Club History

Woodbridge was in years gone by a port of some importance. Today, with its narrow streets, medieval buildings and jostling waterfront it lays claim to be the most attractive town on the east coast.

It is also home to the Woodbridge Cruising Club whose clubhouse overlooks the River Deben.

Our Club was formed in 1965 by a group of boating enthusiasts – it was the brainchild of John Ward who owned a restaurant in Quay Street called ‘The Captains Table’, but was actually situated in what is now known as ‘Outdoor Life’.
The inaugural meeting was held in the ‘Station ‘ PH (now The Anchor), and subs were set at 10 shillings (50p) pa and they passed a hat round so that their first bank account could be opened! Members then were mainly motor cruiser owners.

Numerous attempts were made to secure a permanent meeting place, including the purchase of an old Thames lighter for £100 plus the acquisition of the old telephone exchange at Debenham for the superstructure, but the planners threw it out and that was that. A club member then offered the rental of his mother’s cottage in Tide Mill Way, (now Ashton Design), but this too was a non-starter owing to the proposed new relief road, which although becoming a reality, the building escaped the bulldozer, and still remains. Then came the good news. Frank & Christine Knights offered us the lease of their first floor premises on Ferry Quay (now Deben Design) which the club enjoyed for over 10 yrs.

Cruising activities were at first very modest, with the odd cruise to the Ore/Alde or the Orwell, but eventually the more experienced were soon enjoying the delights of Ostend, the flat Belgian/Dutch coastline, Breskens, and the typically Dutch towns of Middelberg and Veere on Walcharen, and then exploring the delightful Veersemere, although one or two intrepid members actually sailed direct from the Deben to Ijmuiden, and rendezvoused with the main fleet going North via the canals, at Amsterdam!

Needless to say, we made many new friends whilst over there, and since we had inadequate space here at Woodbridge to return their hospitality, and the fact that our club was growing, the membership committee decided to make a concerted effort to provide a permanent clubhouse.
Several schemes were considered, including a Dutch barge conversion, but finding a suitable mooring was the main problem. Then the first floor of the old granary building was offered to us by the Town Council, but a rent then of £3000 pa was considered too expensive. Then finally we were offered the present site in the corner of Eversons boatyard, which was agreed at the AGM on 9 March 1985.

Within the club we had an architect, a legal professional, a builder, an engineer, an electrician, and a small group of very willing helpers with a lot of enthusiasm. After three years of hard slog, the new clubhouse was formally opened on September 24 1988 by Lord Lewin, then Admiral or the Fleet, who launched our ship with acclaim and wished us well.

In 2002, Club members designed and financed a three-storey extension, being fitted out in 2003 by themselves, to provide much-needed new space for passage-planning, training, and social activities.

2015 saw the Club celebrating its 50th Anniversary and following approval by the membership at an Extraordinary General Meeting in September 2014 the erection of an exterior balcony around the first floor bar, works were completed in time to celebrate the occasion in May 2015. The Club has always had a “self-help” ethos and it is fitting that the majority of the work was carried out by the members, and it will prove a very useful addition to the Club, which was recognised by the membership by the awarding of the Caroline Gammage Cup for Services to the Club to the whole of the Balcony Team at the November 2015 AGM.

Our Club logo is, appropriately, a traditional longship. From the Clubhouse we can see Sutton Hoo on the opposite bank of the River Deben, where the late seventh century king, Raedwald, King of East Anglia, was buried with his royal treasure in a 90-foot ship. The intrepid sailors of the past and those of the present are united by one of the most beautiful stretches of water England has to offer.