Starting dinghy cruising

People take up dinghy cruising at all ages and with a wide variety of prior sailing experience - from ocean crossing in yachts to absolutely none. For some it's a gentle progression from one sort of sailing to another - for others new skills have to be learned, as they switch from yachts to smaller boats, from racing to cruising or from inland lakes to tidal waters.

Beyond the specifics of sailing, dinghy cruising skills have a lot in common with many other outdoor activities - knowledge of the weather, navigation, camping etc. Above all, what's needed are common sense, an awareness of ones surroundings, ones own capabilities and those of the crew and the boat.

The skills and experience   you  need to take up dinghy cruising will depend on your previous experience of boats, your skills in related outdoor activities and the places you plan to sail. ​
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Regardless of your sailing experience, if any, a good place to start is by sailing with others. Members with or without boats are welcome at DCA rallies. Those with boats will find help with launching and recovery and all will have many opportunities to ask questions and watch what others do. Members without boats may receive an invitation to sail with someone but it is always up to the skipper whether he wants extra crew or not and this may well depend on weather and sailing conditions. 

​It is a good idea to link up with other members in your local area if you can. Even if there are no members near you, if you ask around at your local sailing club you may find, hidden among the racers, people who enjoy our kind of sailing and who may well be happy to share their experience with you.

The DCA does not offer training; indeed, a great many excellent sailors have never had formal training. Courses can however provide a good introduction to sailing. In the UK, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) oversees formal sail training. The courses most relevant to dinghy cruisers are:

• Adult beginners' courses:   Levels 1, 2 and 3;
• Improvers' and advanced courses:   Seamanship Skills; Daysailing.

When considering courses, take account not just of the syllabus but also of the types of boats the training is offered in - this varies between training centres and the experience will be completely different in, for example, a Wayfarer, as opposed to a more modern racing oriented boat.

While courses can provide a good introduction, nothing will truly develop your skills and competence except time spent on the water. As you gain in confidence you will want to tackle more challenging conditions, once again, sailing with others at DCA rallies can provide great opportunities.  Don't hesitate to ask the rally contact person if the venue is suitable for less experienced sailors.

Starting young.

Practising capsize drill.

​​To find out more about starting dinghy cruising read:

• Members' experiences of starting dinghy cruising
• Jim discovers    he is not a Martian.

You could also borrow these booklets from the Library which include articles from past DCA bulletins and journals:

• Beginners Experiences and Needs
• Cruising in Dinghies

and borrow or buy some of the excellent books that are recommended in ​Good Reads.

Len Wingfield was a stalwart of the DCA who sadly passed away in 2021 at the magnificent age of 98. He wrote a booklet back in 1991 called   Cruising the Leader   which   you can borrow from the DCA Library or download by clicking the cover image.

He says "These notes are not intended to replace any of the excellent text books published on dinghy cruising, but to provide material particularly relevant to the Leader dinghy."  Len had sailed   a very wide range of boats over fifty years or so but,
in his late sixties at the time of writing, had found the  14'   Leader  a convenient size.    "It is large enough to carry four adults daysailing and provides room to sleep two large males comfortably on board. However  it is not too big to be sailed single-handed by average or even light helmspersons, nor too heavy to be drawn out and manhandled ashore singlehanded by a lightweight woman." 

Despite its focus on the Leader, this booklet  provides any beginner at dinghy cruising with useful information  on seamanship, living  on board, training, first aid,  self-rescue and survival.   Beginners are  earnestly recommended to take their training seriously, and to sail well within their limits as experience is gained.
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This website has some useful information for beginner dinghy cruisers and   has a dictionary of nautical terms:
Cambridge School of Navigation

Some final advice from a DCA member: "Start as soon as possible. You'll always regret not having started earlier."