Cruising
Dinghy Cruising: What’s that all about?
The term ‘dinghy cruising’ is used when we, as dinghy sailors, prefer a type of exploratory recreational sailing, usually on coastal waters or the larger bodies of inland waters, that doesn’t involve racing or pottering about on the same patch of water.
This type of sailing requires a certain set of skills, practices and also boat preparation that differs from other types of sailing. Dinghy cruising can be quite addictive, offer amazing experiences and it can certainly elevate both your confidence and skills as a dinghy sailor.
If you haven’t ventured out into the world of dinghy cruising before then we are here to help, offer advice and the opportunity to get involved and join in on the fun and adventure.
Where do we sail?
Each summer we visit a sailing venue that offers great sailing waters, usually hosted by a local sailing club from where we base ourselves for the week. Recent past locations have been Falmouth, Norfolk Broads, Milford Haven and Poole.
How do I join in?
Details of any upcoming cruising events will be published here on the website and when the booking is open there will be a link to a booking form where you can enter your details, pay a deposit and secure your place.
What if I don’t have a boat?
No problem, there are often helms with no crew so we can always find you a space in a boat.
Is my boat cruise ready?
There are a few essential prerequisite elements to a cruise-worthy boat. To satisfy the entry requirements each boat must have at least the ability to reef at sea, have an alternative means of propulsion, have an anchor onboard and a handheld VHF radio set. These are the minimum requirements. For a more extensive overview a well set up cruising GP14 then watch these videos here.
Cruising set up: https://youtu.be/YGzHFBz6l_o
Reefing: https://youtu.be/GZNBgOWVPx4
Anchoring: [TBC]
Am I cruise ready?
At the very least you need to be able to handle your boat in most conditions (up to force 5 wind strength). We’re out to enjoy a leisurely exploration of the coastline, not hang on for dear life, so anything too challenging we wouldn’t even entertain leaving the shore. Knowing how to anchor, leave anchor, hove to and manoeuvre in close quarters is an ideal skillset. If any of these seem alien to you then just email cruising@gp14.org and we will do all we can to help.
2025 UK Cruising Events
Two venues have kindly agreed to host us for both our Spring and Summer events in 2025. Keep an eye on the E-Newsletters for further information. When finalised, they will be published here with details of pricing and how to book.
2024 UK Cruising Events
The International GP14 Class Association 2024 World Championship
Plas Heli, Pwllheli, Wales, 10th-16th August 2024
Cruising Fleet are invited to join in. Sailing locally and joining in the socials and fun. Boats will be stored within the compound, and you are warmly invited to join in all land-based activities. It would be great to see you all at the Worlds. Cruising fleet £150 per boat. This includes access to the club facilities, boats stored within the compound and the socials.
2023 UK Cruising Events
The International GP14 Class Association 2023 Cruising Week
Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Sat 22 -Sat 29 July 2023, hosted by Neyland Yacht Club
Get in touch for more information with cruising@gp14.org FAO Frank Whitley, Cruising Rep, and event organiser.
Entries for Milford Haven Cruising Week 2023
at 11:39 on Sat 21st December
| Entry | Full Name | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ewan whitley | 1 |
| 2 | frank whitley | 1 |
| 3 | Sue Conway | 1 |
| 4 | Richard Moore | 1 |
| 5 | Charles Clayton | 1 |
| 6 | Peter James | 1 |
| 7 | vivienne peak-payne | 1 |
| 8 | Edward Washington | 1 |
| 9 | Martin Davies | 1 |
| 10 | Alan Peak-Payne | 1 |
| 11 | Ivan Washington | 1 |
| 12 | Simon Fletcher | 2 |
| 13 | Simon Conway | 1 |
| 14 | Sarah roberts | 1 |
| 15 | Rob Bailey | 1 |
Many GP14 sailors prefer to relax and cruise with their boats rather than race. There are also a number of members who very proudly own some of the very earliest vintage boats of the class.
In the UK both these groups of members are represented by Oliver Shaw, who oversees and coordinates primarily our cruising activities over the year, and also co-ordinates activities for our vintage fleet.
Oliver can be contacted on email via cruising@gp14.org and if you have a cruising activity at your club to which you would like to invite Association attendance he would be pleased to hear from you.
2021 UK Cruising Events
Following the relaxation of Covid restrictions we are once again in business!
If we didn’t see you on the water this year we hope to see you in 2022. Keep safe.
UK National Cruising Week 2021
A varied group of 25 persons in 7 GPs enjoyed a very successful Cruising Week on the Fal estuary hosted by Restronguet Sailing Club.
Richard Moore, our Cruising Rep’s oldest sailing friend (we go back 52 years), and an erstwhile GP14 sailor who is very well known within the GP14 cruising circle, is one of their Rear Commodores. The location is a very scenic cruising area, and deservedly popular.
And by skilful foresight(!), the week ended just in time to miss Storm Evert, which caused such destruction across the south of the country, particularly in West Cornwall…
It was good to have a balance of old hands and newcomers to the cruising fleet, and also good to have a balance of ages from teenagers through to late septuagenarians – and everything in between. While most of the visitors were from the Northwest of England it was good to also see Duncan Greenhalgh (a Past President of the Association) and his crew, Colin Quint, who had travelled from Scotland for the event, and Tamsin Moore from Pembrokeshire.
All gelled very well, both socially and on the water; and all were immensely enthusiastic about the week and keen to book for next year. One comment received was that this event sets the bar for the future, and will be a hard act to follow.
