Local spots – Carsington & Rutland – Trent Windsurfing Club

Carsington Water owned and operated by Severn Trent Water lies some 40 minutes or so drive (23 miles) from Long Eaton. Carsington Sports & Leisure (CSL) began operating in 1992 & has RYA accreditation providing professional instruction across a range of water sports. The center is located on the Western shore adjacent to the parking & rigging area & offers windsurf, mountain bike, sailing craft & kayak hire as well has having changing facilities, showers and a small shop. The rigging area though can get busy at times and being on a clay based slope can be slippy when wet.

Carsington

In a prevailing South Westerly the wind gets a boost as it comes up over the banked dam and blows down the res making for a good reach with some mild chop. The reservoir works well in South South Easterlies to South Westerlies, North Westerlies and North Easterlies but due to the hill behind the launch area getting out and back can be difficult the more Westerly the wind. In a straight Westerly sailing is restricted to the South end of the res if you want to avoid the wind shadow and don’t mind a potential paddle back.

Rutland on the other hand is operated by Anglian Water with the main launch area located at Whitwell on the North shore. The reservoir is larger, suffers less wind shadow and offers longer reaches than Carsington but at an hours drive (or 40 miles) from Long Eaton is a little further afield. The hire center is a short walk from the rigging area but still offers showers and a shop selling sportswear as well as a basic range of windsurfing equipment. The rigging area though is spacious, grassed and adjacent to the car park.

Rutland

In a prevailing South Westerly the reach at Rutland when launching from Whitwell is in the region of 1.25 miles, North Westerlies work well as the wind gets a clean run down the res making it bank to bank from the launch area and Rutland also works well in a North Easterly although launch requires a walk of 70 meters or so to the end of the spit.

Both locations are an alternative to the pond when conditions aren’t favourable or for sailing in company on those midweek afternoons when others struggle to get time away from work. Season & multi launch tickets are available at both locations with Rutland being the more expensive of the two. Both are RYA centers and have rescue boats out on the water.