The Fleet Print

Sailing dinghies

Wanderer dinghies

The five 14' Wanderers are the backbone of the Group's training fleet. Ideal for teaching, and easily handled by between two and four scouts, they are difficult to get hold of on a pleasant summer day.


Topazs

The four Topazs provide a fun introduction to the water, and a good excuse for a swim. Fast in a breeze, and very easy to right from the inevitable "accidental" capsizes! We also have full race rigs and spinakers for them allowing the older boys to progress onto something a little more challenging.


Laser Stratos "Rene J"

The Stratos was bought originally as an advanced trainer for the Ventures, and is now used for advance sailing and leader training. It is trapeze rigged, and has an asymmetric spinnaker to deliver serious horsepower downwind whilst still large and stable enough for use by the scouts, of whom if can fit five with ease.


25' Dascombe Gig "Frank B "

A replacement for the old wooden Whalers of years gone by, Frank B is a large fibreglass open boat that can take 12 boys with ease. It's not easy to sail but gets exciting when the wind gets above force three. It can also be pulled, or rowed and has the capacity to take a small outboard motor.


18' Essex One Design (EOD)"Percussion"

Percussion was in a very sorry state until winter 1999, when a large effort by the Ventures put her back into A1 state. 18' long, she is extremely stable and fast, having a mainsail close in size to that of the yachts. Her ideal use is for short expeditions, as she has dry storage for tents, cooking equipment etc, and in the past she has been used for a Queen's Scout expedition.


Tideway "Guzzler"

Built right here in Leigh, the Tideway is an ideal boat for providing an introduction to sailing; she is named "The Guzzler", after our Old Boys Association, who bought her for us. She is an updated GRP version of the wooden Tideways that the Group owned 20 years ago.


Support boats

5.5m Avon Redstar RIB "Nelson"

One of three fast safety boats, Nelson is very useful for teaching as it can be nudged alongside sailing dinghies without damaging them - being rubber, it just bounces off! With a top speed of 30 knots it can reach capsized dinghies extremely quickly, or can round up and tow a number of dinghies at once.


5m Ribcraft RIB "Grafton"

A new addition to the safety boat fleet in 2008, Grafton (named after our old addopted warship HMS Grafton") provides a level of redundancy if one of the other RIBs is out of action. She is excellent for both fleet safety cover and teaching RYA powerboat courses.


4.5m Avon RIB "Rodney"

The second of the Groups two inflatables, is smaller, and will be used mainly for teaching sailing and powerboating courses.


18' Nelson Launch "Peter R"

The Group's general-purpose diesel trot boat spends its time transferring kit and sailors between the jetty and the boats.


Rowing dinghies

The group owns a number of rowing boats used primarily for teaching basic boat skills such as rowing, coming alongside and anchoring. When we are feeling enthusiastic, they are also used to get out to the moorings before the powerboats have enough water to float.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 August 2008 13:39
 

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