More about the Club

The Lowestoft Cruising Club

A group of sailors formed The Lowestoft Cruising Club in 1965 as a club dedicated to yacht cruising.
The Club aims to promote cruising and provide members with mooring and other facilities.

Our club burgee is based on elements of the Coat of Arms of the Borough of Lowestoft, 1913. Consisting of a red crown above a golden sun on a blue background, it symbolises Lowestoft's position as the most easterly point in Britain.

The Club is run by a committee of twelve members, including seven officers (Commodore, Vice & Rear Commodores, Secretary, Treasurer, Moorings Officer and Social Secretary) that meets monthly.

Location

We are based at a freehold site on the north shore of Lake Lothing, near Oulton Broad, Lowestoft.
Access to and from the sea is through a regularly opening road bridge and the Norfolk Broads can be entered via a railway bridge, road bridge and a lock.

Membership

We are a relatively small club with just under 150 memberships (family, single, crew, honorary and visitor). The club ethos is one of self-help, with the members contributing where they can their skills, knowledge and time to help run the club and provide the facilities we enjoy.

Our members have a wide range of backgrounds, age and experience and mainly live locally. Their sailing experience varies from those who have just ventured out of the Norfolk Broads onto the sea, to those who cruise the North Sea, the Baltic, the English Channel, down into the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic. Our boats range from small 7-metre coastal sailing boats to 12-metre ocean cruisers; mainly sailing boats with just a few motor cruisers.

Facilities

As a result of the endeavours of past and present members, we have managed to build up an enviable set of club facilities. These are available at extremely low cost (in financial terms) to the membership.

We have moorings for 71 vessels with water and electricity on the pontoons and we accommodate visitors whenever we can in vacant berths. It should be noted that our pontoons are restricted in the size of the boats that can be accommodated.

No boat with a beam exceeding 3.5m or a LOA of 10m shall be allocated a berth on the north mooring and no boat with a beam exceeding 4m or a LOA exceeding 12m shall be allocated a berth on the south mooring. No boat under 8.5m LOA shall be allocated a berth on the south side.

On shore there is a marquee (no bar, so members bring their own drinks) and a small clubroom with showers and toilets (available for visitors). There is also a slipway (maximum 10 tonnes), mast crane, secure car park and winter storage ashore for about 50 boats.

Sailing & Social Events

Our sailing programme consists of a number of cruises 'in company', organised on an informal basis. Members also undertake cruises, solo or with friends, throughout Europe and beyond. We have a number of social events throughout the year.  As well as the organised events - barbecues, fitting out and laying up suppers and the annual dinner dance - there are also many ad hoc occasions.

The Lowestoft Cruising Club has a pontoon mooring at the nearby port of Southwold, enabling our members, some of whom also have their own moorings there, to join our friends at the Southwold Sailing Club or to just relax for a weekend when the tides are favourable.

Published twice a year, our club magazine 'Under Way' provides members with information and an opportunity to write about their personal sailing experiences.