Croydon Sailing Club meets almost every Sunday of the year at 10:00 for our regular race sessions, with additional Go Sailing  (casual sailing )  sessions for non-racers throughout the Summer months (preregistration required).

      

Croydon Sailing Club is one of the few clubs within London where there is an opportunity to sail with other enthusiasts with the emphasis on friendly competitive racing. By agreement with the London Borough of Croydon, the club uses South Norwood Lake, six acres of former canal reservoir situated between Crystal Palace and Norwood. There is a boat park and a small clubhouse. The main classes of dinghy sailed are Bytes, Toppers, Comets, Herons and Lasers, but other classes are welcome (see Membership page for current guidelines).

The club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 and has a clubhouse situated along the south side of the lake where it operates race control.  Boats are launched from a small slipway on the west side of the lake. Sailing starts from a floating jetty. In 2014 with funding from Sport England ,Croydon Council and  Croydon Voluntary Action it became a RYA Training Centre which is now transferred to Norwood Watersports offering sailing and kayaking training courses.

                        

Racing

Racing on a handicap basis is organised on Sunday mornings all year round and is open to all adult members with at least RYA Level 2, or equivalent sailing experience. A list of  racing events is found in the calendar section. There are winter and summer series races all year, with the first race starting at 10.30am and the second at around 12 noon, which are interspersed with one off event races for which trophies are awarded. Members launch their boats kept in the boat park using a short ramp into the water and then they are tied up onto a pontoon known as the jetty. Wet or dry suits must be worn between the months of November and April to protect against  cold water shock  in case of capsize in strong winds.

     

There is a boat park for members boats and a number of club boats. Club boats are available for use at its Go Sailing, Ancient mariners and  Go Racing  for which there is an annual fee.

Go Sailing

Members, who are competent sailors, are able to sail independently on Wednesday evenings from mid-May to mid-August from 6pm, when a duty officer arrives to open the boat park, until sundown (which varies  from 9pm in June to 8pm in August). This is an opportunity to practise skills, alter rigging or try out other members or club boats.

 Ancient Mariners

Members meet on Wednesday afternoons  most of the year to take part in a pursuit race. this is coordinated by a committee member through a whats app group.

 Social Activities & Events

During the year members can  take part in non-sailing activities organise by our social secretary. During recent years, members had the opportunity to get together at a evening chess competition,  theatre night out, private viewing of Crystal Palace  museum, mini golf, Ride London and  the annual dinner.