Marine services in Chipping Norton

Sailing club

Few sailing clubs owe their entire venue to a sand quarry. Chipping Norton Lake, in Sydney's south-west near Warwick Farm racecourse, was carved out by extensive sand mining between the 1960s and the 1980s, then landscaped with native vegetation as passive-recreation parkland — and since 1995 its flat freshwater reaches have been home to Chipping Norton Lake Sailing Club, a community, family and social club that races from the Lakes Boat Shed at Angle Park. The atmosphere is deliberately easygoing: the club describes itself as a very social club in which every race-day afternoon concludes with a barbecue and hot or cold drinks, a ritual that doubles as an important fundraiser. Income comes solely from membership fees, sailing fees and the canteen, which keeps the place honest and the welcome genuine. Inclusivity is the operating principle. Any class of small craft is welcome, from catamarans to small trailer sailors, all racing together in open handicap, and the club fields an Access dinghy for sailors with disabilities alongside Sailability activity on the lake. The racing calendar is substantial for a volunteer club — around thirty-five Saturday races a year across three short s