If you have ever been lucky enough to have walked around our beautiful local Staunton Harold reservoir you will have probably wondered at all the sailing boats regularly on the water? And have you, perhaps, ever thought that you or your family might like to join us out there? Have you always wanted to do it and somehow never got round to it?

Or do you want to discover a way to get fit and healthy without even thinking about it?

Well, it may be just a lot easier to get involved than you think. Those boats are from the Staunton Harold Sailing Club – SHSC, based at the reservoir. It is recognised as one of the best and friendliest in the country for a sport in which the UK leads the world. Sailing is a sport which can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.

Join us at SHSC and you can just relax and enjoy cruising around the lake in the beautiful surroundings, or learn how to race competitively. Why not learn to SUP? Staunton Harold Sailing Club has sailors from under ten to over seventy, many of whom enjoy racing on weekends and Wednesday evenings, whatever their ability. Those that don’t want to race can sail socially at the same time, or at our Friday Night Club.

And if you want to progress further, the club has developed and supported sailors who travel the UK and beyond racing in national and international events.

To support the sailing, the club’s facilities include dedicated training room, fully equipped kitchen (or galley as the club members call it), new changing rooms, and a comfortable bar and “wet” areas to relax in.

On the water there are always safety boats with qualified operators watching over the sailors.

So if you want to learn, Staunton Harold Sailing Club is a British Youth Sailing Accredited Club teaching establishment and has been providing sail training for many years. The RYA (Royal Yachting Association) is the National Governing Body for sailing in Britain.

Training courses are run to the guidelines and recommendations of the RYA. All instructors and safety boat drivers are RYA qualified and all equipment reaches a high standard. If you are taking your first steps afloat, SHSC provides an ideal safe and friendly environment. And you don’t even have to join the club to take part in the training. If you decide, after the course, that the sport is for you, you will get a preferential rate to join the club…..you will receive lots of encouragement and friendly support and you can hire the club boats and get ailing. And the wind is free!

The comprehensive fleet of training dinghies include 6 RS Visions, 2 Laser 13s, 12 Optibats and 6 Toppers, 2 RS Fevas and for more experienced sailors the performance Laser 2000s.



2021 promises to be another exciting year for the Sailing School at Staunton Harold as we again offer a number of courses for adults and juniors. Check out the other pages on this website for the schedules and prices for the courses, plus a lot more information about the club and its members. Or just come along to the club, introduce yourself, have a chat, a look around and pick up some information.

Stop Press: We have waived the joining fee again for 2021!