Late starter

Resevoir any good?

I'm a member of a club that sails on a reservoir in the brecon beacons. Ok so it's only a small dinghy sailing (shearwater cats included), club and it's not on the sea but it's a great way to get started and we are all very friendly and open to new members (with or without boat it doesn't matter theres plenty to go round)

Let me know if youre interested.

Thanks

Alistair
 
As a pensioner and ex dinghy sailor, I'm not sure I would recommend anything that might involve capsize drill to a newcomer pensioner.

Better that he joins one of the small friendly clubs like Chepstow or Newport and goes sailing with others in bigger boats as a way of starting.
 
I bought a Skipper 17 trailer sailer which I'm planning to sail on our local lake (Wimbleball) and also take to sea when I've got some experience. There seem to be a lot of very cheap boats needing a bit of tlc on ebay at the moment.
N
 
@Alistair - sounds good. I'm closer to the Beacons than the coast. Which lake? I hear that Llangors has an alga problem at the moment, BTW.

@Wota - capsize drill looks fun. I guess it involves wetsuits, at least for the older generation?

@diapason - If I can master the dinghy then something with a lid is the next step. The Skipper 17 looks ideal - to this armchair sailor anyway!
 
You could try a flotilla in Turkey. A lot of the companies provide some tuition first. The beauty of sailing in somewhere like Turkey is of course the good weather. You get plenty of sailing as the winds are reasonably reliable, nice sunny days and warm water. Sure beats sailing in the UK.
 
I did a bit of dinghy sailing about 30 years ago. Now, with a duff back and more than a touch of anno domini, I decided to go for something more stable which is unlikely to give me a dunking. I hope to have her in the water soon after a refit. Her previous owner kept her in Minehead harbour and used to sail her regularly across the channel to Wales. I hope to be able to do the same when I've got some experience on the lake. The lake is a very good place to sail and I intend to keep her there for most of the time, with expeditions further afield in the Bristol Channel and on the south coast. I'll report in due course. Good luck with your sailing.
N
 
Resevoir

We are just north of a town called Merthyr Tydfil, and we have a great team of people who are fully prepared to teach as much or as little as you want.

Members are both local and not so local (one comes from Malvern!), well priced compared to the going rate, and the family can amuse themselves with the steam railway or country walks if sailing is'nt thier thing.

www.mtsc.org.uk if youre interested.

Hope this suits.
 
roughbert said:
@Wota - capsize drill looks fun. I guess it involves wetsuits, at least for the older generation?
Click to expand...

It's not the wetsuit that is the problem but the personal strength and dexterity involved in turning the boat upright and then dragging yourself into it. I'm a reasonably fit ( gym twice a week) 67 year old and I would not want to do this nowadays, certainly not for the first time. Its one of the reasons why most, but not all, dinghy sailors graduate to bigger boats as they age. It's also the sort of activity that can trigger a heart attack if you have a weakness in that area.

Big boats, and by that I mean anything over 20 ft or so, are much easier to learn to sail on than the plastic soap dish that passes for a modern dinghy.
 
wotayottie said:
... the plastic soap dish that passes for a modern dinghy.
Click to expand...
I did notice that modern dinghies look pretty skimpy, and had decided to source a boat with sides on it, as it does seem to be part of the plan that sailing craft should lean over a bit. Also, I wish to acquire the skill of using a sweep for propulsion, so some strength in that stern department is indicated. Though I fear that this "specification creep" may lead towards something too heavy to haul out on my own.

But if I do capsize drill it will be in something very small and light!
 
Looking at some of the youngsters doing capsize drill at Wimbleball, I'm very glad that my boat doesn't tip that far ........... if she ever does, I'm in trouble :confused:
 
Worth saying, if you hadn't gathered already, that there's dinghy sailing and dinghy sailing..! It's perfectly possible to have a tootle round in a benevolent and benign open day boat, and not come anywhere near going round side up.

Equally, you can hammer the arse off a Laser or something and spend all day in and out of the water. Your shout - but dinghy sailing doesn't have to run the risk of capsize.

If you genuinely aren't keen on heeling, there's always catamarans, but they're far less part of the European paradigm. Plenty of support for them elsewhere though...
 
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