Bewl Valley Sailing Club
Encyclopedia
| Membership | 927 (2011-12) 1,151 (2010-11) |
|---|---|
| Location | Bewl Water, Lamberhurst Near Tunbridge Wells Kent TN3 8JH |
| Country | |
| Commodore | Crispin Farrant |
| Vice Comm | Marc Smith |
| Website | http://www.bewlvalleysc.co.uk |
Bewl Valley Sailing Club (BVSC) is a sailing dinghy and windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
club that currently has approximately 920 full members (1,400 capacity). It is affiliated to the Royal Yachting Association
Royal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for certain watersports in the United Kingdom. Activities it covers include:* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing...
and a registered RYA Training Centre. The club organises safety boat cover for sailing and windsurfing every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. The purpose-built water sports club house is owned by Southern Water
Southern Water
Southern Water is the utility responsible for wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for water supply and distribution in the approximately half of this area...
and its facilities are shared with Bewl Bridge Rowing Club and Bewl Canoe Club. In July 2010, BVSC was awarded £10,000 by Sport England
Sport England
Sport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
that was to be spent towards purchasing new training dinghies.
In recent years, the reservoir water level has fallen below 50% full for 4-5 months each year which makes lauching and recovery difficult for some classes of boats and can cause problems for club racing. At any level below about 60% full, two of the three slipways are no longer usable since they do not reach the edge of the water.
Location
The club is situated at Bewl WaterBewl Water
Bewl Water is a reservoir in the valley of the River Bewl , straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex. It is about 4 km south of Lamberhurst, Kent, England...
on the north side of the reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
near Lamberhurst
Lamberhurst
Lamberhurst is a village and civil parish in Kent although the latter parish was at first in both Kent and East Sussex. The line of the county border was adjusted following the Local Government Act 1894, which required that parish boundaries be aligned with counties...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and offers members up to 700 acres of sailing area if all of the estauries and inlets are included. Most members sail in the 200-250 acre area south of the club house and launch slipways. The surrounding Kent High Weald countryside is part of a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The water offers one of the few large recreational open spaces in south east England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
located in a tranquil setting where there is virtually no background traffic noise. It can be accessed from the A21
History
Bewl Valley Sailing Club was founded in 1967 but no sailing took place until 1977 due to Bewl WaterBewl Water
Bewl Water is a reservoir in the valley of the River Bewl , straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex. It is about 4 km south of Lamberhurst, Kent, England...
reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
being under construction, lined with clay and then filled from the River Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
and local bore holes
Borehole
A borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid or gases , as part of a geotechnical investigation, environmental site...
. In 2008, the Mariners of Bewl (MOB), an integrated sailing club for the physically disabled and able bodied elected to combine with Bewl Valley Sailing Club.
Club Racing and Open Events
There is organised fleet racing on Sundays for LasersLaser (dinghy)
The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
, Solos
Solo (dinghy)
The National Solo class is a racing dinghy designed by Jack Holt in 1956. The Solo is sailed in the United Kingdom, Holland and Australia.Originally designed in wood, competitive boats are now widely available in Fibre Reinforced Plastic or composite construction as well as wood.2006 was the 50th...
and Flying Fifteens in addition to Slow and Fast Handicap fleets. Other classes of boats regularly sailed at the club include the RS200
RS200
The RS200 is a 4m, double handed, hiking, racing dinghy. Designed in 1995 by Phil Morrison and manufactured by RS Sailing. It has a lightweight polyester GRP with Coremat hull construction....
, RS400, Laser 2000, Topper
Topper (dinghy)
The Topper is an 11 foot sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. The Topper is a one-design boat sailed mostly in the British Isles. It was recognised as an International class by the International Sailing Federation...
, Optimist
Optimist (dinghy)
The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15. Nowadays boats are usually made of fiber reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built....
and Enterprise
Enterprise (dinghy)
The Enterprise is a two-man sloop-rigged hiking sailing dinghy with distinctive blue sails. Despite being one of the older classes of dinghies, it remains popular in the United Kingdom and about a dozen other countries, and is used for both cruising and racing. It has a combination of size, weight,...
.
The club also has active Optimist
Optimist
An optimist is a person with a positive outlook on life.Optimist may also refer to:* A member of Optimist International* The Optimist, a small sailing dinghy sailed by children...
and RS Feva
RS Feva
The RS Feva is a two person sailing dinghy designed by Paul Handley in 2002. It is manufactured and distributed by RS Sailing. The RS Feva is an International Sailing Federation International Class, a Royal Yachting Association Supported Junior Class, and has been selected by the Dansk Sejlunion...
fleets with several youth members sailing competitively at a regional and national level.
BVSC also hosts a number of inland open meetings each year including events for Solos
Solo (dinghy)
The National Solo class is a racing dinghy designed by Jack Holt in 1956. The Solo is sailed in the United Kingdom, Holland and Australia.Originally designed in wood, competitive boats are now widely available in Fibre Reinforced Plastic or composite construction as well as wood.2006 was the 50th...
, Phantoms
Phantom (sailboat)
There are two designs of Phantom sailboats, one is a sloop design which is often raced, and the other is a lateen rig that was designed after the Sunfish model sailing dinghy....
, Enterprises
Enterprise (dinghy)
The Enterprise is a two-man sloop-rigged hiking sailing dinghy with distinctive blue sails. Despite being one of the older classes of dinghies, it remains popular in the United Kingdom and about a dozen other countries, and is used for both cruising and racing. It has a combination of size, weight,...
, Lasers
Laser (dinghy)
The International Laser Class sailboat, also called Laser Standard and the Laser One is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy. According the Laser Class Rules the boat may be sailed by either one or two people, though it is rarely sailed by two. The design, by Bruce Kirby, emphasizes...
, Comets
Comet (Racing Dinghy)
The Comet is a single handed, one design racing dinghy available with three separate rigging options: Standard, Xtra and Mino, that can be raced competitively alongside each other. It is mainly sailed in the United Kingdom at club level and at open meetings organised by the...
, Laser 2000s, Laser Vago
Laser Vago
A Laser Vago is a high-performance sailing dinghy designed by Jo Richards and manafactured by Laser Performance. The Vago can be sailed and raced by a crew of two or single-handed...
s, Wanderer
Wanderer (sailing dinghy)
The Wanderer is a 14 foot Fiberglass hull Bermuda rigged sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. One of the main objectives of the design was to produce a robust safe and versatile dinghy that could be used for knockabout day sailing and cruising as well as racing, but was light enough to be...
s, Flying Fifteens and the London Windsurf Association.
General Sailing and Social Events
In addition to general sailing on Saturdays and Sundays, the club is open on Wednesday evenings from May to August and on each of the four summer Bank Holiday Mondays. During the month of August, the club house is open every day and safety boat cover is provided for club members except during Youth Week when there is no club sailing. Subject to a level of sailing competence being demonstrated i.e. Club Competent Helm Certificate, sailing is allowed outside the designated times for members aged 16 and over.BVSC Family Week involving 250 campers takes place each year in the last week of July. Like the SCAMPS (Sailing and Camping) Weekends, Family Week is organised by club members and offers a full programme of water and land based activities including evening entertainment in the club house.
Members also organise Away Cruises on tidal waters such as to Bradwell in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The Midweekers, an informal group of members meet each Wednesday to sail or take part in another outdoor activity.