on racks and dinghies on their trolleys. There is water and power available and the compound has lockable gates. A Club tender and 4 launch trolleys are available for members' use.
As you know we have a flood gate in the West Compound that we use regularly to gain access to the slipway. What may not be so obvious is that we (Stour Sailing Club) are legally responsible for its use, and more importantly its closure at all times except when it is being used for access. If we fail to operate the flood gate adequately the right of access can be removed.
The Stour Sailing Club offers a wide range of social activities for members both on and off the water. Recreational and competitive sailors enjoy dedicated events and an increasing number of members are taking up rowing and paddling. Watercraft of all these types can participate in club scheduled picnics along the stunning beaches of the Stour.
Any member can submit a cruising or sailing log which they have completed during the year to the Management Committee. Eventually we progressed to cruising, at first in a Westerley Centaur with an outboard only (in which we took our family to Holland!) then a 26ft Maurice Griffiths Storm. Eventually Mike took the Yachtmaster & Yachtmaster Ocean & on his retirement we could finally get beyond Schiermonigog, (Dutch Fresian Islands).
Most Club races go from a start/finish line in front of the clubhouse around a buoyed course on the upper part of the Stour Estuary. Because of the tidal situation the races are limited to about 1 and a half to 2 hours. The racing highpoint of the season is the regatta, held during the summer over a weekend of good, early afternoon tides.
