New jetty transforms access for Llangorse Sailing Club safety boats

A new jetty has been built in a boathouse accessed directly from the lake for Llangorse Sailing Club’s powered safety boats. The new jetty project was made possible thanks to a SportWales grant to support clubs whose site and – or - facilities were damaged by the storms Bert and Darragh in October 2024. The project was also completed to the highest possible standard, thanks to the voluntary expertise and work of the Club’s Chief Instructor, Richard McCulloch, and Instructor John Farmer, who engineered and completed the project in the height of the summer when water-level is low. 

Commodore, John Mason says, “As an RYA Recognised Training Centre (RTC), it’s vital for us to have powered safety boats to support training in sailing. The club also deploys safety boats to support racing and recreational sailing every Sunday and other nominated days during the sailing season. Our “wet-shed” – as we call it - enables two safety boats to be stored floating and ready-for-action – reducing time to launch them by more than half.”

Last autumn’s storms had a dramatic impact on Llangorse Lake – not least to the site and facilities at the sailing club. “We’re used to some flooding – the clubhouse is built on an artificial elevation, and we have recently-introduced water-erosion defences,” John Mason continues. “However, the lake margins, jetties and our launching areas suffer the greatest impact. In the autumn storms, our jetty in the boathouse was completely lifted and detatched from its supports. The solution has been to build a new flood-resistant jetty using stronger and more long-lasting materials. Our new boathouse jetty ensures the sustainability of the Club for the future.”

“We are very grateful to SportWales for the storms’ Emergency Relief Fund for supporting us with this project – and we are very grateful to Richard and John for their expertise and commitment – dramatically-reducing the project cost. This year we are enjoying new demand from adults and young people alike to learn and enjoy sailing at Llangorse. This project enables us to meet that demand!”