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Emberton Park Sailing Club wasn't always at Emberton. The club was first started by a group of keen sailors on 1st April 1956 and was known as the South Bedfordshire Sailing Club. The club sailed on Lower Drakeloe Pond which was situated in front of the main house in Woburn Abbey Park. Initially, four classes of dinghy were adopted, namely: Heron, Graduate, National 12 and Firefly. The GP14 was adopted at the end of the 1956 season, with the Enterprise class being adopted at the beginning of 1959 when the Firefly was dropped (there having been only one of these in the club).
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| The only boats to sail during the first few months of the newly formed club were H420 - "Niobe", G260 - "Honey" and N1101 - "Guided Missile". | ||
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| The very first sailing meeting was held on Whit Monday 1956 when 21 boats took to the water. Among those sailing were Jack Holt in a Merlin and Y.W. Solo. | ||
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The club hosted the Heron Junior National Championships on 8th April 1961 and appeared on TV !! A member of the club also won the event . |
| Despite the scenic surroundings, the location for the club was not ideal. The amount of trees in the immediate vicinity of the pond meant that winds were always "flukey", this combined with persistent weed during the summer months, lead to ever increasing frustration amongst members. The club decided to move waters and started to search for a new lake . They finally settled on Emberton Park, (a former quarry site used during the building of the M1 motorway). The lakes at Emberton were ideal - no tree's!! The club moved waters in 1965 and the name of the club was changed to "North Bucks and South Beds Sailing Club". The first race took place on Good Friday 1965. The club kept the lease on the Woburn pond for a further year, using it only for cruising. The lease was discontinued in 1966 and the whole of the clubs activities concentrated at Emberton. The name "Emberton Park Sailing Club" was then adopted. The club operated out of a "green wooden caravan" parked on the north side of the spit. This served as the changing rooms for a number of years. The original lake was infact two lakes, split by what we know today as the "island". Hence, members could either sail on the North lake or the South Lake. In the late 1960's the decision was taken to excavate the strip of land separating these two lakes, creating one large lake.
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| In 1969/70 the club decided it required a more "luxurious" club house, and plans were put in place to build a new changing room block (the left hand side of the building you see today). With an enormous amount of help from members , this project was completed in 1971. |
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 During the mid 1970's the club house was further extended by the addition of the main function room. The club became even more popular during the early 1980's, and new classes of dinghy were adopted, namely the Topper and Laser. Unfortunately in 1987/88 the original flat roof started to deteriorate, and members once again clubbed together and with the help of the local council, improved the facilities by adding a pitched roof. In 1993/94 the original bar (located where our kitchen is now), was moved to an extension at the side of the main function room. |
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 The club today has a membership approaching 100 with an ever increasing number of junior members, who through their determination, commitment and high levels of achievement are putting Emberton Park on the sailing map. |