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About Us
The University of Bristol Sailing Club is a well-established society and is well-known as one of Bristol University's liveliest and most successful clubs, with over 140 members last year it is also one of the largest!
If you've been sailing for years and are looking to compete on the university circuit, have never been on a boat before, or anything in between, take a look at everything we do below and get in touch if you'd like to be involved!
Sailing at university is a unique society which allows you to participate in a competitive sport whilst enjoying a break from studies and getting out of the city. You are guaranteed to make new friends, learn new skills and have a really good time. We welcome everyone, so please come and give it a go.
If you have any questions, or just want to know more, our contact info is at the end of the page!
Social Sailing
Why not give sailing a go? Our social sailing is a great way to get out on the water, whether you’ve tried sailing before or not! Come and join us for a give it a go to see if the sailing is for you and if you keep coming to sessions there's the opportunity to get some sailing qualifications out the back of it. Remember - ALL abilities are welcome, and zero previous experience is required.
We sail at All Aboard at Baltic Warf Sailing Club in Bristol harbour on Wednesday afternoons, with coaching from our qualified RYA Instructor members, all finishing in time to get ready for the evening social.
Once we’ve done a few of the basics we hope to get down to Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club (where our Team Racers go to train) as much as we can! It’ll be loads of fun and we can’t wait to get out on the water. If you have any questions chat to Lily (contact details below)
Team Racing
Team Racing is the largest discipline of sailing offered by the club. Sailed in Fireflys, it consists of 3 boat teams pitted against each other on short 5-10 minute courses with the aim of having as many of your boats finish in front of the other teams boats as possible, meaning its about much more than just individual boat speed.
The Club has both development and performance squads, and we encourage everyone with any dinghy sailing experience to sign up, we are not looking just for those with prior team racing experience, we value commitment to training just as much as the skill of the sailor. We train at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club, a 30 minute drive south of Bristol, on Wednesdays, Saturdays,
and Sundays in 
preparation for student run University events that occur on weekends all throughout the year, as well as the BUCS events, culminating in Finals around April. Training is mostly student led, with some coached sessions, and some training weekends with other universities outside of events. The club also offers Strength and Conditioning classes for those in the performance squads.
Typically the 1st and 2nd teams train on Wednesdays, while the 3rd and 4th teams train on Saturdays and our Development Squad would train on as many Sundays as possible. However, with different teams away at events each week this will get shuffled around, providing teams with a varity of training.
The squads put in a stellar performance last year, with the 1st Team placing 6th overrall and at the Championship Finals, out of the over 150 teams put forward! The 2nd team made it to Finals as well placing a respectable 16th.
Chat to Hector with any queries (contact details below)
Fleet Racing
The BUCS Fleet Racing Nationals is being held at Helensburgh Sailing Club on the 11th and 12th of November this year. The eligible entries consist of Fireflies, ICLA handicaps, and Slow and Fast Handicaps with yardstick numbers between 1240 and 700. The Club has 6 fireflies available, and anyone is welcome to use them or bring their own boat. The club can enter a maximum of 15 boats, although it is not guaranteed that all will be entered due to a cap of 150 boats total at the event. This event is a great opportunity to get some BUCS points for the club, with points for the top 8 men’s, and top 8 women’s teams, as well as for individual performances. It’s also a great chance to get involved with racing for the club if yachting and team racing aren't your thing.
We also aim to get more involved with the club racing held down at Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club on Sundays which is a great way to get involved in more regular fleet racing.
Contact Hector with any queries (contact information below)
Match Racing
Match Racing is one of UBSCs strongest disciplines in recent history, with the club taking 1st place at BUCS in 2022 and 2nd in 2023!
The BUCS Match Racing Nationals is being held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the 26th and 27th of February 2024 next year in Elliot 6ms, team selection is based on a need-to basis as opposed to the standing teams for other disciplines. If you are interested in taking part,please get in touch!
If you have any questions get in contact with Nick (see contact details below).
Yachting
Cruising Weekends
Having been gradually and carefully refined over past years, these headline events are UBSYC’s pièce-de-resistance, and follow a rough three-day plan of Solent ‘cruising’ a night out in the gorgeous town of Cowes, Isle of Wight, and a revelrous curry social thrown in for good measure. Over half our crews last year had no prior sailing experience, and when Bristol Yachting illuminated a world which to them was previously only a distant fantasy, they caught the bug, and just kept coming back!
Contact Elsie our Trip Sec with any questions
Yacht Racing
Serious yacht racers are often considered a smaller university demographic than the likes of Rugby, Hockey and Dinghy Sailing, they are be no means a less tenacious bunch than their sporting counterparts. With the coveted BUCS Yachting Nationals returning in April 2024, and, building off our success from last year, we’ve high hopes to assemble a well-oiled Bristol Uni machine to take on universities from around the country in a week-long regatta. It’s a great chance to prove your worth amongst some of the most promising youth yachters on the circuit.
An initial interest form will be circulating shortly on the Freshers Page and the Forum
Contact Nick with any queries (contact info below)
Socials
Held every Wednesday evening throughout term, the socials are a great opportunity for everyone to get together from all areas of the club! Everyone is welcome at a UBSC social. Whether you grew up on a sail boat or you’ve have never stepped in one in your life, we would love to for you to come down and join us on a Wednesday evening. Each week the social will be different, ranging from curry socials to pub quizzes to the annual Xmas dinner and Bristol Brew…, with the night always ending in our home, Lizard Lounge.
