Bromsgrove Boaters - Information

Bromsgrove Boaters is an RYA Affiliated club and was formed some sixteen years ago with the primary intention of encouraging people like you to take up off-shore sailing. Our membership is about 150 and our members' ages range from teens to seventies. The Club has a high proportion of lady members, several of whom have skippered boats in their own right.

We meet every third Wednesday of the month at 8pm in the Bromsgrove Rugby Club, Finstall Road, Bromsgrove to talk about our common interest of sailing, to listen to invited speakers, and to plan our sailing weekends.

Over the years we have invited such luminaries of the sailing world as Chay Blyth, Claire Francis, Lisa Clayton, and Tony Bullimore to talk to us about their experiences. We also invite speakers, expert in their fields, to talk to us about sailing related subjects such as electronic navigation, charts, ropes, etc.

Throughout the years of the Club’s existence, its original premise has not changed. It was formed to offer the opportunity to everyone who wants to, to go off-shore sailing safely and economically. No prior sailing experience is necessary, although most of our members have completed basic dinghy sailing courses.

Sailing is what the Club is about, of course, and we organise sailing weekends in the Spring and in the Autumn. These weekends cost about £85 per person, including food, etc.
A few of our members do have their own boats, but mostly we charter through companies specialising in that aspect of sailing.
Popular areas for our members to charter in for the past few years are the Solent, the South West and the East Coast.
The yachts we charter all conform to the relevant Department of Trade regulations which stipulate stringent requirements for on-board safety equipment and distances from a ‘safe haven’ in which they are allowed to be sailed. Proper wet weather gear is available if required.

We ensure that all boats are skippered by suitably experienced Club members with the remainder of the crew being made up of people of varying degrees of ability. Everyone on board is encouraged to take an active part in the boat handling and navigation.

During the summer months, some of our more experienced members organise longer voyages and look for crew from among Club members. Our members have sailed in the Baltic, across the Channel to France and the Channel Isles; the Mediterranean; the Scillies, Scotland and Ireland.

One of our members has recently completed a two-year round the world voyage and others have crossed the Atlantic. One young lady member is Mate on a yacht cruising the Antarctic as part of a youth-inspired attempt to highlight the growing pollution problems there. Another of our members was the Mate on ‘Time & Tide’ in the 1998 BT Global Challenge around the world race.

As part of the Club’s policy of on-going improvement in member’s skills, we organise and facilitate various RYA Approved practical courses. These cover First Aid, Sea Survival, GMDSS/VHF Radio, We also run Day Skipper and Yachtmaster. Shorebased theory courses. These are held at various local venues,depending on the level of demand. In short, you could join Bromsgrove Boaters with absolutely no previous experience of off-shore sailing and within a couple of years or so you could be skippering safely – all at minimum cost.

Our membership fees are only £10 per person, per year, less if you are under 18, or under 21 and in full-time education.
If you are interested in finding out more about us, then come along to one of our meetings. You will be most welcome. Non-members only pay £1 per visit

Useful Contact name and phone number:
Commodore Ken Tomlinson 01564 200287

For more information Please use the link below to view the club website.