Family dinghy 2008

We'd love to see you at Papercourt. We may not get the best winds in the world but we are a lovely friendly club. You, your wife and daughter will be very welcome. The bonus is that when your daughter is old enough to go for a sail it's a relitivley safe place to learn (ie not too far to the edges!!). However the only single handed boats we sail are the solo and Laser. The lake isn't big enough for high performance boats. The top of our range is the RS200. Come and take a look sometime.

Originally posted by A Seabadger We'd love to see you at Papercourt. We may not get the best winds in the world but we are a lovely friendly club. You, your wife and daughter will be very welcome. The bonus is that when your daughter is old enough to go for a sail it's a relitivley safe place to learn (ie not too far to the edges!!). However the only single handed boats we sail are the solo and Laser. The lake isn't big enough for high performance boats. The top of our range is the RS200. Come and take a look sometime.

Great, look forward to seeing you there. I was thinking of a second hand Laser for weekday racing. I spent some time on a puddle in Birmingham (Edgbaston) and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Added bonus if there is a Vision to borrow.

I know its a different angle to come in at but have you ever thought about something like a Dart 15 (or Sprint 15 as they now are).

Great fun single handed but also incredibly stable if sailed conservatively or in lighter breezes, my dads had cats since i was born and the first time i went out i was 6 months...  now sail the cherub but its the cats that gave me the buzz for sailing initially, plus a fully battened main and furling jib mean no flogging sails to scare youngsters.

Sprint/Dart/Spark 15's (same boat) are great on a large resevoir or sea but not possible I don't think on Papercourt, it isn't a large area of water unlike Queenmary or Datchet also nearby.

But yes it is a good boat single handed or 2 up. I do enjoy them and they are easy to handle.

So if you choose to sail at Papercourt, you may have to rule that one out.

Max, I'm very much cat biased. But also realistic enough to know that they are not a panacea (hark at the big words) for family sailing.

The Dart15 is great as a S/H Cat with big fleet size (especially in the SE). And they are relativley difficult to flip. But bear in mind that there is no shelter from the cold anywhere on a cat. The cold comes up through the tramp and there's no hull between you and the water. Difficult as it is to imagine a Wayfarer as "sheltered", the truth is that if you sit well in you can be quite warm (OK it's the UK not the Med so all things are relative). Not that I recommend a Wayfarer, only that I know a couple fo Dart 18 owners who eroneously thought that it could be used as a floating picnic blanket.

Other than that I would heartily advocate the Dart/Sprint15 as an option. My birth certificate still lists Woking as my place of origin and, although I left those shores many moons ago, I vaguely recall he area. Frensham Ponds isn't too far away and QM/Datchet etc are only 20 minutes away. Can't place Papercourt unless it is the Civil Service SC. Either way, depending on how easily you can reach the A3 or M25 you have loads of water within easy reach.

Good luck on keeping horses a secret.