1431 - Introduction

[Mark]

Got my login so now I can introduce myself.

Admission time- I bought a Dart 16, .......... there I've said it, but I'm alright now!
My plan was to sail with a family crew most windy weekends, and occasionally solo, but the kids ages and the lure of weekend pay stopped them coming, and I found I was alone more often than not.
Plus the fact that none of the 16's at my club are sailed regularly or ever raced. So I began the search for a sprint 15, wasn't quite planning it this way as I still have the 16 (for sale if someone knows someone!).

But I Saw 1431 on ebay, and having been and having had a sneaky look during the week before the auction ended, have to say it appears to be in very good condition, with just a small repair needed to a batten pocket, a tiny repair to the trampoline edge and new mainsheet, (you could tie the Queen Mary up with this one)
I then spent the week hoping that the link posted below wouldn't bring a flurry of bids! Won it for what the consensus seems to be a bargain price, and I have to agree.

Was desperate to collect it Saturday, before someone rang and offered them more than me! Got to say the drive back home in the Saturday wind was pretty scary, even with every bit of rope I had tied to anything I could, it still got a right wiggle on when the gusts hit. Had visions of the lot coming off and having to explain that away. Boat now safely ensconced at the club, and waiting for Robin (Mr Gadget) and his amazing sewing skills to do their thing.

Sail at Stewartby so have Robin, graham and Steve to help me along. No doubt will meet a few of you at the Stewartby open, by which time I hope to be competent enough to follow you round.

Awaiting membership forms before you ask!

Now going into sponge mode to learn all I can from your excellent forum ( can't believe the difference to the dart16 one). Anyone got any blinding tips feel free to pass them on, I'm all ears.

Mark

[George Love]

Hi Mark,
Welcome aboard the Sprint 15 Assoc. Glad to hear you are joining up for which you will shortly receive the latest issue of 'Newsprint' which will be going to press in a few days time : one of two issues per annum.
I am sure the lads at Stewartby will quickly have you up and running with lots of tips and helpful advice. If you've got any specific queries, just post a topic on here and you'll very quickly be deluged with replies!!
In the meantime, happy sailing with your excellent acquisition.
Cheers,
'Newsprint' Editor

[Andrew Hannah]

Hi Mark,

It is great to have you.

I have a friend at Thorpe Bay who sold his Dart 16 on e-bay. The way he did it, was to use the Buy-it-now facility. He didn't get any bids, but he got enquiries from people who wanted to make an offer. He sold it privately to one of them.

The association has a special insurance deal with David Lloyd. I use this facility which costs about £55pa. His phone number is 02392 754000.

Happy sailing!

[George Love]

Hi Mark,
A P.S. to my earlier note. Have just received formal notification of your membership, so your mag. will be in the post soon along with the all the others.

[Bob Carter]

Got my login so now I can introduce myself.

Admission time- I bought a Dart 16, .......... there I've said it, but I'm alright now!
My plan was to sail with a family crew most windy weekends, and occasionally solo, but the kids ages and the lure of weekend pay stopped them coming, and I found I was alone more often than not.
Plus the fact that none of the 16's at my club are sailed regularly or ever raced. So I began the search for a sprint 15, wasn't quite planning it this way as I still have the 16 (for sale if someone knows someone!).
....................................................................
Now going into sponge mode to learn all I can from your excellent forum ( can't believe the difference to the dart16 one). Anyone got any blinding tips feel free to pass them on, I'm all ears.

Mark

Hi Mark,
Yes the Dart 16 is the most frustrating class. There are lots of them about but they are never raced. In addition to 41 Sprint 15s we have about 15 Dart 16s at Grafham and I have spent years trying to get their owners to take part in our (Club) activities. They are almost totally owned by families for fun sailing (nothing wrong with that), but as soon as anyone wants to race there is never anyone to race against. It is the same on the National circuit. They got just 2 boats attend the inland championships and the National Championships usually struggle to get into double figures. So the only way to race is either alone (when you do not learn much) or to change class. We get many of our new recruits from the Dart 16 Class.
You will find the Sprint 15 class completely different. We pride ourselves on being friendly and very active. Based on Nationals attendance we are gererally either the most active or the second most active catamaran class in the country (the Dart 18 is a bigger class than ourselves if the traveller attendance is taken as the guage).
As I have not got your E Mailk address I'll post our welcome note on this forum in a minute.
Cheers
Bob Carter

[Bob Carter]

Hi Mark,

I hear that you have recently bought Sprint 15 #1431, so well done for this and welcome.

I'm sure that you will not regret it. We are a friendly class and are very
active at all levels.

- We run a training weekend once or twice a year where our top guys
teach the new sailors how to sail the boat well
- We run a Summer traveller series of 5 or 6 two-day weekend events
- we run a winter traveller event of 5 one-day events at easy to access
inland lakes.
- we run two National Championships a year (one for Sport mode with the jib and harness as well as a standard nationals).
- we have a series of fun events at the nationals where we cruise up the coast to a pub for lunch a couple of days, go on outings, go go-carting, have treasure trails, BBQs and much more.
- we run one of the best web-sites in the sailing scene (give it a look
it is on www.sprint15.com). This is full of useful tips and guidance.
- we publish 2-3 magazines / year which are very informative and give
all the hot news.

We are the biggest single handed catamaran class in the UK by miles - in 2007 we had a Nationals attendance of 55 at Saundersfoot and in 2006 it was 63 at Netley. In 2008 it was our 30th anniversary Nationals at Thorpe Bay and we were the largest Catamaran Nationals in the UK with 61 entries.

Any chance you will join us for an open or two?

I hope that you will be joining the Sprint 15 Association - it's only £10 by
standing order or £15 by cheque. Full details are available on the web or
from Keith Bartlett, our secretary. I've put Keith on the copy for this EMail
so you can mail him direct if you require.

I hope to meet you at one of our events in due course and meanwhile I hope
you enjoy sailing your new boat.

Cheers

Bob Carter
Sprint 15 Association