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About Benfleet Yacht Club


Benfleet Yacht Club welcomes "New Members"




Detailed below is a resume of our club: what it has to offer and the facilities available to it's members.

Example typical Membership and boat mooring / storage costs can be found in summary at the bottom of this page.

For further details on Membership, please visit the following pages: Membership Categories & Costs and Membership Application Form


Moorings

We have a large number of moorings for our members cruising yachts, located in the sheltered waters of Benfleet Creek. Our creek is tidal and drying. We offer both mid-river fore and aft 'trot' moorings and bankside staging's. Believe it or not, many of our members own 'single keel' yachts, which stand upright on their keel, held against the bankside staging (yes, it really does work well).


Boat Storage

Our club has facilities to store approximately 170 cruising yachts and 160 sailing dinghies / rowing craft. Our cruiser laying-up facilities are second to none: better (and far cheaper) than many commercial / marina facilities. We have a large slipway for launching and recovery of all boats, plus a winch which can handle cruising yachts up to 40 feet long (subject to weight limits) on trollies. We also have a large crane to lift mast and engines etc.


Dinghy Sailing

Sailing and racing mainly takes place in the sheltered waters of Benfleet Creek. We have an extensive racing programme running throughout the entire year, which encompasses all classes and types of sailing dinghies.


Yacht Cruising

Benfleet Creek provides a gateway to the Thames Estuary and beyond. For local cruising (just a few hours away), we have the Rivers Medway and Swale with their wonderful creeks, towns, pubs and anchorages. A bit further afield (a short day sail), there are the superb cruising grounds of the East Coast Rivers. For a great summer cruise, we are not too far away from the northern coast of France and Belgium and the vast inland waterways of Holland. The one advantage of cruising from our drying tidal creek is that it makes you get out there; to make use of a full day or weekend away sailing. Many of our members have worked the tides for most of their life and still enjoy our unique position. We hold a number of weekend 'cruises-in-company' throughout the summer, many with a drink and BBQ, or a meal ashore, providing a good social get-together.


Yacht Racing

Our cruiser-racing programme is held in conjunction with other local yacht clubs: run under the auspices of 'Combined Clubs Series' (CCS). This provides opportunities to have more boats competing, whilst distributing the workload for running such events. Most of our races are port-to-port events, often finishing at a venue with a yacht club, pub or restaurant to provide an evening social get-together, with a cruise home on the following day.


Nore Race

The Nore Race is a combined 'open' cruiser and dinghy race held each year covering a 20 mile circuit of the Thames Estuary, starting and finishing at Southend Pier. Benfleet Yacht Club have been organising this event since the 1930's. For many competitors, the Nore Race is the only race that they will compete in: which they treat more like a rally, rather than a full on race until the starting gun fires. Once finished many competitors, both yachts and dinghies, anchor in The Ray and enjoy the Ray Sands before returning home on the tide.


Round Canvey Island Race

This annual 'open' event was established in 2010 and attracts both rowing and sailing vessels, undertaking a complete circuit of Canvey Island: a distance of 14 ½ miles. An eclectic mix of vessels have competed to date: fixed seat and sliding seat row boats, surf ski's, kayaks, outrigger canoes and a variety of sailing dinghies. The time record to-date is just 1 hour 47 minutes: providing an average speed of 7.4 knots. Boats from as far away as Whitby have travelled to compete in this event, with many of the visiting competitors camping in BYC overnight.


Coastal Rowing

Benfleet Yacht Club 'Coastal Rowers' are an active section of rowing enthusiasts. The club own a number and variety of fixed and sliding seat coastal rowing craft, which are available for all members to use. Many of our rowing members compete in major events in other parts of the UK and on the near continent.


Clubhouse

We have a large three storey clubhouse, comprising of the main bar and lounge area, a function room, with full catering facilities, which can accommodate up to 100 people seated, plus toilets and shower / changing rooms. Our bar is open to members and their guests 7 days each week: Monday to Saturday both lunchtimes and evenings and Sunday from midday through to late afternoon (click here for times). We are also open lunchtime on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The main function room (known as the Dowsing Room) is also available for hire at a modest fee to members for their own functions, weddings etc.


Social and Entertaiments Programme

Throughout the year, we have an active social and entertainment programme, with events such as: Black Tie Annual Dinner, Laying Up and Fitting Out Suppers, Prizegiving Functions, Burns Night, just to name a few.


Cadet Sail Training Week

Each summer, usually at the start of the school summer holidays, Benfleet Yacht Club run a sail training course, held over a 5 day period, for our Cadet members ranging from 7 to 17 years old inclusive. The training programme follows the RYA Youth Training Scheme at all levels. All of the training team are RYA qualified Dinghy Instructors, Senior Instructors and Assistant Instructors, with the majority being BYC members. Lunch, snacks and a full evening meal is provided for each day. A great opportunity for our younger members to learn to sail, and great fun too.





For further details on Membership, please visit the following pages:

Membership Categories & Costs

and

Application Form



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