Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club

The origins of the club go back to the 1960s when a group of keen dinghy sailors from the Leeds and surrounding areas negotiated with the Leeds Corporation Water Authority to form a Club on Thruscross reservoir near Blubberhouses. In 1966 the group were given permission and for nearly 30 years the resulting Leeds Sailing Club thrived at Thruscross, a 120 acre reservoir. Many types of dinghies were raced and windsurfing also became popular. Unfortunately, Thruscross suffered problems with water levels during dry summers in the 80s and particularly during droughts the reservoir could be almost empty. So in the early 1990’s, the club negotiated with Yorkshire Water for the move to the much larger and more open Grimwith Reservoir (371 acres). Grimwith Reservoir was originally built in 1883, then expanded by 700% to its current size by Yorkshire Water for its 100th anniversary in 1983. This provides a sailing area measuring about a mile by half a mile, excluding the north west corner which is out of bounds for sailing as it is a conservation area for wildlife. The club moved to Grimwith in 1995 and was later known as Grimwith Sailing Club. In 2004 the name was changed to Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club to better reflect the clubs regional status and to make it more obvious where the club is located for visitors and prospective members. The club became a registered charity in 2005.