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Choosing a boat to sail is like buying a car. There are hundreds of different types from which to choose, but the one that will suit you depends upon for what you want to use it . Do you want to sail with someone else, enjoy the flexibility of sailing by yourself, or do you want it for all the family? Do you want an adrenaline rush, or do you just want to potter when the weather is fine?
MOST IMPORTANT!!!!! The core classes sailed at WRSC have evolved over the years as being the most suitable for the water we sail on. We strongly recommend you stick to one of these. If you do, you will learn more, quicker, get to know more members, and definitely have more fun! Sometimes in the past we have seen members “doing their own thing” and buying an unsuitable class of boat that they never learn to sail properly. This usually leads to frustration and ultimately to them giving up sailing. We don’t want to lose you! Remember: RULE 1 (1) of the Rules of the Club states that you must get the permission of the Management Committee and the Sailing Sub-Committee if you wish to sail a non-core boat. If in doubt, ask!
HOW TO START If you’ve never sailed before, or have just been on a sailing course and obtained an RYA Level 1 or 2 certificate, we have a selection of club owned boats for you to try out. Also, members will be pleased to take you out in their particular class of boat, and try and convert you into joining them. DON’T RUSH OUT AND BUY A BOAT, until you have decided exactly what you are wanting out of it.
BECOME A SAFER SAILOR Most inland sailing clubs base their activities round a racing programme. This is because racing is the most efficient and quickest way of improving your sailing skills. Sailing around by yourself will not highlight any bad habits you may have acquired, and you won’t have the benefit of being surrounded by other like-minded sailors who are willing to pass on their knowledge and expertise. Until you start racing, you will have no conception of what you can achieve in a sailing dinghy, or how much fun it can be! Above all, it will make you a SAFER SAILOR.
CONTINUE TO IMPROVE One of the best things about sailing is that you can continue to improve all your sailing life! It’s virtually impossible to sail without making a mistake. If you’ve never sailed before, or have limited experience, all this may appear daunting. This is why the club is structured round a selection of classes suitable to the water, and suitable for different levels of sailor.
Each class has a class captain who, along with other experienced sailors in that class, will be only too eager to give you as much help as you require. Additionally special days and weekend camps are set aside specifically to help ALL MEMBERS to improve their sailing standard.
CLUB OWNED BOATS WRSC owns a small number of boats available to members. They are ideal for beginners and new members who want to get the feel of different types of sailing boat before they make the big decision what to buy for themselves. The club fleet consists of: Enterprise – 4.04M two-man dinghy. Ideal entry-level boat for adults. Can be sailed with a lightweight crew, such as a child. GP14 – 4.27M two-man dinghy. Slightly more stable than the Enterprise, but also has a spinnaker. Ideal entry-level boat for adults, especially wanting an introduction to spinnaker handling. Topper – 3.4M singlehander. Ideal entry-level boat for children, youths, and small adults. The club owns several Toppers Oppi – 2.3M singlehander for under 16’s. The club is currently negotiating a grant to obtain six of these. They are a robust version of the Optimist, the largest class in the world, and the boat for kids start their sailing career.
WRSC CLASSES · The club has class racing for the following classes of boat. This means that they get their own start and race against each other, which helps you to improve quickly as all the boats have the same performance, so you will soon see where you are going wrong! Laser – one of the most popular classes in the world! 4.3M long, it is sailed single-handed and comes with a choice of 3 different rigs: - The Standard rig is for fully developed adults, and is used in the Olympics (heard of Ben Ainslie?). The Radial rig is use by female, youth and lighter sailors. The 4.7 rig is the least powerful and is ideal for youngsters, and those just starting. WRSC gives the same start for all three variants, and a handicap system evens out the speed differenc of the various rigs in the final results. The Laser is easy to sail, especially in the reduced rig versions, but it is difficult to get the best out of it. It is the sort of boat that teaches you to sail properly; otherwise it will let you know! Price range: From £750 second hand - £3850 new. Solo – another single-handed class. Not as physically demanding as the Laser, the 3.78M Solo is very strong at WRSC and throughout the UK. More “boaty” than the Laser, a variety of rigs are available to suit the helmsman’s weight so everybody is on a level playing field. Hulls can be wood, FRP, or a combination of the two. Solo sailors tend to have a higher average age than other single handers as you can sail it longer. An 80-year has competed at the National Championships! Price range: From £750 second hand - £6000. If you are clever, you can build your own! Swordfish – 15 ft cruiser/racer with spinnaker, a Vintage Bentley amongst sailing dinghies! Can be sailed by 2-3 people, more if you are not racing! The history of WRSC is bound up with the history of the Swordfish; they have been sailed here since 1948. A classic Uffa Fox designed wood hulled dinghy; the Swordfish is heavy by modern standards, but very stable and a wonderful sea boat. None have been built since 1967, so you have to be prepared to spend time on maintenance. Give good racing and wonderful for cruising as they can take the whole family. Price range: £500 - £1500, only second hand. RS 200 – the most popular of the modern breed of sailing dinghies, the RS 200 is relatively new to WRSC with a fleet of half-a-dozen and growing. A two-man boat with an asymmetric spinnaker, the 4M long RS 200 is fast and exciting and small enough to manoeuvre within the confines of an inland water. Not ideal for beginners but not difficult once you can sail, it is suitable for lighter crews. A relatively new class, the second hand prices are beginning to fall as older boats come onto the market. It is hoped to build this into the next big class at WRSC. Price range: From £2500 second hand - £7000 new
SECONDARY CLASSES · WRSC also sails the following classes which currently race together in the handicap class, but which are being encouraged to grow strong enough to have their own fleet starts: Enterprise – 4.04M two-man dinghy with distinctive blue sails. Enterprises have been sailed by the club since 1960 but are currently going through the doldrums as far as racing is concerned. There are still almost a dozen members who own Enterprises, and as this popular blue sailed boat is an ideal entry-level class for adults new to sailing, it is likely to be at WRSC for years to come. Price range: From £500 second hand - £6000 new Fireball – sporty two-man racing dinghy with trapeze and spinnaker provides thrilling introduction to high performance sailing. There are six Fireballs at WRSC and they are on the fringe of getting their own class racing. The 4.94M Fireball has been in existence for over forty years, so there are some cheap second hand boats around. Price range: From £750 second hand - £7500 new
JUNIOR CLASSES · WRSC will welcome any RYA recognised Junior class, in particular the following: Laser 4.7 – see Club Classes above Topper – see Club Owned Boats above Optimist – see Club owned boats above Mirror – 3.33M single or double-handed dinghy with distinctive red sails which also has a spinnaker and can be rowed, or have an outboard stuck on the back! The whole world used to sail one and they are perhaps the most versatile junior or adult beginners class there’s ever been. Now starting to make a comeback after a period of being out of fashion. |
