Your Committee
As a volunteer run sailing club, we are run by a small but very enthusiastic committee. A brief overview of the roles and our committee can be found below. Don't forget to say Hi if you see any of us ....
A full overview of the roles and responsibilities can be found on the club constitution page.
| Role / Name | Biography | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| Bar Captain Simon James | After buying a mirror dinghy in late 2024 and knowing nothing about sailing, I had been hoping to be taught by my teenage daughter who passed her Rya level 2 with the scouts. However being a typical teenager and busy with her social life is found myself a new member of Bala sailing club.
Despite visiting every weekend keen to learn and keen to rig my boat and see what it was all about, I found the wind to be too strong for a clueless wannabe or not enough wind to fill the sail. I spent my time chatting with the other members, watching and learning what I could and taking out my kayak or my mirror out on the lake with an electric outboard getting a feel for the boat. I was very fortunate to be able to secure a place on the RYA learn to sail course in July. An excellent course run by club members who are qualified instructors and full of encouragement when I struggled to get to grips with it. I passed the course and full of confidence and knowing that there was plenty of help I set off sailing my mirror on my own feeling safe in the knowledge that the club rescue boat would be there if I got myself into difficulties. I had a fantastic first season and made many new friends and really enjoyed the social side of the club as much as the sailing. When the season was coming to an end I put myself forward to running the bar, hoping that I could give back something to the all the people who had helped me to become a keen sailor. This year I am very much looking forward to practicing and then when confident enough taking part in my first race. I will also be doing the powerboat qualification in case I'm needed to help out. I look forward to meeting new members and serving members in the bar, and having a great second season. |  |
| Beach Master Richie Allen | ||
| Bosun Rob Hyde |  | |
| Competition Secretary Mike Allen |  | |
| Commodore Rob Sloggett | Having only learnt to sail in 2021, after enjoying a few years in dingies (Pico and Lightning), I took the leap into Multihulls. You can regularly find me flying the kite as crew on a Dart 16 when I'm not making a fool of himself in a Catapult! Aiming to work on my down wind / crash gybes this year (reducing them) and avoiding larger boats on the start line..... Currently serving the final term (3 years) as Commodore and looking forward to continuing to watch the club grow. |  |
| Diversity and Inclusion Officer Paul Welsh | I first started sailing on Llyn Tegid in 1972 and have sailed dinghies and multihulls offshore and inland in the UK and Europe. I have done some racing (not very well!) over the years and enjoy being out on the water in anything as helm or crew. Being a member of the club has given me many opportunities to gain experience as a sailing and powerboat instructor. And to pass on my love of boating to others. My other outdoor interests include mountain biking as well as trail and fell running. |  |
| Duty Rosta Secretary Steve Connor | Other than a few outings in a dinghy when a was a teen, I hadn't sailed for decades and decided to give it a go again in 2022. I looked at a few places that ran Learn to Sail courses and decided to do my training at Bala because it's such a beautiful place and provided free membership for the rest of the season! Having been bitten by the sailing bug I bought my first boat, a Solo, not long afterwards. I dont know much about other sailing clubs but the support and camaraderie for a novice sailor at Bala has been exceptional, and with the help and advice of other club members I decided to move to multihulls. I completed my first full season (2025) in a Weta, which is basically a skiff with stabilisers. I'm still learning how to get the best from this boat as it clearly has far more talent than me. |  |
| Facilities Manager Les Symonds |  | |
| Fleet Rep - Blazes Mick Fleming | Started sailing when I was 10 years old after me and my dad made a Mirror Dinghy from a kit, 37636.. my first boat. Came back to performance dinghy sailing 25 years ago when I moved to N Wales and we sold the Moodey 38 after many years of skippering in the Uk, Greece and Turkey.
I really enjoy being an active member of the committee helping over the years to making our club, its facilities and foreshore a fantastic place to sail and learn. I retired 8 years ago and BSC has supported me to gain a wide range of instructor qualifications and now operate as a RYA Senior Instructor supporting a wide range of training at BSC. |  |
| Fleet Rep - Cruisers Alan Williams | As your cruising representative I am here for all non-racing sailors not just those using a mooring. I've been a club member, on and off since 1982, racing and cruising in various sailboats including Flying15's, Albacore's, SB20's, Hawk 20's and now a Drascombe Lugger off the moorings. My love of our wonderful lake began in 1972, sailing a Mirror Dinghy, 32678, built by my Dad and I. Over the years, mostly in the last century, I have been a Fleet Captain, Duty Rep, Sailing Captain and Assistant Bosun. Happy to chat "sailing" at anytime |  |
| Fleet Rep - Multihulls John Hackett | As part of the original Bala Catamaran Club who joined the main sailing club a few years ago, our lead for anything with more than 1 hull. Regularly seen loitering around the Cat park, watch out if you see this man as he may try to entice you to the dark side by offering you a place on one of our Cat Taster sessions ! |  |
| Fleet Rep - Paddlers Marc Wilkinson | ||
| Galley Captain Sheila Allen | ||
| General Member Dave Butler | ||
| General Member Ewan McHenry | Hello - here goes with my bio, an active member of the fledgling RS Vareo fleet at Bala and when occasionally participating in club racing can be found at the tail end of the fleet navigating around the wrong course. Regular paddleboarder and hopefully with fair light winds this season will achieve my goal of rounding the weather station under paddle power. |  |
| General Member Sheila Welsh | I began sailing around 1990 at Manley Mere. A few years later I joined Bala SC and crewed on the Laser Vago. I have taken on various roles at the club and for the last 7/8 years helping shoreside with junior sailing. I have enjoyed being part of the Sailing club community. |  |
| Membership Secretary Caroline McIntyre | ||
| Minutes Secretary Patti Sanderson | ||
| President Ken Hull | ||
| Prizes Secretary Chris Bassett | ||
| Sailing Captain Mike Allen | See Competition Secretary | |
| Secretary Rob Sloggett | See Commodore | |
| Senior Coach Andy Todd | ||
| Training Principal Mark Jones | My passion for sailing didnt come to realisation until adulthood. Together with my day job as a teacher, being an instructor seemed the natural next step. Love sailing absolutely anything, whether it is a dinghy, multihull or keelboat. Always looking for a new challenge, so try not to sail anything for too long. |  |
| Treasurer Mike Kneale | ||
| Vice Commodore Mark Jones | See Training Principal | |
Last updated 08:31 on 24 February 2026