RIP Evesham Sailing Club

[markhitchin]

On a chance visit to my old home town of Evesham, I noticed in the local paper that Evesham Sailing Club is to close. I know there were a fair few BM opens there so I guess one or two BM Assn members may be interested.

I joined at age 8ish and the club and the people in it had an immeasurable positive influence, which stays with me today.

Thanks ESC.

Article here:

[the black pig]

it just so sad

[gmc]

Mar 6, 2011 22:49:33 GMT the black pig said:

it just so sad

couldn't agree more; always one of my favourite clubs,
I had quite a long talk with John Pickford on Saturday...... Interesting
Mark

[Overoptimistix]

I joined briefly in the mid nineties. Sad to hear that they can't carry on.

[johnpickford]

:-[It is heartening to read some of the comments regarding Evesham's closure.It was a difficult decision which was taken after a very emotion filled meeting of all the remaining members. Sadly,after 47 years the club has closed and the clubhouse will be demolished in two weeks, leaving little trace of the pleasure had by many people sailing on this stretch of the Avon, both locally and by travelling Mothists at the many open meetings held there. "thanks for the memories" . Most of the Evesham sailors have now taken memberships at other clubs, and the two remaining Moths will be seen at open meetings and of course the Nationals.

[graham7]

It is thanks to Evesham SC and their stand at the Boat and Caravan show at the NECand Ian Haywards enthusiastic presentation that I was galvanised to moving into the class.
Evesham was always a stronghold for the British Moth and its open attracted visitors from far and wide and they were always treated to a challenging days sailing and very well catered for by the ladies,
Evesham sailers were always well represented at the Nationals winning the Transom Trophy for best team.
I was proud to win their Moth open after 10 years trying and like local and national sailers will miss this ideal Moth Venue.
Well done Mark for starting this thread and highlighting this loss I remember when first joining Severn you were pleased to announce your links with Evesham and warn everyone of the Moths speed on a river.
We will miss the Club but are pleased the Moth sailers in particular will be showing our boat to a wider audience and some good will come out of the sad loss.
Best Wishs to You all
Graham Pope

[paultp]

I think Evesham was one of the earliest opens I did when I started taking my boat away from Broxbourne. If I remember I stayed overnight and traveled to Medley (?) the next day.

Went into a pub and found it full of Leicester Tigers 1st team (Martin Johnson et al) on their way home after being walloped by Bath. They looked like they had done ten rounds with Mike Tyson and weren't very happy so Helen & I decided to find another pub!

Found Evesham quite a challenge after sailing round the lake at Broxbourne. I seemed to keep running out of room and getting in everyone's way. Steep learning curve going out on the travellers series but well worth it.

Sad news indeed.

[markhitchin]

A bit more from the Evesham Journal:



Sailing club is forced to shut after flooding
By Daniel Fawbert Mills

DEVASTATING floods which have been known to blight the Vale of Evesham over the years have now claimed another victim.

In a cruel twist of fate, the waters of the river Avon, which had provided members of Evesham Sailing Club with enjoyment for almost 50 years, were also responsible for the club’s demise.

Commodore John Pickford, the club’s committee chairman, said that it was never able to fully recover from the 1998 and 2007 floods that caused so much damage to the clubhouse.

This damage, coupled with spiralling costs and dwindling numbers, meant that during an emotional meeting in November last year members admitted there simply weren’t enough funds to keep it going. Mr Pickford said: “The clubhouse was built on six-foot walls but this was not high enough to save it from the 1998 floods which did a lot of initial damage.

“A few members’ boats were swept away that year but we managed to recover from that. But then the 2007 floods upset the foundations, causing subsidence, and the building became uninsurable.

“We got planning permission for a ‘chalet type’ building to replace it which would utilise flotation devices, but the costs for this kept going up and it never came to fruition.

“Even if we had managed to get this installed, the low membership meant we could not continue running it for another year.

“We were down to about 15 active members at that time, less than half of the 40 to 50 members we enjoyed in our heyday. It’s very, very sad because Evesham has had a sailing club for 47 years.”

The loss of the club will mean that people will have to travel much further afield to find an alternative route onto the water. Its ideal location down Common Road, just a stone’s throw away from Evesham town centre, made it unique to the area.

Mr Pickford said the existing clubhouse, which was built in the 60s, is to be demolished and the land returned to Wychavon District Council. The council confirmed that there were no plans to redevelop the site yet.


www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/archive/2011/03/11/Latest+%28wn_news_latest%29/8902556.Sailing_club_is_forced_to_shut_after_flooding/

[enigma]

It might be a bit late,but did not any body consider a floating barge or lighter,and doing like Island Cruising Club in Cornwall!
Shame to see any club die!

[ianedwards]

We have all appreciated the very kind comments posted on the forum. With Peter Green I was the longest serving member of the club at almost 25 years and must say that it is a tragedy to have to make such a decision and now as Teasurer and Committee member to be follow it through to the sad conclusion. Yes we looked at all options available, even to resiting the club and even to trying to rent space in the buildings and yard of the local Marina to no avail.
As the article says we did find a very innovative solution in using a flotation devise for mobile homes attached to some very inexpensive buildings but as to cost as we all know that is not the end of the matter and with the requirement to satisfy current legislation, building regs and the like we eventually did not have the funds or insurance cover to meet the costs.
It was however the loss of membership over a number of years and the inability to attract and recruit new members that was the final nail in the coffin and I do not think that Evesham is unique in that fact. When I joined Evesham I joined with my family, my daughter and partuclarly my son aged 9 sailed with me nad we continued to sail as a family for many years. Other families joined and sailed together as families.
This no longer appears to be the case. Yes they want little Jimmy to learn to sail but it appears to be a case of bringing him down to the club, passing him over to some one else and returning later in the day to pick him up, in otherwords families are not joining sailing clubs to participate as a family. I have joined another club and have already noted the virtual absence of the family and certainly lack of two handed boats with Dad (or Mum) on the helm and junior up front.
Yes it is a very sad to see the end of Evesham SC but their are possibly to lessons to be learnt
1 Ensure the insurance cover on your buildings is suffient and that one has some form of redevelopment fund.
2 Encourage family sailing and target more training at two handed boats, sailing clubs are not creche or a cop out for parents, maybe a little controversial.
Ian E

[Ian Haywood]

It is very interesting to read the latest comments. Yes there are other lessons to be learned from those already mentioned & they are quite fundermental !!!
I was very pleased to see that Mark Hitchen follows this website. Are you looking to get back to the Moth ?

[markhitchin]

Hi Ian (and Ian E!),

No plans to buy a Moth. I just happened to hear ESC was closing and thought that some British Moth-ers might be interested. Hence I posted here.

Also it was a fair bet that one or two people with some connection to ESC might read the Moth Forum so it seemed a good place to express my gratitude - ESC was a big part of my formative years and has had a profound positive effect on me, on and off the water.