AN historic Clyde race has finally taken place a year late as Royal Gourock Yacht Club sets sail for a bright new era.

The Royal Gourock Yacht Club was delighted to host the 100th anniversary of its King George V Cup contest, which had to be postponed from last year because of Covid-19.

Club commodore Geoffrey Howison celebrated the return of the key event in the club's calendar as members were welcomed back with open arms.

Officials have spent the last year overseeing a revamp of the clubhouse and with lockdown over they aim to open it up to the wider community.

They will be running Learn to Sail programmes for young adults and also have a young cadet programme in place.

Taking the Tele on a tour of the new look clubhouse, Geoffrey said: "Sailing has always been regarded as elitist but we want to change that.

"We want people to see it as an inclusive sport, something that everyone can get access to if they want to.

"We do a lot here to support people who want to start sailing and we have lots of new initiatives.

"We have Learn to Sail nights for 18-25 year olds on Fridays where they can come along for four weeks and try the six sailing boats we own as a club.

"The idea is to get a taste for sailing and see if they like it.

"We want to bring people in to see for themselves what we have to offer."

The yacht club building is a landmark in Gourock and now those who run it want more local people to come inside instead of walking by.

Mr Howison added: "I think during the lockdown more people were out walking and passed and they started to take more of an interest.

"Now we want to encourage people to come in."

The Royal is part of the Gourock Community Sports Hub, which brings clubs together to encourage people to make use of local facilities.

As well as sailing the club is also introducing rowing and paddleboarding.

Members of the club are also taking part in a community rowing project, where they have been fundraising to build two skiffs.

There is also a strong young cadets group with up to 50 young people gaining extra skills.

The club was founded in 1894 then in 1908 King Edward VII bestowed its Royal status.

In 1920 King George V gifted a trophy for a competition which has taken place ever since.

Everyone was thrilled as the special anniversary race finally took place a year later than expected.

Mr Howison said: "It was just great to see everyone out there again and getting it finished.

"We had a really strong representation and send our congratulations to everyone who took part."

This year the contest was won by Alan Macleod and team Samurai J.

Kevin Aitken and team Animal claimed best visiting boat and George Smith won the Young Members trophy, which was held for the first time since 1989.

The club would like to thank race officer Bill Aitchison and his platform party, James Watt Dock Marina for their sponsorship and Titan Spirits and Inverclyde Gin for their support.

Anyone wishing to find out more about the club can email royalgourockyachtclub@hotmail.co.uk