A complaint I often hear from kids living in Bolton is "There is nothing to do".
Not true, I shout. Have you considered learning to sail and race dinghys?
Living in Bolton we are lucky to be surrounded by wonderful countryside and a big part of that experience are the numerous reservoirs.
All my life I have seen the sailing boats bobbing along on Delph reservoir so 3 years ago, when we drove past and saw a sign for "A Taste of Sailing" we decided to give it a go having never sailed a boat in our lives. The club was friendly and welcoming and we were pleasantly surprised to discover the elitist perception I had of the sport was utterly misplaced.
We enjoyed it so much we signed up to be members.
Fast forward 3 years to Sunday 7th June and in a boat helmed by myself and crewed by my 15 year old son, we came 2nd,1st and 1st in the novice racing. I am even now a Director of the club, helping ensure we attract and retain the next generation of sailors.
Joining a local sailing club was one of the best family decisions we ever made. For a very small outlay, the whole family get access to the facilties. The lessons are included in your membership and we were lucky enough to be gifted an old Miracle dinghy to sail once we knew what we were doing.
Age is no barrier to sailing, my daughter Lilly started her lessons last week aged 6 and there are members well into their 70's who still race every week.
Of course there are numerous family social events too (Bank Top beer is served at our clubhouse alongside Carrs pasties) and as it is a club run by and for the members, a great sense of community spirit.
Delph is brilliant but we are lucky to have 3 good clubs as there is also Bolton Sailing club in Belmont and The Jumbles sailing club too. With 3 good local clubs to choose from what are you waiting for?
So the next time your kids are bored give you local sailing club a bell. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Ian B
