ROYAL Gourock Yacht club will make a splash as its open day returns for the first time since the pandemic began.

The Ashton Road club is offering locals the chance to try a variety of water sports as it opens its doors to the public this Sunday.

The fun day will kick off at 10am and gives people an opportunity to take a spin on some of the club’s vessels.

Back on dry land there will be live music and drink tastings.

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Club commodore Mike Storry told the Tele that he was thrilled to see the event return after such a lengthy gap.

Greenock Telegraph: Royal Gourock Yacht Club prepares for first open day since the pandemic began

He said: “We’re very much open for business now and we’re hoping for a good turnout on open day, not just from our members but from the public in general.

“This is primarily for the community and it’s great to have them back in again after so long.

“We had preparations in place to hold an open day in 2020 but Covid put that to an end.

“All of the plans we had in place have been taken out of the drawer for this one and it’s looking like it’ll be a really vibrant successful open day.

“We’ll have stalls and stands set up for each of our activities, including things like our adult ‘learn to sail’ programme.

“We always get a lot of interest in that. It gives adults who want to give sailing a try four free sessions on the water to have a go.

“It’s a great opportunity to get involved in the club, we’re not an institution which is closed or select, we very much welcome interest and new members.”

In addition to its sailing and rowing sections, the club has expanded the range of activities it covers in recent years to include sports such as wild swimming, paddle boarding and coastal rowing.

Mike said the club wanted to have something for everyone to enjoy.

Greenock Telegraph: Royal Gourock Yacht Club prepares for first open day since the pandemic began

He added: “Promoting water sports and passing on the skills and traditions of sailing and coastal rowing is what we aim to do.

“One of our difficulties since Covid has been that the interest in sailing and rowing has been slow to pick up and we really want to get the message out that we’re open for business and the more that come along the merrier.

“We have a committee of eight people who work very hard to keep things running, but there are also people who work hard on our waterside assets to make sure everything is taken care of.

“My thanks go out to everyone for their hard work.

“We’re looking forward to open day and are hoping that people will come along and have a great time.”