not sure where to put this topic so this seemed the best place.

basically im going to uni in falmouth and have looked at the clubs listed on Y&Y and this seems to be really active and have loads of boats out for racing. i want to hear from anyone who has been there/ is a member and hear your opinions on what its like as a club. both positive and negative experiences.

cheers tom

Darts have a strong presence there.....I think??  Or at least they used to.

Otherwise, its a stunning sailing venue and you'll love it.  Mix it up with a bit of keelboat racing.  There are some great fleets out racing along that stretch of the coast.

Tom,

As a member currently stuck in the wilds of Surrey, I can say with absolute certainty that Restronguet is a fantastic club.

The main fleets (as of last year) were Lasers, Fireflies and fast handicap, of which there are a fair few 800s but plenty of other classes as well.  There used to be a very large fleet of Darts (and Ents) but this fluctuates.

There are some very good sailors there; as Laser4000 says the more "mature" Firefly sailors are quick and the front runners in the Laser and handicap classes will be towards the front of the fleet at major events.

Junior training is great so the guys coming through from the Oppies are quick.  The Grant boys have just moved to the Laser from winning nats etc. in the Oppie.

The sailing venue is in my opinion the best in the country.  There's a massive range of conditions from the river off the club which is relatively flat and shifty to the bay which is a little more constant with a decent swell.

Courses are set from a committee boat so if you've been a pond sailor in the past you'll no longer have to find your way around 9 marks...

It's one of the friendliest places to sail and you will be welcomed.  Angie's cooking on a Wednesday evening is top notch, so book the week before and stay behind for a beer after the sailing.  Tea is free after racing.

Basically, a club that produced Ben Ainslie and countless others can't be too bad... I genuinely couldn't think of a single negative.

Paul

it really sounds like exactly the kind of club i want to go into. now all i have to choose it what class i want..... im selling the 300 because although its great fun im just too light to be competative in breeze (fully powered upwind in about 4mphP)

ideally i would like a doublehander as its much more fun playing with someone else than with just yourself

however i really want to become a better sailor (im only mid fleet at a major regatta (at best). my current club has a very low standard of sailing and the racing is a bit of a joke sometimes so open to anything really.

so are there any classes which are NOT suitable here? and whats the chance of getting a helming/crewing place with someone good so i can improve?

Hi Tom,

Hot fleets at the moment are the Lasers with very strong competition in the standard and radial rigs. The fast handicap has B14's and RS800's plus a variety of other boats. Quite a large Firefly fleet with some very stiff competition. If you say what you are thinking of getting I will let you know if we have any. We race Sunday two races of about 45 mins to an hour and in the spring and summer we race Wednesday evening one race about 30 minutes to an hour depending on wind, tide and light. We have a noticeboard wher eyou can put crew wanted or available. We have the entire Carrick roads to sail in. Always a committe boat start with triangular or windward leeward courses depending on class.

It is a very friendly club but I am biased as I sail there!

You should come over to Port Dinorwic!! plenty of competition here!

Alex

i currently own an rs300 and it doesnt look like it will be selling before i come down (27th) im not sure its going to be worth me bringing it down with me until christmas so a crewing place (preferably helming) / club boat will have to do.

really looking forewards to meeting you down there, if you see me around (white peugeot 306) then please come over and say hi!!!

alex, i have often thought about coming over to P.D to sail. only problem is i actually live in prestatyn, therefore its actually over an hours drive to P.D, another set of membership fees, boat park fees and fuel when i am about to become a poor student living off the kindness of all you nice taxpayers

im hoping to come down a bit more next summer though to try and get my wave technique sorted out so i may see you around.

Hi Tom

I am afraid we don't have any RS300's. If you brought it down with you you would be in the handicap fleet with Contenders, a Blaze and similar.

Dinghy parking space is very limited so you may want to leave the boat for the moment until you have joined and sorted a space out. We don't have any club boats for people to use.

Our racing starts at 2.00 on Sunday afternoon (1.00 when the clocks go back) and people usually come an hour or so early to get something to eat and sort their boat out.

We are usually on the water for at least two hours so if you come down about 4.00 ish you should see the end of racing. Everyone gets a free cup of tea when they come off the water so they stand around and chat.

The Laser fleet will be running racing on the 28th. If you want you can come on the water with us and I will introduce you to people and you can see what the racing is like and what sort of boats we have.

If you are interested in helping be at the club between 12.00 and 12.30 and ask for Buzz.