Your social secs (Ed and Frey) would love to hear from you, especially if there is anything you are unsure about. Follow our instagram @bristolsailing for information on the first few socials, but weekly event details will go up on our Facebook - so give that a follow to!
Contact details for Ed and Frey are below.
Membership
The club offers 4 types of membership, listed below:
Performance Membership - This membership is for those in the team racing performance squads, or those competing in either BUCS Team Racing, or Match Racing competitions. This membership also includes all the perks attributed to the other membership types. !!! Only buy this membership if you have told to do so by the Team Racing Captain Hector, contact details below. !!!
Yachting Membership - This membership entitles one to take part in BUCS Yachting (at the discretion of the captain), and any other yachting oppurtunities available that year inclusding Match Racing, and discounted 707 sessions in Cardif. It also covers Development Squad and Social memberships. You are also able to attend our weekly S&C session.
Social Membership - The most basic membership. It allows you to get the discounted price for Wednesday Social Sailing Sessions (once the give it a go sessions have ended!), as well as attend socials after the membership deadline 9th October. It also entitles you to purchase your ticket to go on our club Summer Sail Week, and our Crusining Weekends. More info about these trips can be found on our instagram and website.
Development Membership - This membership is for those selected for our Team Racing Development Squad for the year, it also covers the Social Membership benefits. !!! Only buy this membership if you have been told to so by either the Team Racing Captain Hector, or Development Training Officer Dylan or Tom. !!!
****CONTACT US ****
For more information or for any queries contact the relevant committee member(s):
Commodore (President)- Ellie Cole: uob.sailing.commodore@gmail.com
Secretary- Freya Hudson: uob.sailing.secretary@gmail.com
Team Racing Captain- Hector Bennett: uob.sailing.captain@gmail.com
Yachting Captain- Nick Oldroyd : uob.sailing.yachting@gmail.com
Events Secretary : Ciara Charlwood: uob.sailing.eventssec@gmail.com
Development Officer (social sailing)- Lily Swerdlow : ubscdevelopment@gmail.com
Development Squad captains : Dylan Thatcher and Tom Baulkwill : uob.sailing.development@gmail.com
Social Secretaries- Freya Thomson and Ed Saunders: uob.sailing.socialsecs@gmail.com
Treasurer- Will Caiger : uob.sailing.treasurer@gmail.com
Sponsorship Secretary- Alex Horseman: uob.sailing.sponsorship@gmail.com
Bosun- Nathan Wood: ubsc.bosun@gmail.com
Trip Secretary- Elsie Jackson: uob.sailing.tripsec@gmail.com
Welfare Reps- Freya Thomson and Tori Sykes : uob.sailing.welfare@gmail.com
Social Media:
Website: https://bristolsailing.wixsite.com/ubsc
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BristolSailingClub
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bristolsailing/
Summer Sail Week Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bristolsailweek/
Freshers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/419914510749485/
For all Payments, See EVENTS and select the appropriate ticket
Terms and conditions
Click here to view terms and conditions
Membership Fee Inclusions
Prior to signing up to a Club or Society speak to the Committee to find out what your membership includes and if there are any further expenses throughout the year.
Service Standards
All Club or Society members can expect to receive:
- The opportunity to attend regular meetings, events, activities, trips and socials as arranged.
- The opportunity to stand for a committee position or vote in their elections (Bristol students only).
- For Sports Club – to attend regular training sessions and have the opportunity to be selected for the teams.
Code of Conduct
When joining a club or society you are agreeing to abide by the constitution, general rules, regulations and policies of University of Bristol Students’ Union and also the Club or Society Code of Conduct which sets out the level of behaviour & discipline expected of all Club & Society members.
Refund Policy
Any customer who pays for a membership subscription to a Bristol SU Society, Sports Club, Student Media and initiatives has a 14 day cooling off period from the time and date of purchase during which they have the right to cancel the subscription and receive a full refund. If you do decide to cancel within the 14 days, Bristol SU will refund your payment within a further 30 days of the cancellation. To request a refund please email: bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk
Data sharing (Sports Club members only)
Please be aware that Bristol SU may share data relating to the members of its sports clubs with the Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health (a department of the University). This information may be used for the purposes of communicating direct with these members and/or to cross-reference against SEH's Sports Pass membership records.
As part of Bristol SU's membership of British Universities & Colleges Sports (BUCS) Bristol SU may have to share data on to its sports clubs members so BUCS can, from time to time, communicate with these members.
Data sharing (Societies members only)
If you're joining one of the societies listed below please be aware that your name and email address will be shared with Bristol Hub for the purpose of keeping you up to date with their activities through their email “The Week”:
AIESEC Bristol, AMICUS Bristol, Anti-Slavery Society, Bristol Feminists, Bristol Friends of MSF, Bristol Marrow, Bristol Social Enterprise Society, Bristol Student Action for Refugees, Bristol University Amnesty International, Conservation Group, Bristol University Oxfam Group, Bristol University Sustainability Team, Bristol Volunteers for Development Abroad, Engineers Without Borders, Howard League for Penal Reform Student Society, International Affairs Society, Medsin Bristol, Model United Nations, and Vegetarian and Vegan Society.
For more information on Bristol Hub visit: http://www.bristolhub.org.
If you do not want your details shared with the Hub please email: bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk.
These terms shall be governed by English law and are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. Nothing in these terms shall exclude liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.
