New to sailing in the UK [Springbok]

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Springbok wrote:

Hi,

I am an ex-South African, now living in Buckinghamshire. I used to own a Dart 18 out there, and am quite an experienced sailor. I sailed mostly on the inland dams, but also offshore a number of times.
I have spent a number of years getting settled here, and have just got hold of a Spark 15 in reasonable condition. I am keen to get back on the water again, but need to find out the ins and outs of sailing in the UK, and am hoping someone can help with my questions.
Where am I allowed to sail? I am not really interested in joining a club, since I?m not into racing ? just occasional fun sailing with my family. Having looked at the Datchet and Queen Mary SC websites, it appears that I can pay a day sailing fee to sail there. Presumably most clubs have a day sailing arrangement too. What are the launching procedures at these reservoirs ? QMSC makes reference to a ?boat hoist? ? sounds very involved! Are there any legal requirements as far as insurance and safety equipment go? If so, what are they please? Datchet makes reference to specific types of wetsuits ? or is that only for board sailors? Are there any other places within reasonable distance of south Buckinghamshire that I can sail at? What about sailing down on the South Coast e.g. Poole, Bournemouth, Worthing etc. Do I have to launch from an official club / marina, or can I launch wherever there is access? Has anyone taken their boat over to France? Are there any specific rules and regulations for sailing over there? I?m going to the Vendee in a few weeks and was wondering whether it would be worth taking the boat along too.

All replies gratefully received.
Thanks,
Peter

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Andrew Hannah replied:

Hi Peter,

Welcome to the Sprint 15 fraternity!

As regards your plans for your boat, I don't think there is anything to be said for being sniffy about clubs. Indeed, your thread is your first step onto the road to associating with people with similar interests, thereby joining a club or, in this case, an association. You see, you feel you have a need to speak with us already. That is why you have made contact with your Springbok post.

In this country we have many clubs, and the purpose of these is to help each other and to share ideas. Racing is a bi-product which soon follows. Moreover, clubs have already done the groundwork for you. They have a parking area for your boat, a place from which to launch and recover, changing facilities and above all, commeraderie.

Membership of the class association will entitle you to cheaper insurance and many other discounts. See the "join" link.

One of the things you will have learnt from your Dart 18 sailing, is the fondness that cat sailors attach to speed. All of us love it, and we all try to make our boats go faster. And this is where racing comes in. The question we all ask ourselves is, "Can I make my boat go faster than the next guy?" Some of our members drive hundreds of miles to obtain a good standard of sailing.

The Sprints are fortunate insofar as we have several inland sailing waters to choose from. If you decide to change your mind, please look up the "clubs" link on the association website. I hope we can help. I look forward to meeting you one day.

Andrew Hannah.

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Bob replied:

Hi Peter,
Some of the answers to your questions:
- most clubs have day sailing arrangements. You will have to pay at the gate or the office. The big inland sailing Clubs near you are are Queen Mary, Datchet, Grafham Water. Rutland Water and Carsington are further a field but are more picturesque and worth a trip out.
- you can sail on the coast anywhere so long as you can find good access to the water. Quite often this is easiest and safest at Sailing Clubs who generally have a good slipway.
- You must have insurance to sail at sailing clubs in the UK - and you are wise to get your boat insured in any case. For contacts with insurers look at the suppliers page on this web site. If you join the Sprint 15 Association (see under join - up) you get something like a ?25 discount if you insure your boat with WHIC.
- all sailing clubs insist that you and your crew must wear a life jacket at all times.
- most clubs insist that you wear a wet suit or dry suit in the winter months (dates vary but Oct-March is usual).
- the walls of Queen Mary Sailing Club are steep concrete all around (about 45 degeees)- hence the lifts. They look like a finicular - a horizontal platform which goes down the wall on rails. You put your boat on the platform and it lowers it into the water. There is I believe a charge for it's use. If there is 2 of you you can mandandle a Sprint 15 in and out without using the lift. Datchet is also a concrete bowl but has a low gradient slip way - but it is prone to running low on water as the summer progresses. Grafham Water has neither of these problems - but then I'm biased.
- taking your boat to France is a great thing to do. I've never done it but lots of people do. Some time ago the French got stroppy and made people register their boats before taking them to France but I think this has died out. Modern Sprint 15s/Dart 15s have a CE plate which I think make it easier, but let's see what advice other punters give.
- We (the Sprint 15 Association) have 2 days of group fun sailing planned at Netley for 22/23 August. We sail various places get lunch and sail back with an attendant rescue boat. This year we plan to sail across to the Isle of Wight one day. For more details look at our events section.
I hope that this gets you started
Bob Carter (events secretary)
PS we have a couple of other ex South African sailors with Sprint 15s at Grafham.

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Mike 1683 replied:

There are several public slips you can launch from on the Solent I've used in the past:

Calshot on the spit, just before the Hants CC actiity Centre, it can sometimes get a lot of gravel washed on to it. You can also pay to use the slips at Calshot.
Lepe, off the gravel beach - there's a deignated "launch" access
and I think there might be a public slipway at Lee-on-the- Solent

The OS maps usually show public slips from beaches where they exist.

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Springbok replied:

Thanks to Andrew, Bob and Mike for your replies. I may take a trip out to Grafham for starters in a few weeks time when we get back from our hols. Another question - my old (new to me!) Spark has what I presume to be the original Spark emblem on the sail - a sort of a red star. Am I able / allowed to replace it with either the Dart or Sprint emblem ? If so, where can I get hold of these ?

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Andrew Hannah replied:

I think most of us have already removed the red star, just in case anybody thought we were all marxists!

I too, have an old Spark. I can still see the outline of a star on my original sail, which is blue/yellow/green. However, some owners have decided to retain the Spark name on the side of their boats. What's your sail number, by the way?

Andrew (1060).

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Bob replied:

Yes, you can get the old logo off. I did it some years ago on Spark 525. The adhesive was quite strong and the Spark insignia was difficult to get off - it tore into many strips. It then left a thick sticky residue on the sail - this mostly came off by scrubbing with white spirit and a scrubbing brush & then clean cloth(but not entirely). The whole activity took some hours and you could always tell where the insignia had been.
My recommendation would be to leave well enough alone and keep the Spark Insignia until you decide to invest in a new sail. Particularly if you do not plan to race.
If you decide to go ahead you can buy the new insignia from Windsport.

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Springbok replied:

Alan it is 272. The sail is yellow / orange. The hulls are white and faded red. It also still has "Spark" on the side.

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Springbok replied:

Andrew - apologies for calling you Alan! The chap I bought the boat from is called Alan.

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Peter Lytton replied:

Recently, i was changing numbers on a sail. Getting them off is not the difficult bit- cleaning off the sticky definitely is. I tried Paint Brush Cleaner, not turps which is a thinner, and does nothing. Mine was Wickes own brand, but there must be others. It worked a treat, and is by far the easiest, quickest and cheapest way I know to remove the sticky-better than acetone. And as an added bonus the ladies of the house don't moan because you have taken the last of their nail varnish remover.