The Bosun Dinghy

[capnsensible]

This weeks 'cockpit conversation' was about what actually got you to really want to sail. As in, was there some kind of defining moment that gave you the 'this is it for me' feeling.

I'd not given it too much thought before, but I reckon for me it was this. At about age 15, I was a Sea Cadet. I got lucky enough to sail a bit, row boats and also crew motor boats of various types, thoroughly enjoyed every bit.

Double lucky was going off to a summer camp type thing, as I remember, at a lake somewhere up near Rochdale. This was a big step into the unknown for a West London kid. Anyway, after a bit of instruction on a Bosun, off you go, on your own, sail off the dock around a course and back again. On MY Own!! Yahoo, that was it.

Never looked back!! Did quite a bit of sailing in Bosuns after that, but you always remember your first!

Oh, the icing on the cake was that I discovered the difference between boys and girls plumbing, but thats another story.....


How about you? (Not plumbing, sailing)

 

[Twister_Ken]

Mirror dinghy. Petersfield Lake. Very prosaic. And no plumbing.

 

[LittleSister]

Bosun for me, too. Also Sea Cadets, but Postsmouth Harbour (from Royal Clarence Yard IIRC) and aged about 12 or 13. What a buzz!

Little could I have imagined at the time how that would influence the rest of my life (and deplete so much of my future income!).

 

[karl74]

It all started for me on my grandfarthers 1920's hillyard, then on to Boson's and ASC's with the cadets. The last 20 or so years I've been into power boats and skiing but I'm now back to my roots and am awaiting for my new to me Elizabethan 30. Although I have still got my Fletcher for the odd sunny day to go skiing.

 

[iain789]

Sea Scouts: Heron dinghy: Hogganfield Loch, Glasgow: about 1963.

 

[Gwylan]

Where to start

This weeks 'cockpit conversation' was about what actually got you to really want to sail. As in, was there some kind of defining moment that gave you the 'this is it for me' feeling.

I'd not given it too much thought before, but I reckon for me it was this. At about age 15, I was a Sea Cadet. I got lucky enough to sail a bit, row boats and also crew motor boats of various types, thoroughly enjoyed every bit.

Double lucky was going off to a summer camp type thing, as I remember, at a lake somewhere up near Rochdale. This was a big step into the unknown for a West London kid. Anyway, after a bit of instruction on a Bosun, off you go, on your own, sail off the dock around a course and back again. On MY Own!! Yahoo, that was it.

Never looked back!! Did quite a bit of sailing in Bosuns after that, but you always remember your first!

Oh, the icing on the cake was that I discovered the difference between boys and girls plumbing, but thats another story.....


How about you? (Not plumbing, sailing)

Sponsored by National Dairy Council to go on course run by CCPR [Central Council of Physical Recreation] to learn to dinghy sail - Llandegfedd Reservoir Circa 1964.

 

[Habebty]

Bosun for me, too. Also Sea Cadets, but Postsmouth Harbour (from Royal Clarence Yard IIRC) and aged about 12 or 13. What a buzz!

Little could I have imagined at the time how that would influence the rest of my life (and deplete so much of my future income!).

Me too! went with Brune Park in 1976ish and with the 5th Gosport Sea Scouts!! The mod plod on the gate used to hate letting us in. One of my school mates uses to live in one of the big houses just inside Clarence Yard main gate when it was still a victualling yard.

 

[Sandgrounder]

Saundersfoot beech/ bay 1968

Before this I had sailed with my dad in a GP14 which always started with me in swimming trunks and a lifejacket standing up to my neck in the sea whilst my father pottered around at the stern trying to fit the rudder - always seemed to take forever. I was then hauled in and spent the next hour and a half or so freezing cold and miserable.

Then he bought me a "Bobbin" dinghy 9ft long bermudan sloop. From then on, sailing on my own I have loved every minute of it.

Simon

 

[Seajet]

I'll always have a soft spot for Bosun dinghies, after attending a few school courses at Cobnor, Chichester; those boats I learned on in the early 1970's are still performing the same function today.

Re. plumbing, well we did have a lovely but possibly naive with schoolboys lady instructor ( J.B. ) who solemnly told us, " right boys, I want you all ready on the hard in ten minutes " !

 

[Poignard]

The first sail I ever had was in the precursor to the Bosun, ie the RNSA 14-foot clinker built dinghy.

I had not the faintest idea what was going on, and I seemed to be forever in the way and getting shouted at, but the experience must have planted a seed, as I am still sailing 55 years later.

 

[humbug716]

My first time sailing was Mirrors at Mounts Bay 1972, Oct/Nov, bloody freezing! I was then given a go in an Osprey, hooked on them, and sailing, ever since.

 

[prv]

I'll always have a soft spot for Bosun dinghies, after attending a few school courses at Cobnor, Chichester; those boats I learned on in the early 1970's are still performing the same function today.

There are (or were) also a gaggle of them at the Royal Engineers base at Hawley Lake. For a couple of terms at school I managed to get "sailing" as my Wednesday games activity, and go and spend the afternoon circling the lake in them. Much better than "dropouts' hockey" on Thursdays!

That wasn't the start of my sailing though - I got taken on my grandad's yacht from before I can remember, then on the family (shared with my uncle and cousins) Wayfarer from Emsworth, then my very own Mirror from the age of about 8 or 9.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

Pete,

much the same here, after a first sail on a Robert Tucker designed 'Mystic' twin keeler owned by a family friend ( a horribly slow boat, but so pretty one had to forgive her ), I had a Caricraft 10 gunter rigged dinghy to learn how not to do it - probably against all sorts of 'elf n' safety nowadays.

As for the Bosun, if ever there was a boat 'built like a brick outhouse', the Bosun was the proverbial it.

I did read the Navy specified it had to withstand a drop of a few feet onto a deck ringbolt; while I'm dubious about that, one could certainly feel the 'build quality' if trying to pull one up a slipway !

The Mystic;

 

[maxi77]

I remember the Bosun being introduced to the RN, and yes they were designed to take pretty rough service. My first sail in one was delayed until a serious design fault which was discovered by the Commander of BRNC was fixed. As delivered when capsized the steel centre plate fell out and you then need several safety boats to recover the inverted boat, hence very upset Commander.

 

[fishermantwo]

I was introduced to sailing about 1959/60 as fill in crew on lightweight sharpies and the occasional heavyweight sharpie. Sailed a variety of training craft later.

Few years later in the navy I spent 12 months at a training establishment instructing seamanship and boatwork. We had Bosun dinghies and on the Swan river in Perth in the fresh conditions they sailed pretty well. Heavy would be a bit of an understatement. They were built at Garden island in Sydney by the dockyard apprentices as an introduction to fibreglass construction and I have heard that they were built to be able to handle a decent drop.