The club which was founded in 1966, is run by volunteers and is non-profit making. It is a fully affiliated and registered training centre with the RYA (The Royal Yachting Association). The Club caters for sailors of all abilities, and we are particularly proud of our junior membership and youth squad. In 2012 we were awarded ‘RYA Club of the Year’. We welcome new members, both those wishing to learn for the first time or more experienced sailors keen to join in our racing programme.
The 140 acre reservoir is owned by Anglian Water and is a peaceful location not just for sailing but also for walkers, fishing or bird watching. We have a 'members only' car park with combination locks allowing access to all members out of hours.
We have over the years added to and improved our facilities mostly with our own efforts but acknowledge grant assistance from Sports England and Daventry District Council. Our facilities are modern and well maintained. Our Galley/Tea Bar is run by volunteers and we serve simple lunches when there is Sunday sailing.
We have a small fleet of modern boats as well as buoyancy aids for hire. Our boat parking is more than sufficient and well controlled. If you do own your own boat you can keep and use it at the club for an annual craft fee. Insurance - All boats sailed/kept at Hollowell must be insured for third part liability to a minimum value of £ 2,000,000.
In 2015 we implemented a system called WebCollect which is an internet based membership system. The main benefit for the Club is that it will considerably reduce the administration overhead by enabling new membership applications and membership renewals to be performed on-line by members in much the same way as they would purchase products from on-line retailers such as Amazon. The system also allows members to update their details e.g. address, contact numbers et. on-line, and will delivers cost savings to the Club by reducing the amount of paperwork and postage incurred every year at renewal time. The system is also be used to collect booking fees for Training Courses, Social Events and booking our hire boats.
What does membership entail? - we charge fees of course, but importantly we place great value on the contribution of time. Each member is asked to contribute a minimum of two full days ‘duty’ each year to enable us to deliver a very full programme of activities. On a typical race day Sunday for example, there are usually 5 duty jobs to fill: Duty Officer, Assist Duty Officer, Boat Officer and Assist Boat Officer. The Galley is manned by one person on normal Sundays and two or more if it is Youth Training or an Open Meeting.
Many of our members also give their time freely to operating the club, as Committee Members, or providing instruction and training on our courses and to the upkeep of the buildings and grounds.
We have a very comprehensive racing calendar. We cover most areas of sailing - handicap & pursuit. We sail from March to December.
Our members enjoy a full programme of informal and formal social events including BBQs and camping through the warmer months. Our annual prize giving is attended by more than 80 members as is our Summer Party. For those who do not plan to sail you can still join as a social member and enjoy the benefits of beautiful surroundings and constant on-the-water entertainment!
Hollowell SC is run entirely by volunteers and there are over 63 recognised job roles, so if you would like to join an enthusiastic team please do get in touch with the Commodore.