Hi All!
As the subject says, I'm new to dinghy sailing and am confused where to go next. Unlike other hobbies, I'm finding this one hard to navigate and find the entry point.

My History: I have sailed before as a kid doing Duke of Edinburgh and have sailed a few times on large yachts in the UK, but recently I decided that I wanted to have a crack and ultimately learn to race as I enjoy competition and have enjoyed sailing so far. I am based in Melbourne. I found a boat club and enrolled in their Start Sailing 1 course, which I really enjoyed. They dont have any Start Sailing 2 dates. I've tried to find somewhere else that is doing Start Sailing 2 but given we are moving out of summer most have finished their programs and there are few courses available. I don't want to have to wait until next spring to start sailing again, I'd like to continue learning but this is where I start to get confused. Where do I go if I want to keep sailing and learning?

- Do I buy my own boat and join a club and sail?
- Do I join a club and rent a club boat to sail on and learn on?
- Should I wait until next spring and do Start Sailing 2, Better Sailing and Learn to Race?
- If I buy my own boat are there any recommendations that people have for things to or not to do? Regrets or things you wished you had done differently?
- I was looking at a Laser (established and lots of clubs sail and there are a few out there for sale second hand, although it does seem to be a minefield on the age and quality) or RS Aero (i like it, its new and how light it is) - are these suitable entry points, or am I being overambitous?
- If I join a club are people generally friendly and outgoing enough to be able to ask for help and advice?
- If anyone has any links to other groups where this question might be more applicable happy to take feedback on board too!

Thanks very much for any feedback you might have as a group of experts and established sailors!
kmlaus.

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kmlaus said..
Hi All!
As the subject says, I'm new to dinghy sailing and am confused where to go next. Unlike other hobbies, I'm finding this one hard to navigate and find the entry point.

My History: I have sailed before as a kid doing Duke of Edinburgh and have sailed a few times on large yachts in the UK, but recently I decided that I wanted to have a crack and ultimately learn to race as I enjoy competition and have enjoyed sailing so far. I am based in Melbourne. I found a boat club and enrolled in their Start Sailing 1 course, which I really enjoyed. They dont have any Start Sailing 2 dates. I've tried to find somewhere else that is doing Start Sailing 2 but given we are moving out of summer most have finished their programs and there are few courses available. I don't want to have to wait until next spring to start sailing again, I'd like to continue learning but this is where I start to get confused. Where do I go if I want to keep sailing and learning?

- Do I buy my own boat and join a club and sail?
- Do I join a club and rent a club boat to sail on and learn on?
- Should I wait until next spring and do Start Sailing 2, Better Sailing and Learn to Race?
- If I buy my own boat are there any recommendations that people have for things to or not to do? Regrets or things you wished you had done differently?
- I was looking at a Laser (established and lots of clubs sail and there are a few out there for sale second hand, although it does seem to be a minefield on the age and quality) or RS Aero (i like it, its new and how light it is) - are these suitable entry points, or am I being overambitous?
- If I join a club are people generally friendly and outgoing enough to be able to ask for help and advice?
- If anyone has any links to other groups where this question might be more applicable happy to take feedback on board too!

Thanks very much for any feedback you might have as a group of experts and established sailors!
kmlaus.

Hi, you don't say where you are however my advice would be go to a relatively local sailing club, ask about crewing on a boat for regular races and go from there.

I would suggest wandering down to Albert Park Yacht club seeing that your based in Melbourne and having a chat to the dinghy sailors there. Like pretty much all clubs these days you will have to be on several Facebook pages. There are several dedicated to dinghy classes.
As to what class you look at it's going to depend a lot on your age and weight. Always better to buy a class boat that is sailed locally so check out the various clubs and see what people are sailing. That said if you enjoy sailing don't buy a Laser. I could certainly live with an RS Aero.

I bought my first dinghy at the Albert Park yacht club display/sale day, and it was a week's wages then. I thought that if I didn't like it, I could sell it a year later. But I liked sailing that dinghy at Franskston beach, Westernport, Lysterfield & Eildon. 2 years later I bought a 26 foot yacht.
Moral of the story is: that's one way into the sport, or you can join a club as Ramona advises. But you don't say whether you'd stick to dinghies or move on to yachts later. I can show you yacht sailing, but it's 300km east of Melbourne. Making friends at a local club will be better; hopefully they have autumn sailing.

Did you enjoy the Laser? They are two a penny and not the minefield you might think, in that you are pretty unlikely to get a completely useless boat - it's not like buying a car, or a yacht!

If so it is a good entry point for dinghies. RS Aero might be cool but, whilst a novice you are likely to progress better and learn the sport if you get into a fleet. Also, there are 3 different sail size options in lasers depending on your physique. Also there are many organised training days for lasers.

A club is a good place to start, especially if you get into a fleet of lasers, or whatever you choose because:

1. There will be people who are knowledgeable about the type of boat you have
2. Organised racing provides some structure to your early sailing (i.e. giving you a course to sail - rescue boat if you get into difficulty people will help you launch/retrieve).

There are plenty of options for clubs and boats all the way round both bays from Queenscliffe to Somers. Spend the remaining weeks of the season visiting clubs on race days and see what boats they have and if they are friendly. There will be a variety of options from simply taking the plunge and buying a boat to potentially joining a club and using a club boat for a week or two.

