There are 3 main options
- Find a helm who needs a crew
- Hire one of the training boats
- Buy your own boat, or club together to buy one
Crewing
This is a great way to get into racing dinghies! There is a sheet on the noticeboard in the entrance to advertise your availability and for potential helms to do the same.
Some helms may be looking for a suitable crew for as much of the season as possible whilst others may just want a crew for one or two races (or race days) due to unavailability of their regular crew.
We encourage helms to sail with people they usually sail with or to let their crews helm in the first (11:00) race on Sundays (with the exception of the Autumn series which starts in November). Some helms don’t compete in it because they don’t know you’d like to have a go! So, don’t be frightened to keep letting people know of your availability. Not everyone reads noticeboards! The telephone numbers of all established helms are in the club handbook.
You can also advertise your availability in the e-newsletter (contact the Publicity Officer).
Hire of club boats
Boat hire is only allowed when there is a safety boat on the water (usually only Sundays and Wednesday/Friday evenings). You will need to ask permission from a senior instructor or flag officer if you haven’t passed RYA Dinghy Level 2.
This is not a commercial venture but is primarily to enable new members to continue sailing once they have reached a reasonable level of competence until they acquire their own boat or team up as a crew. The price charged is intended to simply contribute to the cost of routine maintenance of the training fleet.
The free use of boats is only for the duration of an RYA course.
Find out more about hiring club boats