One of Cornwall’s most popular sailing clubs is celebrating its centenary year with the completion of a new home.
Flushing Sailing Club’s new base was made possible by a list of donations from the local community and a £92k injection from Sport England.
Starting in the simplest of sheds in 1921, Flushing Sailing Club has long prided itself on avoiding the airs and graces that have defined many yacht clubs, while offering a welcoming face to the sport of sailing.
“We’re absolutely thrilled with the new building,” said Commodore Gaye Slater. “We have so many people to thank for their efforts from the significant donations of many in the community, the £92k grant from Sport England and the in-kind support of an army of volunteers who have given and given and given.”
The new facilities include a larger bar, a commercial grade kitchen and critical improvements to the fabric of the listed New Quay upon which the building stands. There is also a purpose-designed race office on the second floor which sits in the apex of the building and gives race managers a birds-eye view of the activity on the water below.
The new clubhouse marks phase one of plans to add more accessibility to the sport by building a new pontoon to enable better access for all to the water.
A critical part of the plan to provide the new facilities has been to make it available to the wider community in Flushing beyond just the sailing club. There are already plans for yoga, language classes, a bi-weekly community lunch club and presentations made possible thanks to the state-of-the-art digital equipment.
“It’s the culmination of a great deal of work by so many talented and generous people,” said Dave Owens, a club member who project managed the build.
“This new building has been a challenge built upon a listed Cornish quay in a conservation area in an area of outstanding natural beauty, adjacent to a special area of conservation and all the project partners have worked brilliantly with us to make it work.”