Find a club and class of boat you feel like you'll fit in, and the sailing will follow.

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Ramona said..
As to what class you look at it's going to depend a lot on your age and weight.

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JonE said..
Find a club and class of boat you feel like you'll fit in, and the sailing will follow.

What these guys said. Also, are you an instinctive person who learns by doing or do you read/watch and then go try stuff out?

Check the race results at nearby clubs to see what classes and how actively they are sailed.

As clubs wind down over the next few months a lot of dinghy sailors take up winter membership at Albert Park. This is often a lot better than you might expect, some weekends are washed out but a surprising number are good sailing. Not a bad start to racing, you will meet people who sail at different bayside clubs in summer and get some time on the water to practice your skills.

I would sail an aero if I could justify the purchase price to the +1. If you have the $$ the resale is very good.

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Check the race results at nearby clubs to see what classes and how actively they are sailed.

Gold. I thought I was the only one who did this

Some good advice here. I'll echo Jon E's point about whether clubs are friendly or not, and that it would be a good idea to spend a summer weekend day or two just driving around from club to club and chatting to people to see how well you'd fit into that club's culture. Some are great, some are sadly unfriendly or just neutral - and it can vary a lot from class to class within a club.

With respect to Ramona, I love the Laser despite having sailed a huge variety of other boats (ie my wife and I currently have a J/36, Formula 18 cat, Tasar, Lasers and about 20 windsurfers plus a half tonner and Int Canoe needing restoration). I think they're less of a quality minefield than most other boats, partly because there is so much info on the 'net about them*. I've sailed an Aero twice and found it rather underwhelming personally, but all that sort of stuff is very much down to personal taste and situation; ie if I was going to go away from the Laser and spend Aero $ I'd get a Waszp and get a REALLY light, modern, twitchy and fast OD.

However don't overlook the Sabre which was specially designed for Port Phillip Bay and is huge down there. It sort of fits into the same niche as the Solo (ie non SMOD, slower than a Laser but easier to sail, popular nationally but not internationally) in the UK although they are very different designs with the Sabre being little more than half of the Solo's hull weight. Then there's the Impulse, which is much quicker (despite the dodgy yardstick) but less popular in Victoria and which suffers from a big difference between the old boats and the later ones.

Oh, and you probably know it already but in general the clubs to the south suffer less from the big chop that the sea breeze brings in.

PS - there's a lot of BS around, like the stuff about the Laser sails only lasting one or two regattas. Mark Bethwaite, Olympian and world champ in multiple classes, is a very wealthy guy and he used exactly the same sail to win three Masters Worlds. Kankama here used one (very) used sail, one new sail and one charter sail throughout his entire Laser career, including winning the Youth nationals, NSW overall titles and getting 22nd or 25th in the Open Worlds. Laser sailors have a strange culture of flogging their sails and then complaining about it.

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Chris 249 said..
Some good advice here. I'll echo Jon E's point about whether clubs are friendly or not, and that it would be a good idea to spend a summer weekend day or two just driving around from club to club and chatting to people to see how well you'd fit into that club's culture. Some are great, some are sadly unfriendly or just neutral - and it can vary a lot from class to class within a club.

With respect to Ramona, I love the Laser despite having sailed a huge variety of other boats (ie my wife and I currently have a J/36, Formula 18 cat, Tasar, Lasers and about 20 windsurfers plus a half tonner and Int Canoe needing restoration). I think they're less of a quality minefield than most other boats, partly because there is so much info on the 'net about them*. I've sailed an Aero twice and found it rather underwhelming personally, but all that sort of stuff is very much down to personal taste and situation; ie if I was going to go away from the Laser and spend Aero $ I'd get a Waszp and get a REALLY light, modern, twitchy and fast OD.

However don't overlook the Sabre which was specially designed for Port Phillip Bay and is huge down there. It sort of fits into the same niche as the Solo (ie non SMOD, slower than a Laser but easier to sail, popular nationally but not internationally) in the UK although they are very different designs with the Sabre being little more than half of the Solo's hull weight. Then there's the Impulse, which is much quicker (despite the dodgy yardstick) but less popular in Victoria and which suffers from a big difference between the old boats and the later ones.

Oh, and you probably know it already but in general the clubs to the south suffer less from the big chop that the sea breeze brings in.

PS - there's a lot of BS around, like the stuff about the Laser sails only lasting one or two regattas. Mark Bethwaite, Olympian and world champ in multiple classes, is a very wealthy guy and he used exactly the same sail to win three Masters Worlds. Kankama here used one (very) used sail, one new sail and one charter sail throughout his entire Laser career, including winning the Youth nationals, NSW overall titles and getting 22nd or 25th in the Open Worlds. Laser sailors have a strange culture of flogging their sails and then complaining about it.

I love the Laser too. A mate had a laser 2, we spent many weekends flying around the harbour on it.

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Trek said..


I love the Laser too. A mate had a laser 2, we spent many weekends flying around the harbour on it.

The Laser 2 is a nice boat. Only similarity to the original laser is the spelling!

Thanks very much for all of the advice and answers, I appreciate it!