A Brief History

Frensham Great Pond was created in the Middle Ages by damming Whitmore Vale Stream at the west end of the Pond. The Bishop of Winchester stocked the Pond with fish which transferred alive in barrels to local monasteries to provide Friday lunch.

Paintings from the 18th century show boats sailing on the Pond, and in the period between the world wars sailing boats were hired out by the local hotel. During WW2 the Pond was drained to stop the Luftwaffe using it as a navigational waypoint. With peace the water returned and local residents used a dozen sailing craft for impromptu racing.

Frensham Pond Sailing Club was formed in February 1953, occuping around half an acre leased from the hotel. The 'clubhouse' was a repurposed corrugated iron cow shed which served as the men’s changing room and somewhere to brew tea on a primus stove. The ladies changing room was a smaller shed. Racing began that April with 10 boats in a handicap fleet with no two boats alike. These races, held in the gusty conditions Frensham is well known for, were often chaotic with broken masts, collisions and only a sketchy knowledge of the rules.

One-design racing classes were introducd with National Twelves, Fireflies, GP14's and Graduates predominating. The Cadet was adopted for youth sailing and has foremd the backbone of the Club’s youth sailing ever since. Today Frensham has the largest Cadet fleet in the UK - 35 boats / 70 young sailors. The Club also staged open meetings - a bold decision for a club based on a grass field, a makeshift hut, and the local pub. Planned with meticulous attention to detail, the Club’s reputation for high standards and good racing grew with each event.

By 1964 the Club occupied just over 2 acres of land and ownership of that passed to the local council, with the Club granted a sixty year lease for the existing grounds and use of the Pond for sailing and boating. A new Clubhouse was opened in April 1965. Since that time there has been a steady improvement to facilities with extensions to the main building, provision of a bar, the opening of new changing rooms in November 1989, and the addition of accessible facilities for Sailability.

Over the years one-design classes have come and gone. Currently Cadets, RS Teras, GP14s, RS 200s, Enterprises, Solos, Lasers/ILCAs, and International 2.4mRs form the core of one design racing. There are also development fleets of Phantoms and RS Fevas. The International 2.4 metre keelboat was introduced in the 1990s through Sailability. At the time it was the single-handed Paralympic class and it soon attracted a big following of both disabled and able bodied sailors. Frensham boasts the largest and most competitive fleet in the UK.

Sailing for people with disabilities and long term health needs  started at Frensham in 1982, run in partnership with Farnham and District Sports Association for the Disababled. Following a major fundrasing campaign which enabled the Club to invest in new facilities, Frensham Pond Sailability was officially launched on 22 September 2001 by Lord Wakeham. It now provides a wide range of small boat sailing in Hansas, Laser Stratos and International 2.4mR keelboats.

The Club became an RYA Recognised Training Centre in 1984. The Club now employs a full-time Chief Instructor and has between 30 and 40 seasonal instructors to call upon and traiing fleets of Optimists, Toppers, Hartley 10s, RS Zests and RS Quests. There are training programmes for beginners and imporvers of all ages. Courses for U18s run throughout school holidays and on Saturdays; adult courses can be on Saturdays or mid-week.

Youth Race Coaching programmes at the Club are focussed on the International Cadet (double-hander) and International RS Tera (single-hander), with both having fleets of over 30 boats based at the Club. There are also race coaching groups for ILCAs and RS Fevas.