MP hails 'accessible' sailing after leaning ropes on the Medway
by Karenza Morton, RYA 17 Sep 2014 12:43 BST
15 September 2014
Tracey Crouch MP gets afloat with RYA instructor, Sam Rowe © RYA
Tracey Crouch MP for Chatham and Aylesford and Sport England's Parliamentary Fellow declared sailing a "very accessible sport" after enjoying a morning learning the ropes for the first time at Wilsonian Sailing Club on Monday (15 September).
Tracey was visiting the Medway club, near Rochester, to see the impact that Wilsonian SC, sailing's national governing body, the RYA, and Sport England is having on providing grassroots sailing opportunities for the local Kent community.
She also surveyed the planned site of the club's newly-refurbished slipway, funded by a £50,000 Sport England Inspired Facilities grant, which will replace the existing steep and uneven slipway and improve water access to give even more local people the chance to enjoy upgraded sailing experiences at the club.
Tracey spent over an hour on the water, enjoying the expert guidance of RYA instructor and South East Regional Sailing Development Officer, Sam Rowe, in a Wayfarer dinghy, which had also be funded by a Sport England Small Grants award.
After coming ashore, she said: "It is clear that sailing is a very accessible sport. I think people have a misconception that maybe only certain people can do it, but there is a lot of effort going into making sure it's a very open and available sport for everybody.
"I had a fabulous morning out sailing, I was very lucky with the weather with it being very nice with the right amount of breeze for a learning session, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hopefully I'll be back.
"It certainly wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be, and I didn't capsize, which was a good thing! If I can do it anybody can do it so I hope other people will come down and enjoy the sport."
It is proven that for people to stay in any sport they have to enjoy taking part and having good quality facilities and equipment plays a huge part in that.
Tracey added: "The fact that Sport England has put some investment into the Wilsonian club is absolutely fantastic news and I think it will be good for the club in order to grow what the offer already for the local community. Seeing a new slipway here will help open up the sport for everybody and hopefully more people will come and participate."
Amongst those welcoming Tracey to Wilsonian SC were Christine Godber (Wilsonian SC Commodore) and Duncan Truswell (RYA Sport Development Manager).
Wilsonian SC is a recognised RYA Training Centre, meaning it conforms to the highest standards of quality and safety.
Its many popular activities for adults and juniors include its 'Skimmers' group, which according to Christine provides "immense opportunities for children and their families of all experience levels" every Saturday morning between March and October. Saturday afternoons sees the Adult Learners and Improvers sessions that run from June to October with three sessions of RYA-funded coaching by Andy Kerr.
Christine said: "It was wonderful to have Tracey Crouch MP at Wilsonian because it puts the club on the map, she enjoyed herself and she will go away with the good feeling that she's been on the water and really had a lovely sail.
"Wilsonian is a friendly community club. We want to get more people interested in getting out on the water because sailing is a wonderful activity. It's not an expensive sport and it really is open to all. The most important thing is people have fun, enjoy the water and getting out."
For more information on how you can into sailing at Wilsonian SC visit www.wilsoniansc.org.uk or for further opportunities around Kent visit www.rya.org.uk/wheresmynearest