Sailing at Ouse Amateur Sailing Club
With the club founded in the late 19th century, our members have been sailing a variety of vessels in and around King's Lynn since then. We have trophies dating back over a hundred years that support our history and we are affiliated to the Royal Yachting Association.
We sail at Saddlebow, an inland stretch of non-tidal water at the end of the Fenland drainage system about a mile south of King's Lynn. We enjoy
exclusive navigation rights over about one and a quarter miles of safe water which has
a number of attractions over local alternatives:
- Easy launching from our two slipways
- Start lines less than 50 yards from the slipways
- Non tidal water for safe sailing with consistent start times
- Safe secure boat parking
- A recently rebuilt clubhouse (Thanks to a grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts) with showers, kitchen facilities and plenty of room for non-sailors to keep out of the elements
- Viewing balcony with full views of the water
- Wheelchair access to toilet and changing facilities
- Open to the prevailing SW winds, no tree shadows to spoil the sailing
- Water used by local canoeing, rowing and long distance swimming clubs when we are not sailing
The club owns a number of sailing dinghies for use by members (please note that they may not all be available due to maintenance):
TOPPER For those of you who haven't seen one, Toppers are made of plastic so are pretty robust, they are easily sailed by teenagers or adults, they are easy to rig, launch and sail and are probably the most popular single handed training boat in the country. We have two of these available.
LASER The most well known single hander in the world. The same (a bit older and maybe not quite as posh!) as the dinghy Ben Ainslie won Olympic Gold with in Sydney. Two boats are available with a choice of full size or the smaller 4.7 rig for the lightweight and younger sailors.
SUPERGRADUATE A GRP two-person boat that is ideal for one adult and a child/teenager. Easy to rig and sail, great for beginners and the more experienced alike.
WANDERER Pretty much a Wayfarer scaled down to 14 feet. Wayfarers are stable and easy to sail but with enough sail area for a good sailing performance. This one also has a spinnaker.
SOLO An older design single handed dinghy, one that you sit in rather than sit on! More roomy than the Laser and Topper and does just about have room for two.
WAYFARER A large GRP cruising/racing boat, she will take four people comfortably and can be raced with two. Fairly stable and with a wide choice of foresails depending on the wind. Ideal for taking the whole family sailing.
We also have a small amount of sailing clothing and buoyancy aids for those just starting out, so if you are at all interested come down and talk to us, we often have experienced sailors looking for new crews so you may not even need a boat or be able to sail to get out and have a go.
During organised sailing. one or both of our fast safety boats are on the water for your safety, but like most clubs we also expect sailors to help each other out as well as being responsible for their own actions.