Yacht racing with a difference
Racing high-performance radio-controlled yachts is an exciting, challenging and very satisfying sport or pastime.
Getting involved is easy – all you need is a boat and a stretch of water, so come and join in the challenge of racing radio-controlled yachts along the Garden Route.
Model sailing in the Garden Route can be broken into three classes of RC yachts: the shipmate R36’’ class has been in operation since 2003 and is a SA-designed and built boat. The Dragon Flite 95 is a new worldclass yacht which entered South Africa only last year, with a fleet of 31 in the country, of which four sail in the garden route.
The RC Laser, an international class boat, was first brought into South Africa about 10 years ago from America, with 9 000 RC Lasers worldwide, of which 150 are in South Africa and seven of these sailing in Knysna since 2009.
Sailing takes place in a variety of venues – from Hartenbos river to Touws river (in front of the Fairy Knowe hotel) to the Knysna lagoon. We sail 36s or Dragon Flites twice a month on a Sunday, racing starts at 11:00 and RC Lasers in between on a Saturday or Wednesday depending on tides.
Why you should do it
Reasonable entry cost and little maintenance.
Enjoy the great outdoors – fresh air and some vitamin D
Easy to transport and store in a bedroom or garage.
No fancy radios are required – a simple two-channel will do the job.
Ideal medium to learn and practise “starting” manoeuvres as races are typically of short duration, so many races are completed in a day’s racing. This gives you many opportunities to experiment.
Ideal medium to learn and practise the “yacht racing rules” – learn quickly from your mistakes.
Come to understand sail trimming on a small scale – the same principles as big boat sailing apply: quickly change the settings for the next race and see different results, until you get it.
Take the sport as seriously as you like, there is room for all, both young and old.
How to contact us
Come and meet us on the water’s edge or give us a call: George Winter 082 511 8538, commodore GRMSC; Brian Beauchamp 083 640 4919 or Peter Clunas 083 731 8887, commodore Knysna buoys (RC Lasers).