Sailing dinghies

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

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I have missed sailing on dinghies; it is a very different experience to yacht sailing. Now and again, I jump in my young son's "Topper" and I must admit, I thoroughly enjoy it, especially when it is very windy.

Being so close to the water and the waves and the fact that you have nothing else, its just you and a very temperamental small boat with a sail, requires different skills and experiences. Perhaps it reminds me when I was a teenager, in Athens, racing with Finns and Flying Dutchmans, it also reminds me how unfit I am nowadays.
 
The boy and I are heading over to the Firth Of Clyde today to sail our Wayfarer. It's been a long time since I sailed a dingy on the Clyde. We will head to Millport for ice cream and chips before sailing back to Largs. I am a bit nervous!
 
You are alive in a dinghy (or very wet) you need to react to all the gusts, direction changes, waves etc and do it very quickly. A big heavy cruiser deadens most of those experiences to a large extent, altho a dinghy sailor will always get more out of a big boat.
 
We had a great afternoon out. It was a bit blustery, F3/4 gusting F5 with a good chop and a bit of wind over tide. We had a good beat for about an hour, then reached across Millport, turned round reached and ran back. A grey day but exciting none the less when the old girl lifted her skirts and surfed a bit. Chips and ice cream will have to wait until another day as we cut it a bit short after leaving late. We got soaked though and slapped by some waves. The only downer was that Largs Yacht Club wouldn't let us use their very nice and wide slip which extends below LW; they are a private club, so it's their rules - I would have said yes if I was a member. We had to use the public slip where at low water one has to walk quite far out across the sand. I certainly felt alive after hauling the tub across the sand and up the slip - a big thanks to the two Kayakers who helped haul the boat up slip. Just finished my tea, a nice Wychwood Brewery beer and I am pleasantly tired. It's good to be back!
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
I have missed sailing on dinghies; it is a very different experience to yacht sailing. Now and again, I jump in my young son's "Topper" and I must admit, I thoroughly enjoy it, especially when it is very windy.

Being so close to the water and the waves and the fact that you have nothing else, its just you and a very temperamental small boat with a sail, requires different skills and experiences. Perhaps it reminds me when I was a teenager, in Athens, racing with Finns and Flying Dutchmans, it also reminds me how unfit I am nowadays.
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Get yourself out in a boat that is big enough for you, something like a Laser, and you will have even more fun.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
I agree, but we don't have a Laser, we have a Topper.
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I sailed my Topper for ten years, learned in it, enjoyed and benefited by its robustness and eventually went on ambitious day-sails in it. But now, decades on, when I'm on the edge of starting sailing in dinghies again, I have to say that if my prospective vessel was another Topper, I'd stay permanently ashore and spend the money on cigars.

Useful little youthful learners' boats, but anyone who knows what they're doing, deserves something else. Even lightweight loners enjoy a Europe much more.
 
"The only downer was that Largs Yacht Club wouldn't let us use their very nice and wide slip which extends below LW; they are a private club, so it's their rules - I would have said yes if I was a member."

Sorry about that. Was racing at LSC yesterday, watched you go and come back, nice job. (wee jib prob a good thing).

Depends who you ask, 3 of 4 members would probably have said yes. Drop by the club for a coffee next time you are passing, we are a friendly bunch.

The public slip you launched from has better car access than our dinghy slip, and the LSC slip has a nasty rocky edge at the end, at LW, just like the public slip. But you can use your car, and a bit of long line, to help, at the public slip.

Dinghies are better than yachts, when will folk learn.
 
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ProMariner said:
... Sorry about that. Was racing at LSC yesterday, watched you go and come back, nice job. (wee jib prob a good thing)..... we are a friendly bunch. .....
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Thank you, no probs, I just asked, rather than presumed and the chap was friendly enough but firm. I was worried that the sand was soft like mud as I have never launched a dinghy there, he did advise that he had seen cars drive on it, so it was worth a go. It was well compacted and easy to haul over, so not really an inconvenience. When the wide slip is open again that will take the strain out of the steep public one. I guess on a sunny, busy day, every man and his jet skiing dog are looking for good access, so being firm is probably a good idea for lots of reasons. Largs Sailing Club is indeed a friendly club, very active and great to see such a large commitment to sailing from a club.
 
"When the wide slip is open again that will take the strain out of the steep public one."

Unfortunately, not likely to happen soon. The wide slipway is known as the 'Championship slipway', and is only open during the larger sailing events that the Scottish Sailing Institute run out of Largs. While this is a shame, it's a great slipway, if the council who administer it allowed public car access, the adjacent grassy area would last about 2 weeks.
 
Searush said:
Nah, they are complementary, kipping, cooking & socialising in a dinghy doesn't work for me. If I want to spend a few days out I will take the cruiser every time, if it's a few hours getting soaked & having a lark, then it has to be the dink. Horses for courses.
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Agree, I enjoy sailing both, dinghies and yachts. I also enjoy the kayaks; this year we are going to put the inflatable kayaks in the Kennet and Avon canal; No, I will not put the Topper in the canal, not deep enough!!.
 
Searush said:
I'd have wanted something with a lid on for overnighting or long passages.
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A lid was very appealing to me too; but I'm always switching between excitement about not having to go home when the sun goes down, and excitement about a boat that's genuinely thrilling under sail. Not many can do both, on a budget.

My mate was asking about the Topper Cruz this evening...I've no experience, though I can see it looks fun, and very comfortable for pottering and possibly overnighting...but I doubt those things ever plane, so some of the excitement which justifies a dinghy's privations, must be lost when a design is that unsporty.

But I admit, some of the comfort of being able to sit upright, may prove to be lost under my Osprey's boom tent...:rolleyes:
 
Hmm, this Monday I was out in my Squib, single-handed race, after which I went up the river in it to see my cruiser sitting idly on her mooring. Brief inspection (didnt go alongside as a tad too windy and a contrary tide) and then a cracking sail back to base. Made me wonder about keeping the cruiser which has had no use this year...........
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
The boy and I are heading over to the Firth Of Clyde today to sail our Wayfarer. It's been a long time since I sailed a dingy on the Clyde. We will head to Millport for ice cream and chips before sailing back to Largs. I am a bit nervous!
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I was part of a crew of three that won the Lord Provosts Trophy at Largs Regatta 1985 in a Wayfarer. I was on a course at the Sailing Centre. That we needed three with Bob Smith from the centre ( arm muscles like tree trunks) on the helm tells you how windy it was. VERY!

I still don't know how we stayed upright two days in a row as SWMBO and I did the round the island the day before and came fourth in the dinghies....and it was VERY windy that day too!

Glad to read you had a good sail. I'd love to sail my little Dehler 22 on the Firth, I think it might suit it provided the wind is no more than a four gusting five maybe.

Tim
 
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