York Sailing Club

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About YSC

York Sailing Club is a small and family-friendly dinghy sailing club based on the River Ouse just outside York, England.

Our main activity is sail racing, but we welcome everyone whether they want to race or not.

York Sailing Club is a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) affiliated club with three RYA certified instructors, two of whom hold Senior Instructor qualifications. The Club runs a limited programme of training sessions throughout the sailing season for its members. See our Training page for more details.

You don’t need a boat to join YSC. We believe that starting as a crew for an experienced member is one of the best ways to learn to sail. If you have sailing experience, or once you have gained some as a crew, we have boats that members can use for a nominal fee.

Our sailing season runs from early March to the end of October. There is racing on Sundays throughout the season and a Wednesday evening series runs from May to August. See the Racing section for more details.

Visitors are welcome. If you’d like to know more, pay us a visit on a Sunday during the season. Bring a change of clothes and a packed lunch and we’ll most likely get you out sailing if you want us to.

Location. York Sailing Club is situated in the village of Bishopthorpe just to the south of York. See the Location Map for more details and directions.

Boats. Members sail a wide variety of boats at the club, including GP14s, RS200s, Lasers, Toppers and RS Aeros. There are currently six club boats that are available for members to use: two RS Visions, two Fusions, a GP14 and a Topper.

Cruising and other activities. It’s not all racing. Members also cruise on the river, and we hold various other events, from “try a boat” days to “cake days” and BBQs. The club has an annual trip to Ullswater in the Lake District in summer, where members take their own and club boats for a weekend of sailing on some open water. Key features of this weekend are the Saturday-night football match (normally in the dark) and the Sunday 5am sail for the hardcore insomniacs!

What’s in a name? York Sailing Club started life as the British Transport Yacht Club York Division, and later became known as York Railway Institute Sailing Club. York Railway Institute was founded in 1886 as a sports and social club for railway employees. It was based in the city centre, and over the years it spread to several other sites around York, catering for an ever wider range of sports, as well as eventually allowing non-railway staff to become members. The sailing club was established in 1957, beside what was then the main east-coast line to London. The railway line closed in 1983 (the main line now follows a route a little further to the west), and the former railway line became a cycle track. York Railway Institute formally ceased to exist in 2016, when it became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) called simply York RI. The sailing club was part of this organisation until 2022, when the independent charity York Sailing Club was established.