Read the full report on the week, which is also on our “Cruising Logs” page and will appear in the Autumn issue of Mainsail – click here
Advanced Cruiser Training Weekend – September 24-26 2021
The second iteration of our Advanced Cruiser Training Course was run in September, on the the intensely tidal waters of the Mersey, hosted by Liverpool Sailing Club.
This was a 3-day event, which included an upriver day-cruise on the Sunday; we had initially hopped to sail up as far as the Runcorn Bridges, but in the conditions on the day the route was changed to our local Big Triangle – across to the far side of the estuary (about 2½ miles wide at that point), then up to near Hale Lighthouse, and then back to the club, a total distance of around 12 miles.
The course was fairly intensive, and included reefing systems (and practice in reefing and shaking out at sea), masthead buoyancy, alternative propulsion, communications systems, MOB recovery, tiller brakes (etc.), tide predictions, charts, keeping up the position, passage planning, Colregs (a.k.a. “rule of the road”), use of transits, anchoring, mooring, heaving-to, lee shores, and much else.
All participants enjoyed the course, and felt that they had learned a lot, and also felt that they had gained confidence in the boat and in sailing in tidal waters. A comment heard from one participant, shortly after launching straight into 4 knots (or perhaps more) of spring flood tide was “This tide is something else!!”
Events for 2022
Contact address for all the following: cruising@gp14.org.
In the light of the Covid situation we are not currently planning anything else for 2021, but we are starting to look ahead to 2022.
We are periodically asked about the possibility of running a Cruising Week on inland waters. Partly by way of responding to that, and partly because it would fit in well with my extended family and with the availability back on loan of my erstwhile boat A Capella, we arecurrently planning to hold the 2022 event on the Norfolk Broads. Feedback thus far, mainly from those who participated in this year’s event on the Fal estuary, has been very positive. One obvious difficulty there is the low bridges, with the need to lower masts in order to pass under when transiting between certain Broads, but feedback from the participants on the Training Course was that it is a sufficiently attractive area for it to be worth accepting this necessary inconvenience, and that it can be managed.
We are currently in the throes of arranging a 3-day event on Ullswater, which some claim to be the most scenic of all the Lakes, based at Ullswater Yacht Club, very provisionally June 4-6. There is likely to be camping available on site. Further details to follow.
We have also had an invitation from Cody Sailing Club for our members to join them for a camping and day-cruising event in Poole Harbour. They write:
“Sailing in Poole is an absolute joy, and camping on the remote Cleavel Point, with launching straight into the water from the campsite is tremendously convenient.
“We do not run with safety cover.
“We plan to camp at Poole June 11-18, and members of the GP14 Class Association will be made welcome.
“Last year’s prices were £8.50 per adult per night and £5 for a child, plus a flat fee of £22 to join Cody SC as we book the field on the understanding that we are all members of the club.”
Contact via the Association (the usual cruising address, cruising@gp14.org) in the first instance, please.
2021 Dinghy Show Talk on Cruising
One of our members approached us during 2019 about running a camping and cruising weekend on Llyn Tegid (a.k.a. Bala Lake). We did hope to be able to offer this for that year, but he later advised that his club had a very full programme already for that year but that there could be a possibility for 2020. So we undertook to explore this possibility if there were enough interest expressed by members; but, sadly, despite 12 months publicity on the website and also in Mainsail there was nil response! So we did not therefore pursue this further for 2020, and then we were overtaken by Covid. But we remain open to the possibility for 2022 if enough members express interest.
We also had an offer from a member who lives in North Brittany, between Paimpol and Perros Guirec, and offered to put on a cruising event there if there were enough interest.
He wrote “It’s a marvellous cruising location with many picturesque coastal islands, along with significant tidal variations and currents that need to be taken into account.
“My club organises an extremely relaxed multi-class regatta in a sheltered lagoon at the beginning of August, along with a few cruises with accompanying security. … … I could easily try to organise a 3-day weekend of events including the regatta and throw it open to the GP14 association. After all, there will already be one GP14 taking part!”
Again we asked for expressions of interest, and undertook to explore this possibility if there were enough interest expressed, but here also despite 12 months publicity there was again nil response! So we likewise did not pursue this further for 2020, but we remain open to the possibility for 2022 if enough members express interest.
For a flavour of cruising and vintage events, see the two reports below (at bottom) describing past events.
If you would like to raise any questions in the meantime, or if your club can offer a cruising event for either this year or 2021, please feel free to drop an email to Oliver Shaw or Steve Parry via cruising@gp14.org.
Top tips for a good weekend
- Check your trailer in plenty of time, particularly tyres and bearings, and also the lighting board; and it is a good idea to carry a spare wheel.
- Make sure the boat is all in good working order (cruisers are a friendly bunch and will be happy to help you with unforeseen problems, but it can be frustrating if the whole expedition is delayed while a boat is rebuilt!)
- Do not forget the paddle, or – better – oars and rowlocks.
- Do not forget the anchor.
- Although not all cruising boats are so equipped, both we and the RYA strongly recommend that you have an effective means of reefing (or alternative means of sail reduction); and both we and the RYA (and the RNLI) also recommend that you carry an effective means of calling for assistance in case of need. Do ask if you need advice or guidance on this.
- Be sure that your competence matches the expectations of the event. Ask for advice in advance if in doubt, (some events will suit a comparative novice, but others may be more demanding).
Past Events
Bassenthwaite Cruising Capers Report 2017 |
Round holes Trophy Report 2017 |
 |
 |