History of Barnt Green Sailing Club

Barnt Green Sailing Club has a long and distinguished history.

Sailing first began at Upper Bittell in 1918. In 1920, the lakes at Barnt Green came up for sale for £5,000 and were purchased by a group of far-sighted local people. They each put in £100 and formed the limited company of Barnt Green Waters Ltd, whose sole business was the maintenance of the property.

Barnt Green Waters Ltd has six directors, three from the sailing club and three from the fishing club. No dividend is ever paid to the shareholders nor fees to the directors. As shareholding (full) members have left the club, they have been replaced by others (equal numbers from the fishing club and sailing club) and "buy £100 of shares" to become full members. In this way shareholders have been paid back as they have left.

Over the years, the need to raise capital for building projects has resulted in an increase in the number of full members. There are now 112 full members, 56 in each of the fishing and sailing clubs. Of course, £100 was worth very much more in 1920 than it is now. Full members pay their main subscription to Barnt Green Waters (this pays for much of the maintenance of the property), and a supplement to the sailing club. The shares cannot be traded and the property cannot be sold.

This arrangement has kept a wonderful asset for the use of this and future generations.

The fishing club and sailing club are made up of the full members (the shareholders) and associate members. Associate members pay their subscription to their respective clubs. In the case of the sailing club, income is needed particularly to maintain the rescue boats, for general maintenance, prizes and fuel.

After a few years as an associate member, you will probably be asked to become a full member, should one of the full members leave. In this way, you will be taking part in the quest to keep this facility for future generations and we view this as an honour.

You can find a wide range of photos and stories by clicking on the links on the right of this page.

Last updated 13:23 on 11 March 2024