FAQs
All prospective members, whether new applicants or ex members wishing to rejoin, must fill in a Membership Application Form available from the club Membership Secretary (see this website contacts page).
CVLSC encourages all members to own their own dinghy but the club does have some boats available for the novice to try out. It is possibly more important to establish the type of sailing one wants to undertake before purchasing your dinghy.
Our total membership is controlled by our lease and this does lead to there being a waiting list. The waiting time is influenced by many factors and it would be advisable to seek the current situation from the current membership secretary.
The simple answer is no.
The club attempts to encompass most forms of sailing tuition – from the raw beginner to the experienced sailor who wants to improve his/her skills. All courses are RYA approved and certified.
The club does own a small number of dinghies for training purposes. Typically, Optibats; Toppers; 2 x RS Visions and a Wayfarer.
Note: Club boats may be restricted to a two hour time slot if there is a high demand and priority is given to RYA courses being held on that day.
There is no pre-booking facility for club dinghies. Therefore it is on a first come first served basis. Boats can be hired for a half or whole day. There is a hire fee for the RS Visions and Wayfarer.
Note: Club boats may be restricted to a two hour time slot if there is a high demand and priority is given to RYA courses being held on that day.
Permitted days are on Sat, Sun, Wed and Thu and those Bank Holiday Mondays where General Sailing is listed in the Calendar.
You may sail on those permitted days subject to rescue cover in accordance with the club safety policies.
At weekends, and those Bank Holiday Mondays with General Sailing, we roster rescue cover from 10:00 until 18:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.
On Wednesdays rescue cover is rostered to cover the period 10:00-16:00 during the day, and in the evening from 18:00 when there is racing scheduled over the summer.
Rescue cover is also rostered for the Thursday Improvers/Start Racing and Fun Thursdays events listed in the Calendar.
You can view rostered rescue cover on Dutyman if you are unsure.
Remember, on permissible sailing days at times when there is no rescue cover rostered, sailing is still permissible provided RIB cover is provided in accordance with the Buddy Group Safety Policy
Sailing is NOT permitted before 10:00 and only when the club burgee is flying from the flagpole outside the clubhouse.
Sailing must end half an hour before Sunset
In Summer (15-Mar to 15-Sep) extra conditions apply
Sailing must end an hour before Sunset
Sailing may end at 18:00 at Duty Officer’s discretion.
It is a good idea to subscribe to the calendar on your phone or tablet via the link below.
This will automatically refresh your personal calendar when we make changes to the site and ensure you are always up to date and easily able to see whats going on.
Yes, sailing is only permitted when at least two motorised rescue craft are on the water and in an operational condition.
The club has two disabled toilets, a disabled changing room, a chair lift and a very active disabled sailing section referred to as CLADS. This website should be able to put you in touch with the disabled sailing section.
We are a member’s only club, as determined by our lease and are therefore not open to the general public; however members are allowed to bring sailing and non-sailing guests to the club.
People over the age of 12 and under the age of 18 (or 21 if in full time education) may seek application to join the club as individual members. However, if part of a Family Membership there is no minimum age.
For safety reasons all persons going onto the water must wear a buoyancy aid and, when the temperature dictates, must wear suitable cold weather clothing i.e. wet suit/dry suit.
Members’ guests, both sailing and non-sailing, are welcome at the club; there is a small charge for crewing/sailing guests but no charge for non-sailing guests. All guests must be signed in and are the responsibility of the member who is hosting them.
The club has a professional galley which offers hot & cold lunches, breakfasts, afternoon teas and light refreshments. The galley is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm in the summer and 11am to 3pm in the winter. It is also open on Wednesday evenings from 6pm in the summer. The club also has a fully licensed bar which is open at the weekends and Wednesday evenings in the summer. The bar is run by volunteers and the bar manager is always looking for extra helpers.
All club members are expected to undertake certain mandatory duties such as Duty Officer/Assistant Duty Officer; Rescue Boat Helm: Race Officer/Assistant Race Officer. The duty will depend upon the individual’s skills before being called to undertake Rescue Boat or Race Officer Duties. Appropriate Training is provided where necessary.
Windsurfing is allowed during the winter months but only by full members of the club i.e. those who own and sail a dinghy. No other form of boating is permitted on the lake.
Our lease and the enjoyment and use of the lake by other users such as fishermen, bird watchers and conservationists limits our sailing area and all members must therefore familiarise themselves with the sailing area from the map in the main clubhouse.
All craft must be classed as sailing dinghies, must be of mono-hull design (with the exception of dinghies sailed by the disabled) and must not be fixed keel (with the exception on the Flying Fifteen). Currently twin foiling boats such as Moths are not allowed on the lake.
The answer above also applies to this question. Please try the Bristol sailing school (0117 9073019), which operates from Baltic Wharf in the Bristol Docks.
CVLSC is one of the very fortunate clubs that still operates a fleet racing system; predominantly the fleets are Topper, Laser, Solo, Flying Fifteen and the A & B Handicap fleets.
Our total membership is controlled by our lease and this does lead to there being a waiting list. The waiting time is influenced by many factors and it would be advisable to seek the current situation from the current membership secretary.