UK Dinghy Racing
Newsletter No 10
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Please note new URL www.ukdinghyracing.com

This is the tenth issue of the Newsletter and I hope to produce one a month, with possible extra issuse during the summer when there is more sailing activity.

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Both the Newsletter and the site are a hobby, I do this in the evenings and weekends, and try to keep an open and neutral perspective on issues.
The aim of the site is to entertain like minded people who have a passion for dinghy racing or sailing. I have tried to keep the site as specific as possible, ie UK not worldwide although the info and chat may be of interest to many. The listings of Sailing Clubs and Class Associations are purely British so there are no hugh lists of useless links to try and find one useful one.

On the question of links I have spent many hours searching for the UK sites but am sure I have missed some, so if you find any relevant ones please send them to me.

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In this Issue

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1. Boatbuilding & Maintenance
2. Sails Sails & Sails
3. Talking Cherubs
4. Admirals Cup
5. Douglas Gill
6. We have Moved
7. Commercial

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1. Boatbuilding & Maintenance

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If you are interested in home building then the Cherub UK site offers a wealth of advice together with a downloadable PDF file (Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to view) that draws on others experiences and explains how hightec home building is possible for the amateur. Below are a number of links to some of the best articles which I am certain will be of interest to anybody boatbuilding.

www.sailingsource.com/cherub/bldfoam.htm - Building in Foam Sandwich
www.sailingsource.com/cherub/bldwood.htm - Building in Wood
www.sailingsource.com/cherub/masts.htm - Building Carbon Masts
www.sailingsource.com/cherub/fitout.htm - Gear and Fittings
www.sailingsource.com/cherub/rudstock.htm - Building a Rudder Stock
www.sailingsource.com/cherub/bldfoil.htm - Rudder Blades and Daggerboards

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2. Sails Sails & Sails

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WB Sails from Finland (Written in English) have an excellent site about sail design.
Explore the site and you will find pages on wind flow and pressure, some very technical, and reasons why sails have developed as they have.

Specific pages feature the Finn, 470 and Cherub, this page looking at how lift is generated from an asymetric in a dinghy that is notorious for nose dives!

All in all a wealth of knowledge that will take some time to understand.
It's a framed site so I cannot give links to specific pages you will have to go and explore.

www.wb-sails.fi/

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3. Talking Cherubs
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Talking about Cherubs I have recently become the proud owner of Cherub 2333, a 1975 design in need of some TLC. Well actually quite a major restoration of the topsides, new deck, gunwhale, rudder stock and plenty of new fittings. I am taking a few pictures as I progress and will publish them on the web site when there is enough to make an article, hopefully with a few do's and don'ts from my own experience.
The boat is intended to give a bit of exciting sailing to my teenage sons, probably only at club level, but it should be fun.

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4. Admirals Cup
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Well the Champagne Mumm Admirals Cup is now a distant memory, and what can we say, well the Great Britain Team blew it on the last race, but at least we were in the frame and there were some positives to come out of the event. Most notably the performance of Adrian Stead and his crew in 'Barlow Plastics'. this was a very young crew, eldest 33, and this can only mean a bright furure for British yachting.

At the end of the event, well not quite the end, Chris Law announced his retirement from international racing, a sad decision for any sportsman to make, but particularly so for a man who still appears to have the edge over many of the worlds best in Match Racing. Law stated at the conclusion of the event that the poor performance of his boat, 'Nautica Arbitrator', was his responsibility and that the blame should rest with him.
These are the words of a man with some dignity who takes responsibility for his own actions, an atribute we must all admire. The real reasons for this apparently abrupt decision may well remain speculation, lets just admire the mans record and hope that younger British sailors will step forward to fill his shoes.

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5. Douglas Gill
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This is an unashamed plug for Douglas Gill clothing manufacturer of great repute.

www.douglasgill.com

Why?
Well they have just sent me a brand new Antigua Jacket. Apparently I entered a competition on IPCs web site and won!! not bad for doing little more than entering my email, and I haven't had any spam off them either.
So if you see internet competitions don't be put off, enter, you may be one of only a few, with a very good chance of winning.

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6. We have Moved
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The we here is UK Dinghy Racing.
The site now has a new 'real' address

www.ukdinghyracing.com

Please visit the new site, it looks a lot like the old one, but new articles, particularly with referance to training/ coaching will be published soon.
You can then bookmark or add to your favourites folder to be sure to find us every time you log on.

Could I also plead with everybody who owns/runs a site to either add a link or update the old one, as the former URL will only be active for a little longer.

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7. Commercial
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Yes I'm making a plug again, this time to anybody who runs a commercial internet site. I will not go on here but if you do visit www.sitesell.com/uk.html or if you would like a bit more info go to www.ukdinghyracing.com/webtool2.htm and you will find more info.
Sign up as an affiliate as this is without doubt the best programme on the internet, and as an affiliate you get most of it free.

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Well thats it for this issue, if you have any articles or pictures you would like publishing on the site please send them to me, and don't forget to update those links.