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Access to the Local Notices to Mariners from Poole Harbour Commissioners website- Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 24
“Sailing Close to the Wind” In sailing, this term refers to steering a vessel as close as possible to the direction the wind is blowing from, a technique requiring precision to avoid stalling in “irons.” While this allowed ships to … Read more - Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 23
“Posh” This term is thought to be an acronym for “Port Out, Starboard Home,” referring to the most desirable cabins on ships traveling between Britain and India during the colonial era. These cabins, located on the port side on the … Read more - Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 22
“Under the Weather” This phrase, now used to describe feeling ill or unwell, originates from the challenging conditions aboard early naval vessels. Sailors assigned to the “weather” side of the bow being exposed to waves, wind, and the ship’s constant … Read more - Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 21
“Over the Barrel” Punishment aboard a ship often involved flogging, and the condemned sailor was frequently tied over the barrel of a deck cannon, to a grating, or to the mast. The phrase now describes a situation where someone is … Read more
About the Club
Established in 1875, East Dorset Sailing Club is located on Evening Hill, Sandbanks on the northern shore of Poole Harbour. We are now the oldest sailing club in Poole and in 2025 we will be celebrating our 150th Anniversary.
Members enjoy club sailing with regular dinghy racing and cruiser events run between April 1st and October 31st. EDSC is run by the members for the members. As such each member is expected to complete a number of duties during the sailing season as a condition of their membership.
During the sailing season we have moorings available for small cruisers and yachts up to 35ft. Our club house and pier were in fact built by our members many years ago, the clubhouse has fabulous views across the harbour to Brownsea Island and Sandbanks.
The club has a dinghy yard, rack space and a toast rack for tenders in addition to this we have the longest private pier in the harbour with numerous tender outhauls.
In the boatyard we have space for members’ dinghies and club owned boats, which now include two family size Topper Argos, Fusion Pro, Toppers, a Laser and an Optimist which are all available for members to use on a fee paying basis during the sailing season. This means that members don’t have to have their own boat in order to enjoy sailing from the club. We are also fortunate to have a sailing season car park.