Dinghy Sailing

Come and sail at Weir Quay

Welcome to the wonderful and adventurous world of dinghy sailing at Weir Quay Sailing Club. We have a number of aims and the paramount aim is to have fun, but to have fun safely. Whilst having fun we learn how to sail or develop the sailing skills we may already have.

We have a fleet of dinghies that will satisfy any individual’s desire to get wet or to remain dry. Dinghy sailing is one sport where the entire family can participate – come and try it, you may be surprised!

The River Tamar is an incredible place to begin your sailing adventure. The rivers Tavy and Lynher are close by and offer some interesting day or weekend sailing and as your confidence grows, the sheltered waters of Plymouth Sound beckon and maybe a weekend trip to the glorious River Yealm and its twin villages of Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo.

From the first week of April, we run sail training sessions on Friday evenings for all ages that continue every week throughout the summer until the end of September. Start time is 17:45 and sessions may finish when either it is too cold or too dark. Early in the year we are usually off the water at around 20:00 but will stay out later during light, warm evenings. However, please note that spaces are limited on the Friday sail training sessions and you should check that we have capacity before joining for the first time. To check, please contact our Dinghy Officer – see the committee listing on the page About Our Club.

No previous sailing experience is necessary, just a sense of humour!

To run the dinghy events, the club has a number of Royal Yachting Association (RYA) qualified Senior Instructors, Dinghy Instructors and Club trained Assistant instructors. The Club owns and operates 32 dinghies that are used for instruction that can also be used when attending club events and at other times can be hired from the club on a daily basis for a modest fee.

Usually, those younger than 10 tend to get cold more quickly than older youths but if their spirit and body are willing, those below the age of 10 are welcome. A briefing note on what clothing to wear can be found below.

To cover costs of petrol and boat maintenance, there is a Friday night sail training fee for the first attendee and half price for each subsequent family member.

Dinghy Sailor Registration Form

Everyone attending our Friday evening dinghy sail training sessions MUST download and fill in a WQSC Dinghy Sailor Registration Form to bring to their first session. This can be found on the Policies etc. page.

Dinghy Events

Although Friday evening sailing is the core dinghy activity at Weir Quay, other programmed events include dinghy racing, overnight camping, downriver and up river cruises and fun events with the junior members of other sailing clubs in the area. Our dinghy sailors also have the opportunity to crew in yachts owned by other club members as this report of our recent Cadets Cruise to Fowey illustrates.

The full programme of club events can be found on here.

2024 Summer Racing Series

The summer dinghy racing is almost here. Please join in and get practicing for our Regatta.

Here’s what you really need to know in order to take part in theses events:

You must be at least a level 2 sailor and able to manage your boat and return it to the shore unassisted in moderate conditions.
You take responsibility for your craft and crew and are insured as per club rules unless using a club boat.
We do not take kindly to rule bullies or ignorers. This is about light-hearted fun racing – but racing rules must be observed, sailing should be self-policing!
We are running an Average Lap race system so all craft can take part. You keep on racing until a fixed time is reached then we calculate your adjusted time.
We will award personal handicap figures to help calculate fair race results, giving slower boats a chance and encouraging new racers to take part.
The ODD (Officer Of the Day) will give a briefing before the start of each race – no question is stupid!
Most importantly our racing will run on T&C: The first boat back puts the kettle on for Tea, everyone brings a few Cakes or biscuits to share while we work out who has won!

If you are going to take part please let James know at semajplatts@gmail.com and he will send over the WQSC 2024 Notice of Race which will give more details.

This year’s racing dates and times:

Date	Series	High Water	Height		Briefing	Race 1 start	Race 2 start
2nd June	Summer	15.15	4.7		13:55	14:15	15:15
16th June	Summer	14.15	4.3		12:55	13:15	14:15
30th June	Tamar Bridge			Outside of race Programme for overall results
29th Sept	Autumn	16:50	4.9		15:30	15:50	16:50
6th Oct	Autumn	14:40 (LW)	1.3		13:20	13:40	14:40
13th Oct	Autumn	15.00	4.7		13:40	14:00	15:00
27th Oct	Chilly	14:25	4.7		13:30 (tbc)	13:30 (tbc)

James Platts

Dinghy Racing Series Organiser

Come and sail at Weir Quay

Dinghy Sailor Registration Form

Dinghy Events

2024 Summer Racing Series

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