On Sunday 2nd July 2023 Midland Sailing Club ran its second Open Day of the season, which we now call ‘Down by the Waterside.’
59 people from all over the city coming along to try watersports. It was great to see such a wide range of ages and diversity wanting to learn how to Sail, Windsurf and Paddle (including both Stand-Up Paddleboards and Kayaks).
The day had its challenges with the weather but everyone came off the water with a smile on their face and some parents said that they never expected their child would be able to do the activity by themselves.
The Sail Birmingham Team with the support of Midland Sailing Club members did a great job of showing the people who attended that watersports can be accessed by anyone. Special mention goes to Jason who in challenging weather conditions controlled the shore line and made sure that people knew what was going on.
With Steve, Alan and their team on safety everyone was always looked after and they instilled confidence whenever people felt the wind was getting too much.
Oliver and his team looked after the pontoon where the sailors went from, either in our Hansa 303 boats or the Bahia which had an instructor in.
Phil, Verity and Ray ran the windsurfing, doing a great job getting people that at first were not very confident, and even some small kids with the smallest sail we have, to have an enjoyable time.
Last but not least, we were joined again by members of Birmingham Canoe Club running the paddleboarding, kayaking and canoe activities.
We also had a great team of volunteers running the galley and front of house, helping make sure everyone’s experience very rewarding.
Well done everyone!