A yacht club which has already been chosen as a category winner, could be become yacht club of the year if the public votes for it.

Dartmouth Yacht Club has been announced as the winner in the communications category and a finalist in the overall RYA Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year 2018 award. For the first time ever, members of the public now have the chance to vote for the sailing club who they think deserves to be named Club of the Year 2018.

Over the past three years the club has had to overcome a number of challenges to increase membership and on-water activity. Its volunteer team has worked hard to break down the perception of sailing as an elitist activity and has undertaken a significant communications campaign to ensure that people in the town know how to get involved and out on the water. The result has been a ground-breaking increase in membership from the mid-400s to well over 1,000, and it is still rising.

DYC commodore, Kate Brown, commented: “We are proud, amazed and delighted to have won our category. This is an amazing result brought about by a number of hardworking volunteers over the last few years and it just goes to show that even when you think you have done nothing special it can turn out that others think you certainly have”.

Nominations for the awards were received from affiliated clubs up and down the country across five categories which throw the spotlight firmly onto the core values for any successful sailing club.

The category winners were selected by a panel of judges including double Olympic medallist and award ambassador Saskia Clark, RYA chief executive Sarah Treseder and Yachts & Yachting editor Georgie Corlett-Pitt.

To find out more about the finalists and to cast your vote visit http://awards.yachtsandyachting.co.uk/rya/

Voting closes on 20 February and the awards will be presented on Saturday, March 3, at the RYA Dinghy Show.

A spokesman for the DYC said: “We are dedicated to offering opportunities for all to get out on the water, no matter what their income or circumstances, DYC has no joining fee, keeps its membership rates as low as possible, and offers bursaries for local young people to get on the water.

“It has proved conclusively that sailing and boating are for everyone, that you don’t need to own a boat to sail, and that determination and hard work can turn even a club with few obvious advantages into a vibrant and successful social enterprise.”

RYA sport development manager Alistair Dickson said: “We’re delighted to announce the 2018 finalists of RYA and Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year Award. The people involved in each one of these clubs have worked hard to create fantastic projects and activities which make it possible for people to enjoy being out on the water at their venue. Don’t miss the chance to cast your vote and have your say in which club will lift the coveted trophy this year.”

Special thanks go to Arthur J. Gallagher who continue to support the Club of the Year Award and to Sailing Awards who donated the perpetual RYA Club of the Year trophy when the award was first introduced in 2008.

If you’d like to find out more about how to get out on the water and start your sailing adventure visit www.dyc.org.uk or www.rya.org.uk/go/startboating