More than a place to sail
Welsh Harp Sailing Club is a volunteer-run sailing and windsurfing club in North London. We welcome people who are completely new to sailing, experienced sailors, families, young people, racers, recreational sailors and people looking for a new way to stay active on the water.
What connects us is not one particular type of sailing. It is the opportunity to learn, develop, take part and belong.
At WHSC, learning to sail is only the beginning.
We have built opportunities that help people move from their first experience on the water to independent sailing, racing, coaching and eventually helping someone else. But there is no single route through the club, and racing is not the destination for everyone.
Some people want to develop their sailing. Some want to race. Some simply want to spend an evening on the water with friends. Others get involved through volunteering, coaching, maintenance, the Cadets or the wider life of the club.
There is always a next step.
The Welsh Harp Model
At the heart of WHSC is an approach we call the Welsh Harp Model.
It is about making sure that progression does not happen by accident. Each stage is designed to make the next one feel achievable: from trying sailing, to learning the basics, becoming independent, joining in with racing or recreational sailing, developing skills and eventually helping the next person.
We have very active class racing in GP14, ILCA and Cadet fleets, every Saturday and Tuesday evening (Spring/Summer). For those who want to race, this includes our A Helm / B Helm approach, where less experienced sailors develop alongside experienced helms – an easy way to become part of the racing community rather than having to find their way into it alone.
Read about the Welsh Harp Model
The Welsh Harp Model isn't a pathway that everyone has to follow. It is one example of how we help people progress within the club.
Find your own way onto the water
Not everyone has to follow the same path. There are lots of ways to get involved, depending on where you are starting from and what you want to do …
For those interested in windsurfing, we help you find what’s right for you as well...
And of course, for our Juniors there are lots of opportunities too…
You don't need to arrive knowing how to sail, and you don't need to know where you want sailing to take you.
You might start with a taster session, join an RYA course, come along to Thursday evening training, sail with an instructor or take part in supervised recreational sailing. As your confidence grows, you can sail independently, try racing, join a fleet, or simply enjoy more time on the water.
For younger sailors, there are opportunities to learn, race, gain qualifications and develop the skills to help other young sailors.
People developing people
WHSC is run by its members. The people who teach, coach, organise racing, provide safety cover, maintain boats and run the club are also sailors who have developed within the club themselves.
A large part of what makes WHSC work is that people don't just receive opportunities — they go on to help create them for others.
We support members who want to develop the skills and qualifications that allow them to contribute. This includes:
- financially supporting RYA instructor, powerboat, safety boat and other training;
- coaching and supporting members as they work towards qualifications;
- providing in-house coaching, teaching and CPD;
- giving members opportunities to practise their skills in a supportive environment;
- encouraging experienced sailors to mentor people earlier in their journey.
Members can go on to become instructors, coaches, race officials, safety boat crew, committee members and club leaders.
People join, develop, contribute, support others and help create opportunities for the next person.
The Tuesday Team
Every week, a team of 10–15 volunteers comes together to maintain, improve and care for the Welsh Harp.
The Tuesday Team brings together people with a wealth of practical skills and experience, who give their time to make the site safer, more accessible and a better place for everyone to enjoy the water.
From maintaining jetties and slipways, caring for dinghies and powerboats, managing vegetation and repairing equipment to keeping the grounds and buildings in good order, their work makes a huge difference to the club and the Harp as a whole. Much of it happens behind the scenes, but it helps make sailing possible for thousands of people each year.
The Tuesday Team is a wonderful example of how people can continue to make a difference through WHSC, sharing their skills, working together and helping create opportunities for others to sail. Their contribution helps sustain not just our club, but the wider watersports community around the Welsh Harp.
Celebrating our volunteers
WHSC is volunteer-run, and volunteers make everything we do possible.
We want to recognise the many different ways people contribute — teaching someone their first sail, helping to run a race, maintaining boats, supporting a junior, organising an event, welcoming a new member or taking on a role in running the club.
There isn't one way to be an active member
Being an active member doesn't mean doing one particular thing - at WHSC, people take part in the club in many different ways:
Racing · Recreational sailing · Windsurfing · Juniors & Cadets · Sailability · Yachting & offshore sailing · Social activities · Maintenance · Volunteering · Coaching · Tuesday Team · Leadership & running the club
You might come to WHSC to learn to sail and discover racing. You might prefer relaxed sailing with friends. You might windsurf, help with the Cadets, become an instructor, join the Tuesday Team, sail offshore with other members or simply spend a Thursday evening on the water and stay for dinner.
And what you do can change over time.
Someone might race for several years and then move towards coaching. A parent might arrive through their child's junior sailing and discover sailing themselves. Someone who starts as a beginner might eventually become an instructor. Someone else might never race at all, but become an important part of the club through volunteering, maintenance or social activities.
There is room for all of these things at WHSC.
Sailability
We also want sailing at WHSC to be accessible to people who might otherwise find it difficult to get on the water.
Our Sailability activities are part of the club's wider sailing. We have accessible equipment and facilities, and our volunteers work with individual sailors to make participation possible and enjoyable.
Part of the community around us
We want Welsh Harp Sailing Club to be part of the community around the Welsh Harp, not simply a club for people who already sail.
We work with local organisations and communities to give people the opportunity to try sailing who might never otherwise have done so.
This includes projects with local schools and families, young people, adult English-language learners and community organisations. Where we can, we want to create a route from that first experience into longer-term participation — learning new skills, returning to the water, becoming members and eventually helping others discover sailing too.
We also value being part of the wider community around the reservoir and working alongside organisations and groups who share an interest in the Welsh Harp and its environment.
Friends of Welsh Harp · Brent Birders · Canal & River Trust
A club with a plan
Looking ahead… we are not simply trying to maintain the club we have today. We want WHSC to keep developing.
Our Club Development Plan sets out how we want to build on what already works: creating more opportunities to get on the water, developing sailors and volunteers, supporting our junior and youth members, maintaining and improving our facilities and equipment, and keeping the club welcoming, sustainable and active for the future.
Read the WHSC Club Development Plan
A club in the heart of London
And then there is the place itself.
Welsh Harp Sailing Club is based on Brent Reservoir — the Welsh Harp — in North London, with around 125 acres of open water. We are less than 10 miles from central London and close to Wembley and Brent Cross, with good public transport connections.
The club has 2 clubhouses with changing rooms, showers, accessible facilities, kitchen and bar, boat and board storage, workshop, 48 club boats, loads of windsurfing kit and alog with our Harp neighbours, exclusive access to the reservoir 365 days a year.
Find your place at WHSC
Whatever brings you through the door, we hope you find your place here.
You might come for your first sail. You might come to race. You might come because your child sails here. You might come to windsurf, volunteer, meet people or simply spend more time outdoors.
You don't need to know exactly what you want to do.
Start somewhere. Learn something. Meet people. Find your next step.