Radio Sailing Open Day Report

Published 00:00 on 14 Mar 2025

What a fantastic turn out we had for the fastest growing form of sailing last weekend.

Over the 3 hours on the water, extended due to the weather and interest, we must have seen between 20 and 30 people turn up to either learn about RC sailing, have a go or provide coaching and lending boats. The day kicked off with some light banter with the ERS sailing group who put on 'official' racing on the pond as they proceeded to use the same bouys as we were, albeit in the opposite direction! So straight away we had some interesting port-starboard scenarios, together with a few 'Whoops .. Sorry, I can't see all the way over there!' comments . No harm done and the ERS DF95 Sailing Sec visited us after the their racing had finished to welcome the new interest in DF95's and to plug their Monday night training sessions and their regular racing series.

Back with ESC, we organised some light rounding of the bouys using Jerry's phone as a countdown timer, with visitors using the club boat 00, and existing members boats. We saw some impressive control and action on the water as can be seen from the short video and pictures. Plenty of interest in joining the group and questions on buying 2nd hand or new boats.
We then retired to the bar for a debrief and short Q&A on how to purchase, maintenance, tuning hints and tips (giving all my secrets away!) and when we are on the water next.

So to wrap up, big thanks to Jerry White for the idea and the majority of the organisation, to the existing members for bringing their boats (mine have a few new rubbing stripes!) and to those that came along.

See below the most popular questions and a link to the short video (a big blob of water on the lens stopped it being more comprehensive, but we will do the filming again soon).

Q1) How do I join the ESC RC Club? Email Jonny.hepworth@sky.com for WhatsApp info
Q2) Do I need a boat to join in? The Club has a boat for members use, contact a member for access.
Q3) How much are they? New £450 all in ready to sail, 2nd hand, one currently on Ebay for £250 ready to sail
Q4) Where do I buy a boat and spares? Google DF95 RC Yachts. They import and provide support.
Q5) When do the ESC RC group meet? Currently Friday 15:00 hours for 2-3 hours, moving to Monday 16:00 hours, after the clock change at the end of the month.
Q6) Where best to practice? Structured practice is provided by the ERS (Emsworth Radio Sailing) group on a Monday morning for sailing, video coaching and racing/tuning advice. Or just join in the ESC sailing sessions.
Q7) Where is there competitive racing with series and cups? Join ERS Group (circa £15 a year) via email to Simon@SimonDwyer.com
Q8) Do I need to be any good at using a radio with those little stick things? No, the majority of us are of a certain age where we didn't grow up with Xbox or Playstations, so you are in good company!
Q9) If I get a new boat, is it easy to put together? It's not a quick job, but can be rewarding once done if you like bimbling. If not, I can provide a full build and tune for a reasonable (no rubbish from Tesco Express!) bottle of red wine.

I do hope we see more of you on the pond between usual club racing, or if you'd rather just enjoy sailing from dry land!

Watch a short video of the day here.

Jonny Hepworth