prv
Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, I never had any real interest in racing. More in exploring, and landing on anything which could be described as an island. I had a Mirror.
Pete
Which dinghy for a first boat?
- Thread starter Dazedkipper
- Start date
For what it's worth, I never had any real interest in racing. More in exploring, and landing on anything which could be described as an island. I had a Mirror.
Pete
Seajet
...
Same here; I had a Caricraft 10, Scorpion, Dart 18, int 14 and Osprey - just because I like sailing fast doesn't mean I like going round in circles around someone's course instead of going places.
I only raced in winter series as a youngster because it seemed the wisest thing to do, to have rescue backup and hot showers.
Dan, the Osprey makes a fine cruiser; won't say what the trampoline on the Dart was good for but sailing racing was not first on my mind !
I wouldn't join a club which told me what boat I could or could not have, and I think that practice will die out with the current decline in dinghy sailing.
My club has an increasing trend towards ' Swallows And Amazons ' camping style events for adults and youngsters alike, and I think this is the future of dinghy sailing, not race officers on loudspeakers bellowing " Fireball crews to stations in five minutes ! " like some other clubs.
I only raced in winter series as a youngster because it seemed the wisest thing to do, to have rescue backup and hot showers.
Dan, the Osprey makes a fine cruiser; won't say what the trampoline on the Dart was good for but sailing racing was not first on my mind !
I wouldn't join a club which told me what boat I could or could not have, and I think that practice will die out with the current decline in dinghy sailing.
My club has an increasing trend towards ' Swallows And Amazons ' camping style events for adults and youngsters alike, and I think this is the future of dinghy sailing, not race officers on loudspeakers bellowing " Fireball crews to stations in five minutes ! " like some other clubs.
paul-essex
Well-Known Member
I am not 100% sure but pretty sure Msc have a few club boats and I think this w/end is a open day
https://www.facebook.com/marconisailingclub?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/marconisailingclub?fref=ts
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Me neither. I spent huge amount of time as a child sailing round the Firth of Clyde in a 10' GRP dinghy, with never a thought of racing.
Greenheart
Well-Known Member
I'd echo earlier comments about kids thinking bigger than just racing. When I suggested the Laser, I was assuming racing was these kids' primary interest. But if all dinghy sailing was racing, I'd never have got a boat at all.
And as a non-racer, I still like dinghies that have the potential to sail fast...it means I'm never bored in light winds, and it means that using the boat to go somewhere further than just round a race course, is still exciting and needn't take all day.
Treating a fairly old-fashioned racing dinghy as a very small fast yacht, does have some complications, but to my mind it brings far more enduring interest to the level of sailing I can afford, than if I was only wanting to race, and to win.
Cheap old dinghies aren't usually competitive against newer examples costing ten times as much, but when used for 'adventuring', can still be as much fun as the crew's ambition & imagination allows.
Plus, older classes which weren't only designed for drip-dry speed, make versatile little cruisers with under-deck storage and comfortable, roomy cockpits - a little cramped by yacht standards, but far better than new race-bred boats.
And as a non-racer, I still like dinghies that have the potential to sail fast...it means I'm never bored in light winds, and it means that using the boat to go somewhere further than just round a race course, is still exciting and needn't take all day.
Treating a fairly old-fashioned racing dinghy as a very small fast yacht, does have some complications, but to my mind it brings far more enduring interest to the level of sailing I can afford, than if I was only wanting to race, and to win.
Cheap old dinghies aren't usually competitive against newer examples costing ten times as much, but when used for 'adventuring', can still be as much fun as the crew's ambition & imagination allows.
Plus, older classes which weren't only designed for drip-dry speed, make versatile little cruisers with under-deck storage and comfortable, roomy cockpits - a little cramped by yacht standards, but far better than new race-bred boats.