Aim

 ​The aim of the Dinghy Cruising Association is to    facilitate communication, exchange of knowledge and meeting between enthusiasts of dinghy cruising, who share a passion for sailing small boats non-competitively.

​Throughout the year, we facilitate meeting between members and sailing in company via an extensive programme of informal regional rallies.

We facilitate communication and exchange through publication of our quarterly journal, our on-line  Forum and the DCA Facebook Group, and by providing technical advice    and access to a lending library of sailing-related literature. 

​Based in the UK and founded in 1955, the DCA has members worldwide. You can read about how it all began   here..
​DCA President, Roger Barnes, speaking on Dinghy Cruising at the RYA Dinghy show.
LEGAL STUFF
The Rules of the Association
The DCA Data Privacy Policy (for compliance with GDPR)

​Promoting dinghy cruising & sharing information

Journal

​Dinghy Cruising is the Association's quarterly journal. Formerly the DCA Bulletin, it has been published continuously since 1955 and is available only to members. Designed and edited to a professional standard with 80 to 100 A4 pages, most in full colour, Dinghy Cruising provides a wealth of inspiration and practical advice.

You can see a selection of articles and download a sample copy   here.

Advice

Technical advice on any aspect of dinghy cruising is available to members from our technical advisor: Dave Jennings. If he does not know the answer, he will find it for you.

​Members collectively are a fount of knowledge which they share generously - in articles and letters in the Journal and via our discussion forum   and Facebook page.. Some of the articles can be found on this website but many more are available from the Journal Archive and  DCA Library.

Library

The DCA has a comprehensive lending library of books about cruising in small boats and related matters. Members may borrow books and back copies of the Dinghy Cruising journal. Postage is free both ways. The books will be posted with a return, postage-paid  envelope included. The books may be retained nominally for a month but in practice until someone else wants them.
​           Read more... 

Awards

Two awards are made each year for items that are published in Dinghy Cruising:
1. the Naylor Noggin for the best log of a cruise in a sailing dinghy, and
2. the Peter Bick Cup for the best technical article.
The South Coast group have three  awards for those members who complete the Hayling Challenge.
​             Read more…

Meeting & sailing together

The DCA has a number of regional groups who organise a programme of rallies each year where members can meet and sail together in company. There are seven groups in England  covering the South West, South, South East, East, Midlands,   North West    and North East of the country. The North West group share their sailing area with North Wales and regularly include rallies along the North Wales coast. A new group has been formed to organise rallies in South Wales. There are two regional groups in Scotland - North and South - and one in Ireland.   Rallies are also held overseas in France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and in the Baltic - organised either by local or UK-based members.   Our biggest overseas membership is in North America and we hope to see  some DCA events in the USA and Canada before long.   Read more…

Members  can attend any rally in any region. Rally hosts can be contacted via the Forum. Members can also suggest pop-up rallies  at short notice   to create additional opportunities to meet and sail together. There are regional spaces in the DCA Forum to facilitate all aspects of rally planning and organisation and you can search for members sailing near you in the Member Directory which is  available in the Members' Section. 

A breath of fresh air

Dinghy cruising - whether adventuring or pottering - is a breath of fresh air in a competitive world, where day to day life is increasingly disconnected from the rhythms - and power - of nature.