Llandudno Sailing Club

If you like waves at your championship, Jim Saltonstall recommends this Welsh venue

Llandudno Sailing Club on the north coast of Wales offers a great venue for major open meetings or national events. The town itself is steeped in both character and history, and offers plenty to do if you’re bringing the family.

Access to the town has been greatly improved over the years. I used to go there by stagecoach, when it used to be a four-day camel ride. Now it is just four hours from Southampton which makes it a viable venue for your class’s national circuit. The A55 is the main road to use from either the M56 or the A556, feeding off the M6. The other option from the south is the M6/M54/A5/A438/A55, all relatively fast roads.

Accommodation in the area is plentiful, with lots of hotels, B&Bs, camping/caravan areas, and so on. But demand is high too, so book early to avoid disappointment. Restaurants are in abundance in the town, so there is no shortage of ferret fodder or liquid. Contact the club for inside information about the best places to stay or eat, or try the town’s tourist information centre.

The club itself is situated right on the sea front, slightly more on the eastern side of the town, with a nice clubhouse offering good all-round facilities. Boats are normally kept on top of the sea front overnight, near the main slipway down to the beach from which they launch. Launching takes you straight into the main racing area, which is situated in the middle of the bay between both the Great Orme and Little Orme headlands. Car parking on the sea front is unrestricted, which is great for when you’re rigging up.

There is no problem with launching and recovery of boats unless the wind is blowing from the north or north-east during spring tides, producing the highest of the high tides, and the lowest of the low. This is why the club recommends that any event is programmed to take place during neap tides. Rumour has it that the race management at the club is excellent, as the chairman of the RYA race management committee is a member there, so no problems in that department!

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