Starcross Fishing & Cruising Club

When Starcross Yacht Club (founded c.1827) moved up river to Powderham in 1959, a small group remained at Starcross, as it was more convenient to be nearer the sea. This group were the beginnings of SFCC. On the 14th October 1959 the inaugural meeting of SFCC took place, and Brian Claridge was elected Commodore. In the early days, meetings were held in the Courtenay Arms. A lease to the nearby Ashe’s Quay was acquired, which had since been vacated by SYC. Here the club flourished, and by May 1960, had over 160 members. In 1973, Regents House in the village was purchased, and with members volunteering their various skills, the premises were soon transformed into a fine clubhouse. It was opened by, ‘Round-The-World Yachtsman’ Sir Alec Rose, on the 6th April 1973. SFCC continued to grow, and in 1993, we had the opportunity to purchase the Grade 1 historically listed Brunel Tower. Built in 1847 by I K Brunel as a GWR Atmospheric Railway Pumping House, previous to our purchase it had been a coal warehouse, and more recently, a GWR Railway Museum. After a long 18 months of personal effort from SFCC members, a completely new clubhouse took shape, tailored to the clubs needs. The first stage of opening, the lower floor comprising of Dinghy Storage, was by Clive Bastone in 1994. Our then Club President, Gordon Mortimer, officially opened the completed new SFCC Brunel Tower Clubhouse on Friday 7th February 1997.