The Royal Findhorn Yacht Club is located in a waterfront setting at

Findhorn Findhorn ( gd, Inbhir Èir or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 ...

, on the coast of

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

in Scotland, on a site overlooking the sheltered inshore waters of

Findhorn Bay Findhorn ( gd, Inbhir Èir or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 ...

History

In the early 1920s there were at least five local commercial

yawl A yawl is a type of boat. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan), to the hull type or to the use which the vessel is put. As a rig, a yawl is a two masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast p ...

s that competed in an annual regatta. As the decade progressed, a class of Lymington scows, an 11 ft 3in. long dinghy with a . single

lug sail The lug sail, or lugsail, is a fore-and-aft, four-cornered sail that is suspended from a spar, called a yard. When raised, the sail area overlaps the mast. For "standing lug" rigs, the sail may remain on the same side of the mast on both the port ...

was established, competing in regular Saturday sailing events. The first Commodore of Findhorn Yacht Club was James Chadwick and his home was used as the club meeting place. Parts of this building eventually became the current clubhouse."History"
RFYC. Retrieved 11 July 2009. 1930 saw the arrival of the first of the "Findhorn X class" . sailing boat, the prototype being constructed in the village for around £80. The X class is reputed to be the forerunner to the National 18 class. By the late nineteen thirties the X class fleet had over 20 boats, before the Second World War led to the cessation of pleasure sailing. After the war club activities recommenced, and from the late nineteen fifties there was a significant increase in both cruiser and dinghy sailing. In 1971 the Queen approved the use of the prefix "Royal" in the name of the Club.

Facilities

The club facilities include a bar and dining room and an equipment/dinghy shed, dinghy park and the two nearby piers.

Sailing

A variety of different dinghy and cruiser sailors make use of the club with racing mainly held in handicap classes. RFYC has an annual Open week held in July that starts with a Regatta weekend and continues as a separate series during the subsequent week. Every four years, RFYC hosts the UK & Irish National 18 ft Dinghy Championships, with boats coming from Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, and the

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. The National 18 fleet has evolved from a heavy clinker built dayboat into a lightly constructed GRP fast dinghy, requiring a crew of three.

Navigation

Findhorn Bay is a large sandy estuary with a narrow entrance that is some wide and long at its greatest extent. Most of the bay dries at low tide but a deep channel from the entrance to the bay leads eastward to the boatyard and then south past the village piers and RFYC premises. There are visitor's moorings and water and electricity is available at the north pier, which dries. The entrance to the bay itself provides navigational challenges. A long sandy bar stretches from east to west making an entrance at lower stages of the tide hazardous if not impossible. Inshore from the bar there is a shallow lagoon, which contains extensive

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

beds. At higher stages of the tide the channel admits larger craft, although the tide race can be strong."Navigation"
RFYC. Retrieved 11 July 2009.

References

External links

Royal Findhorn Yacht Club
* {{River Findhorn Royal yacht clubs Yacht clubs in Scotland Organisations based in Scotland with royal patronage Moray 1929 establishments in Scotland Sports clubs established in 1929 Sport in Moray Organisations based in Moray