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What Sparked your Lifetime Interest in Dinghies?
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Gfinch View Drop Down
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Joined: 09 Nov 09
Location: United Kingdom
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Posts: 67 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Gfinch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: What Sparked your Lifetime Interest in Dinghies?
    Posted: 28 Feb 19 at 8:05pm
Dad had a small 21ft yacht on the orwell. Sent me off in our avon redstart tender with a 4hp engine, telling me to go around the green channel bouy and back. I carried on and went to the next channel bouy, realising that actually being on the water was great. We had a mirror and borrowed an oppy so went learnt in those. Did the occasional bit of sailing but always attended the junior sailing week at our club, social side over the actual racing was the real pull factor though.

After one of the sailing weeks, one of the club laser regulars walked up to me and asked, why aren't you coming club racing each week? You'll learn a lot more and you'll get up through the fleet. Fast forward 10 years, I'm now 26 and live and breath sailing! 

Bought a N12 in 2015, taught my then girlfriend (now fiance, soon wife) to crew and we travel round doing the circuit and learning as we go. I still sail the laser in winter and the rare open.

Might have a new N12 being built currently......
3513, 3551 - National 12
136069 - Laser
32541 - Mirror
4501 - Laser 4000
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ttc546 View Drop Down
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Posts: 155 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ttc546 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 19 at 9:36am
As with most ... my Dad. He was in the Navy and so had "experience"

He bought me a Sea Snark. I was 8yrs old. Yep, that polystyrene toy that was only safe sailing no more than 100yrds off the beach. However, I learnt a lot and the bug bit. Dad then bought us a Skipper 12 and we raced 1 other Skipper at Stokes Bay SC every Sunday and went home afterwards to a Mum-cooked Sunday Roast. (Yep, you can race a Skipper 12 - just slooowwly) How times have changed..

Then Dad found a 5o5, an old 1 - in the #1k numbers. This was in the early 70's. Boy, did we have some fun with that. I played every single day during the summer holidays in it. Then bought a #2k number 5o5 and had even greater fun. 

At school, I sailed Navy Montague Whalers, and Fireflies. Loved the Firefly, bombing around the River Stour in Suffolk.

From then on, I left home and sailed Laser 2's on the circuit (Delsey and Freixenet circuit)

But it was Dad, the Sea Snark and the Skipper that kicked it all off. Simple stuff, simple fun.

I had a place at Southampton Uni to do Yacht and Boat Design when I left school in 76,. But cocked my life up by going to work instead. Biggest regret ever. I could have designed the winning AC boat for Britain (in my dreams .... )  ;-)

Now I sail (badly) an Aero. 


Edited by ttc546 - 02 Mar 19 at 9:45am
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