Dinghy racing

Dinghy racing, the why, what, where and how

Dinghy racing! The best way to improve your skills in dinghy sailing is racing with your dinghy. It doesn't matter if you sail a small, an old, a big or a new boat, best way to improve is to start racing. That is also why it is such a good idea to purchase a boat that do exist at the club you are sailing. It is so much more fun to sail with other sailors in the same class, the competition will be better and you will learn more.

Why and what in dinghy racing

Start to race!

I suppose you already are a member of a sailing club. If not, become one. But it is a good idea to check upon the club. Does it have dinghy sailing? Do they have dinghy racing on their schedule? What dinghies do they race? If they have racing, perhaps with many different kinds of dinghies, get one of those and start sailing with the club. In some areas, read UK, they sail towards each other with dinghies using a respit system called Portsmouth YardStick, PYS. This is a good way for racing with different dinghies but for many areas worldwide this isn' common.

What class should I start racing with?

So we talked about it earlier. Do you want to sail a singlehander or a doublehander, a multihull or something else? Perhaps you want to sail with more than one class? Check what they are using at your club first. Perhaps any of those dinghies feels good. Perhaps they have a test sailing or you can ask someone for a test sail. But it must also be nice to sail, you need to like the sailing performance and not just select from what they sail in the club.

Is it expensive?

Dinghy sailing is in general not that expensive unless you are going for the really top fleet sailor. Buy a used dinghy, the value of used dinghies are really good and you will hopefully be able to sell your sailing dinghy for a similar amount of money as you purchased it for. You also need gears as wet suit, boots, boyancy aid, jacket, etc. But these gears will last for a long time! But buy things that fit you well.

How do I start racing?

If your club has some regatta, join this. Ask someone to help you and to guide you. If a neighbouring club has a race attend this one. Practice is always really good, practice while racing is superb. Read a book for racing may help you with small things that can be difficult to know and get you nervous when entering. How does the start procedure work? How does the track look like? You can always ask anyone those questions.