Wraysbury Lake Sailing Club

What could possibly go wrong?

   Hi everyone,
With Wraysbury and the surrounding areas, west of London, being in the news because of the recent floods, I thought I would check out WLSC to see if it was okay, and maybe look at any webcams.  Much to my surprise, I found that the club had closed down on 2nd December 2013 due to lease issues.  I don't recall seeing any information about this on the Y & Y forum so I just wondered how the situation had come about.  I realise that the club had a private landlord and that the sailing club has been lost in order to develop a fishing lake.  I remember a similar thing happening to Newark (Retford) Argonauts SC over twenty years ago.  

I also realise that there are many sailing clubs in the local area (Silver Wing, Datchet, Queen Mary, etc., etc.) but I just wondered whether or not there had been anything that the club and its members could have done to save it.  It just seems a shame thats all.  I can remember sailing Enterprises, thirty years ago, when WLSC had the biggest fleet in the country.

http://www.wlsc.org.uk/ee/index.php/

http://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/Pages/HistoricWraysburyLakeSCtoclose.aspx

http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2013/11/22/95289-wraysbury-sailing-club-to-close-after-change-of-ownership-of-lake/

Ian  (Yorkshire Dales SC)

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iansmithofotley Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Far too distracted from work Joined: 16 Mar 04 Location: Otley, West Yorkshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 209	Post Options Post Reply Quote iansmithofotley Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Wraysbury Lake Sailing Club Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 1:06pm
	Hi everyone, With Wraysbury and the surrounding areas, west of London, being in the news because of the recent floods, I thought I would check out WLSC to see if it was okay, and maybe look at any webcams. Much to my surprise, I found that the club had closed down on 2nd December 2013 due to lease issues. I don't recall seeing any information about this on the Y & Y forum so I just wondered how the situation had come about. I realise that the club had a private landlord and that the sailing club has been lost in order to develop a fishing lake. I remember a similar thing happening to Newark (Retford) Argonauts SC over twenty years ago. I also realise that there are many sailing clubs in the local area (Silver Wing, Datchet, Queen Mary, etc., etc.) but I just wondered whether or not there had been anything that the club and its members could have done to save it. It just seems a shame thats all. I can remember sailing Enterprises, thirty years ago, when WLSC had the biggest fleet in the country. http://www.wlsc.org.uk/ee/index.php/ http://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/Pages/HistoricWraysburyLakeSCtoclose.aspx http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2013/11/22/95289-wraysbury-sailing-club-to-close-after-change-of-ownership-of-lake/ Ian (Yorkshire Dales SC)

yellowwelly Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003	Post Options Post Reply Quote yellowwelly Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 1:10pm
	That's sad news for the members, but I guess this sort of thing will be inevitable in a contracting sport. I thought the final quote on the RYA link from Chris Whitfield was well written and shows a healthy attitude from other local sailors to this phenomenon.

iGRF Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499	Post Options Post Reply Quote iGRF Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 2:52pm
	I also have fond memories of Wraysbury (probably rose tinted by the years) funniest thing watching my chum step off his board as he was about to land at the club then seeing him disappear straight down (there were no shallows). It also introduced me to the concept that the fastest route between two marks is not always the direct one thanks to their tree line, they had some good racing sailboard sailors there back in the day, back then we were banned from the London Reservoirs in case we gave London the Black death or something.
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rogerd Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 25 May 04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1076	Post Options Post Reply Quote rogerd Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 3:36pm
	I am in touch with former Wraysbury members. The club was forced to close as a new owner decided to use the lake for more profitable leisure purposes. The club was co founded by Jack Holt and we had a very good Holt open meeting there for the centenary. Lovely spot(despite being below the Heathrow flight path) and a lovely friendly club.

iGRF Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499	Post Options Post Reply Quote iGRF Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 4:40pm
	Sounds like a case for some late night depositing of that chemical they use to kill woodworm, I hear it does wonders for fishing lakes...
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RichTea Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 22 Jan 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 207	Post Options Post Reply Quote RichTea Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 6:10pm
	Rogerd is correct. The club rented the lake from the previous owners on a less term basis. The lake was up for sale (I can't remember how much but it was about £200k+) and hence why the club no longer exists. I remember visiting the changing rooms seeing a Noel's House Party style shower, glass cubical. I believe the new owners are fisherman, who own local pits. Shame but there are other clubs nearby.
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yellowwelly Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003	Post Options Post Reply Quote yellowwelly Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 6:58pm
	You're saying that in stockbroker belt someone at the club couldn't crowd source a paltry 200 grand to buy the lake... Disgusting, sailing is so plebeian these days....

rb_stretch Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 23 Aug 10 Online Status: Offline Posts: 742	Post Options Post Reply Quote rb_stretch Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 11 Feb 14 at 7:27pm
	I understand that most of the members moved to nearby clubs eg. Littleton...

Dougal Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 23 Sep 09 Location: England Online Status: Offline Posts: 556	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dougal Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 Feb 14 at 2:20pm
	I was going to say Sailing Clubs come and go.... but in reality they only seem to go. Does anyone know of any new clubs that have started up?
	What could possibly go wrong?

yellowwelly Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003	Post Options Post Reply Quote yellowwelly Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 12 Feb 14 at 2:23pm
	outside of university and alumni clubs, no... not heard of any in the UK at least.