Welcome from SGBA Commodore, Julian Williams
Welcome to the SGBA Website. Our 500+ members will find here everything they need to make the most of their membership. Prospective members will, I hope, find out enough to encourage them to join us.
The SGBA was founded in the 1970s and for four decades has given masses of fun and pleasure to thousands of adults and youngsters who venture out on the beautiful waters of the River Dart in this lovely part of South Devon. Following a successful development project 2014 – 2016 we now have fabulous facilities at Mill Point to enable and support even more fun on the water for our sailors, kayakers, canoeists and rowers.
The Club is in a superb, but unusual location. We offer:
- a fleet of over 30 sailing dinghies owned by the club
- a flotilla of 15 canoeing, kayaking and rowing craft owned by the club
- all of which are available for members to use for a modest annual fee
- an intention to meet the needs of sailors and paddlers equally
- a new clubhouse with comprehensive facilities
- foreshore berths and racks for 80 member-owned dinghies and kayaks
- lockers for members’ equipment (useful for members who own boats, not least those who have yachts on nearby moorings on the Dart)
- over 350 adult members and over 175 juniors, most living in South Devon but some from as far away as the West Midlands
- registration as an RYA RTC and a reputation for teaching children to sail (RYA Youth Sailing Scheme Stages 1 – 4). Our new clubhouse adds scope to broaden the range of courses we can offer, including theory courses. We hope to introduce canoe/kayak courses soon.
- bags of enthusiasm, and a desire that every member should make the most of the club and the opportunities it offers.
The unusual bits about our location? Just two: vehicular access is across a tidal foreshore – we cope well enough; and we are required to limit activities at Mill Point to daylight hours only – so we use venues in the village for evening social events.
The SGBA is typical of clubs which the RYA says do best these days: embracing all types of boating, run by enthusiasts and with up-to-date facilities. I’m honoured to serve as Commodore for two years from March 2017. I welcome contact from current members and prospective members - send me an email. Prospective members will find lots of information on the membership page. Then come and visit, weekends are best – email me first so I can arrange someone to meet you.
Following a significant collapse over the weekend of 24/25 March, a risk exists of further rockfalls from the face of the quarry between the Clubhouse and the new rack for the Picos. This area has been cordoned off and warning signs posted. There also remains a continuing, but lower, risk of rockfalls along the foreshore between the public slipway and the Clubhouse. Caution should be exercised.
The Club organises a range of events: Sunday sailing, junior and adult sailing courses, powerboat instruction, and instructional and social events.
Dates of the events can be found here.
The Club has arranged Paddle Board tuition for members at Mill Point with a local qualified instructor, Alana Bonnick of The Paddleshack, Dartmouth.
For details, see the Training Page.
The parking area of the quay and lawns around the Mill Pond are privately owned and operated as a business. Managing the lawns, the quay side parking area, fencing, staffing and paying for insurance etc are just some of the expenses incurred in maintaining the parking facility throughout the year.
Fees are charged in the summer season, starting on Good Friday, but the owners kindly allow local residents to park for limited periods on the quay side free of charge during the normal working days of Monday to Friday. On high season weekends and Bank Holidays, though, they need to charge for every space in order to generate sufficient income. SGBA members are reminded that on such days everyone, local and visitor, will be charged the standard rate for parking.
Should members need regular parking on the quay the most cost effective option is to purchase a season ticket, allowing unlimited parking on any day of the year.
The annual booklet of Stoke Gabriel tide tables is now available from Stoke Gabriel Stores (Roz’s) and the River Shack, as well as at SGBA events.
More details on the Weather and Tides page.
We learned from the Survey in 2017 that many members prefer to sail or paddle when others will be on the river, rather than on their own. So we have set up a What’s App group through which members will get alerts when others are going afloat and through which those in the group can make arrangements with each other.
To join the group, text your name and mobile number to: River Lovejoy on 07523 544986.
