ROYAL Gourock Yacht Club members made waves as they completed an impressive cross Clyde swim to get the club’s annual open day off to a special start.

The skirl of the pipes greeted open water swimmers as they arrived on the club’s slipway, having swam across the river from Kilcreggan accompanied by skiffs.

Club commadore Mike Storry told the Telegraph the swimmers had arranged the event to kick off a busy afternoon of activities which were organised to offer locals an insight into what the club has to offer.

A wide variety of stalls were set up inside the Ashton Road clubhouse, highlighting many of the groups that made use of the yacht club’s facilities.

Those who came along to the open day were also able to enjoy a drink and take in some music on the club’s balcony.

Mike said: “It was a great day and we got a pretty good turnout.

“The club was busy, we had some good interest and our balcony was full of drinks and music.

“The swim was a real icing on the cake moment.

“It was quite a sight and it really showed how the club is capturing a broader range of interests than just sailing.

“Things have been going well in the club recently, unfortunately June was not a good weather month but it’s been getting better and we’re looking forward to what lies ahead as summer continues.

Among the stalls set up inside the clubhouse was a ‘Discover Sailing’ stall advertising a club initiative backed by Royal Yachting Association Scotland which aims to encourage more beginners and locals to try sailing.

Mike added: “It’s part of a wider movement in Scotland to interest people in sailing.

“We set up the commadore suite with lots of other stands too.

“There was one for our cruising section as we were trying to make people aware that we had moorings at the club which are cheaper than paying a marina for the summer.

“We also had the cadet section, who also had a presence there from the Ocean Youth Trust Scotland.

“We don’t have a formal arrangement with them [Ocean Youth Trust] but a connection is forming, which is brilliant.

“We also had our coastal rowing section, our open water swimmers and our merchandise stand.

“The local branch of the RNLI were there too with a collection box which went well.

“It was brilliant to have all of these groups on show and we had a great day overall. “