What Dinghies Can You Race at Spinnaker Sailing Club
The Club's Notice of Race makes certain restrictions on this for participation in Club Racing, with the aim being to ensure the safe, fair racing. The Club has identified certain classes as particularly suitable for racing on the lake. Generally, these are classes that have stood the test of time or appear to be a good choice for lake sailing, and have a number of members regularly racing them. There are many advantages to sailing one of these classes, such as access to a keen and friendly group of sailors, who will help you make the most of the Club and your sailing; but also by sailing with boats of the same class it is easy to benchmark yourself and to see how you can improve.
The Sailing Committee members are always happy to give advice as are the Club's staff.
Classes Commonly Raced at Spinnaker Sailing Club:
RS Aero: The RS Aero was designed by Jo Richards in 2014. With three different rig sizes, the Aero can be sailed by everyone from youth sailors, women, and men from 35 kg to 95 kg. It is by far the most recently designed adopted class and is growing quickly. The Aero is an exciting, responsive boat, extremely light and can be very quick in the right conditions. The Aero might be challenging for an inexperienced sailor. It won the selections for the new Olympic single hander but eventually was not chosen.
Firefly: The Firefly is a two-sailed sailing dinghy with no spinnaker, designed by Uffa Fox in 1938. The Firefly is 12ft long and suits a crew weight of 17-24 stone. The Firefly is a popular Fleet, with Fleet Racing events drawing in many competitors. Several sailors at Spinnaker Sailing Club sail the Firefly singlehanded as it was in the 1948 Olympics, while others have crews.
However, the Firefly's popularity really shows in Team Racing. It is the ultimate Team Racing boat, used at the ISAF World Team Racing Championships, as well as being used for over 50 years at the world-famous Wilson Trophy, the British Open Team Racing Championship. The Firefly is also the boat of choice for Schools and Universities for teaching and Team Racing. Three Universities and one School have fleets of Fireflies at Spinnaker, along with the Club's own Team Racing Flights.
Wanderer: The Wanderer is a 14ft (4.3m) fiberglass dinghy. It was designed by Ian Proctor in August 1978. Ian's principal objective was to introduce a robust, safe and versatile dinghy which was relatively easy for two people to launch and recover. The Wanderer has main and jib sails and can also be fitted with a spinnaker. Reefing of the main sail is by slab reefing; the jib can also be fitted with a roller furling system. In recent years the Wanderer has become an increasingly popular double handed boat at Spinnaker Sailing Club.
ILCA (Formerly known as the Laser): The ILCA dinghy is the world's most popular adult & youth racing class. It is a single-handed racing dinghy - but can also be used to kick about the lake for fun. Each ILCA is virtually identical whether they are brand new or years old, putting the sailor's performance at the centre of sailing. Second-hand boats are readily available. The ILCA is an Olympic class boat - in which Ben Ainslie won a silver and the first of his gold medals. And while it demands athleticism at the top level, with three different rig sizes, it can be handled in all the conditions in which we sail at Spinnaker.
Optimist:The Optimist is one of the most successful dinghies ever designed. It may be small, but it is no toy. Many Olympic Sailors started their careers in an "Oppie". Designed in 1947 by Clark Mills, it was originally built from 2 sheets of 4' x 8' plywood but has since come far. With its simple pram hull and sprit rig it is instantly recognisable. You can still buy the plans from the RYA and build your own, but nowadays most are made in fibre glass by commercial builders. The upper age limit for racing the boat is 15 years, but many teenagers outgrow it before then. It is one of the RYA recognised single hander classes and is one of the main classes sailed in Spinnaker Youth Training (SYT).
Solo: The National Solo is a one design single handed dinghy and is one of the most popular boats at Spinnaker. Originally designed for home-build in 1956 by Jack Holt, the boat has since grown in popularity and now is built in Foam Reinforced Plastic. It is 3.78 metres long (12' 5") and has a fully battened sail of 8.39 square metres which makes it well suited to the shifty winds of the lake. Solo sailors at Spinnaker Club have lots of opportunity for fleet racing of all standards, as well as an annual Open Meeting and various trophies to compete for.
Topper: The Topper is an 11 foot 43 kg (95 lb) sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor in 1977. The Topper is a one-design boat sailed mostly around the British Isles but it is a World Sailing Class. It is widely sailed as a junior class boat, either after a sailor has outgrown an Optimist or as their first boat. The boat is constructed from polypropylene, and is popular as a racing boat or for sail training. The Topper is an RYA recognised Youth Class and select squads where talented young sailors are given specialist race coaching.
Last updated 15:50 on 12 January 2025
