About East Dorset Sailing Club (EDSC)

Club history

Founded in 1875 on the exact site it resides today, the East Dorset Sailing Club has had a long history of members enjoying the unique surroundings of Poole Harbour.Like-minded yachtsmen who were looking for a landing stage from which to go sailing chose this ideal position at the bottom of Evening Hill, overlooking Brownsea Island and close to the Harbour entrance, which lies at the end of the Sandbanks peninsular. Within a very short space of time a timber and corrugated iron boatshed was erected and closely followed by the slipway, sea defence wall and a pier. Indeed the latter still exists but in 1969 the old boatshed was demolished and replaced with a modern brick built, single storey clubhouse. More recently still this has been enhanced even further by the addition of a large first floor club room in which members can socialize, relax and enjoy the extensive views over Poole Harbour.

Location

East Dorset Sailing Club is ideally situated for members to explore Poole harbour with its many islands, inlets and the River Frome up to the historic town of Wareham. Alternatively, Poole Bay with its sandy beaches is found just outside the harbour whilst the Solent is an easy day sail to the east and the Jurassic coastline of Dorset stretches to the West.

Sailing in the harbour

The harbour has a low tidal range and a double high tide so there are only a few hours in the day where the sandy shoreline is exposed. Much of the harbour is shallow and is especially suited to shallow draft boats, though all main channels can be navigated by deep draught fin kneelers

Club Facilities

The club caters for both cruising and dinghy sailors alike, with around 60 swinging moorings suitable for mono-hull or multi-hull craft. There are drying and deep-water moorings for boats use during the season (1st April to 31st October) and tenders are moored on outhauls along the wooden pier. Dinghy spaces are located on hard standing and can be easily launched from the slipway.

The clubhouse provides showers, a wet room and a members lounge with kitchen facilities. The club has its own car park.

The club has a Laser Pico dinghy which is available for the use by all Full, Joint or Junior members in the sailing season (1st April to 31st October).

Organised events

The East Dorset Sailing Club is a relatively small, friendly club dedicated to sailing with an active programme including both racing and cruising. During the summer the racing is carried out on Friday evenings within the harbour or on specific weekends in Poole Bay. Organised cruises are undertaken in company either east towards ports in the Solent or westwards to Weymouth. On previous years there has also been an extended trip to France taking in both the Brittany and Normandy coastlines. Friday evening race nights are naturally a good occasion for all members to enjoy whether or not they are taking part. However, a full social programme is also laid on both in summer and winter so there is plenty of opportunity to get together.

Membership

The East Dorset Sailing Club is run on a self-help ethos. Members manage the club and it is expected that everyone take their turn whether helping with maintenance, organizing social and sailing events or even getting involved in committee duties. It is by this way that costs are kept to a minimum and ultimately the membership fees that have to be paid.

Thinking of joining?

Then contact: Hon Sec at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it for more details or by letter:-

Hon. Secretary,East Dorset Sailing Club 352 Sandbanks Road,Lilliput,Poole,Dorset BH14 8HY