31 Grangemuir Road Prestwick Ayrshire KA9 1SN Commodore - Chris Clow 01292 265646
The History of Prestwick Sailing Club
Bill Johnston, approached Tom Bonar Lyon one evening in 1959, and asked him what he thought about starting sailing in Prestwick. He knew the Bonar Lyons sailed at Largs. Tom thought it was a great idea and they put an advert in the Ayrshire Post to have a meeting about it and were amazed when something like 100+ people responded and came to the meeting in the St Nicholas Hotel. Everyone committed £1 and that was the beginning.
They were given the land by the council and the money that was collected went to buy the wood and chain link fencing for the compound. Everybody turned up one very cold sunny morning at the beginning of the year and the original compound was built in a weekend, more or less.
The first club accommodation was a beach hut, there was no loo or showers or anything. (They used the public loos at the cafe on the corner which used to be there). Races were started using a starting gun from a Walrus Seaplane which came from the airport and fired blank 12 bore cartridges causing old ladies to have the vapours and fall off the sea wall! It was mounted on the wall of the hut and was fired by pulling a string. Somebody had a shotgun in case the Walrus starter didn't work!
Later, a grant was received from the National Playing Fields Association and the club raised £1000 selling raffle tickets at 6d each (old money). The prize was a new Enterprise, which cost about £80 at that time! It was won by someone from Glasgow. To help sell the tickets it was on a stand at the Boat Show in the Kelvin Hall that year.
Very few people had oilskins and life jackets were old kapok type things bought from the ship breaker's yard in Troon. Buoyancy on the boats was rudimentary - no self-bailers - barrels for marks and the jib sheet and main sheet were cotton and hard as hell, which took the skin off your hands.
Thanks to Helene Rowell for this contribution to PSC history. If anyone would like to contribute more to the Club's history, please write to Stuart Powrie, 15 St Ninians Road, Prestwick, KA9 1SL or send an email.
This is an old picture of the sea front at the bathing pool. Its the oldest picture I can find of Prestwick and isn't really to do with the club. So it would be great if someone could supply an old picture related to the club. Send to webmaster