Photograph of young sailors trying out their latest craft on the pond

By Martin Keable

Great Yarmouth had two model yacht ponds during the period up to the 1950's. There was a thriving model yacht club in the town with many of the craft being  constructed at home by their owner. The skill was all down to how you set your sails before a run across the water - the thought of the radio contolled craft of to-day would  probably have appealed to these yougsters but would have been met with a stony silence by the older generation. The Yarmouth pond is now a part of the Pleasure Beach complex-when you descend the log flume ride you are splashing down into the water of the old yacht pond. The pond at Gorleston still exists but is no longer the scene for budding yachtsmen to learn the ropes.