What you need to know
Ideally you will have done a beginners dinghy sailing course at an RYA approved sailing school. If you haven’t and want to visit then we suggest you contact Port Edgar Watersports for available courses.
A basic knowledge of racing is essential (the start, basic rules, the meaning of flags displayed on the committee boat or pier). We run an introductory session at the start of each season which covers everything you need to know.
Since we use a rolling handicap system anyone can be competitive no matter how experienced you are or what kind of boat you sail.
What to sail
At Port Edgar you have three choices:
- Rent from the sailing school.
- Buy your own. Boats for sale are advertised on the notice board at the entrance to the club and also at Bosun’s Locker.
- Find someone who has a boat and needs crew. You can use our email list to get in touch.
The plus side of renting is you have no maintenance and storage costs.
The plus side of owning your own boat is that it will be cheaper in the long run, you can go sailing whenever you feel like it and you can set it up to suit yourself.
What to wear on the day
This depends on what you are sailing, but the following should keep you comfortable racing in the summer
Bouyancy aid (the clubs sailing instructions require this to be worn)
Long john style wet suit with no arms, a warm shirt and a spray top
Dinghy boots or shoes you don’t mind getting wet in salt water
Sailing gloves (available from Bosun’s Locker at Port Edgar from £10) to protect your hands
A waterproof watch with a count down timer. You will need to be able to set this to count down from either 3 minutes or 5 minutes.
Early in the season and later in the Autumn/Winter series you may want to get either an all over wetsuit (with long arms) or a dry suit, and a warm hat.
A dry suit can be used all year round simply by varying the number of layers that are worn underneath. They are quite expensive and need occasional repairs to the latex parts, but are very comfortable.