Interested in racing Sportsboats?

Check out what the Royal Temple Yacht Club has to offer!

Sportsboat ownership is growing rapidly and is the most popular and fastest growing sector of keelboat racing in the UK, appealing to both Olympic standard and Club sailors alike. In recognition of this fact, the RTYC has spent a considerable amount of time and effort developing the right support infrastructure to allow existing and potential owners to race their boats at Ramsgate at a highly affordable cost.

It is a recognised fact that IRC style cruiser racing, which has been the staple diet of racing at many clubs like the RTYC over the years, has been suffering from spiralling costs in recent times and this has led many existing and potential owners on a limited budget to focus their attention on older boats in an attempt to keep purchase and running costs within a manageable level. However, these older style boats have limited appeal and for younger generation sailors brought up on a diet of high-performance, asymmetric dinghy racing, they appear to be staid, unexciting and very uncool.

The introduction of boats such as the 1720, Laser SB3, RS K6 and to a lesser extent the J80 into the market, has changed the whole perception of top level keelboat racing from being a section of the sport for the well heeled, to one that is well within the reach of dinghy sailors on a limited budget who want to experience the very different challenge of racing in larger boats, on bigger courses, in a wider range of wind strengths. With strict controls on crew weight, sails and equipment these boats create a level playing field for everyone, be they large or small, male or female. They also provide the “seat of the pants” thrills of dinghy racing that are sometimes missing in bigger, heavier Cruiser/Racers; with the added bonus of not having to worry about capsizing and being tipped in the drink!

The cost of purchasing a Sportsboat is very similar to many state-of-the-art, high performance, asymmetric racing dinghies, for example a second hand 1720 can be purchased for around £10,000, including a road trailer! However, being keelboats they are obviously heavier than dinghies and the larger types such as the 1720 are usually moored up instead of being lifted out. Equally, smaller boats such as the Laser SB3 require suitable slipway launching and shore-side storage, and having a drop-keel needs immediate access to reasonably deep water to allow the keel to be fixed into position.

At Ramsgate Harbour we have the ideal facilities for launching and/or mooring Sportsboats, with a public slipway for launching from a road trailer and a travel hoist for those that wish to dry-sail their boats or prefer to drop their boats into the water from the quayside. Recognising that many owners will be racing these boats on a tight budget, the harbour management has agreed a range of concessionary fees that makes Ramsgate one of the cheapest places around to store and launch Sportsboats.

For the racing, a series of weekend events throughout the summer season are planned and we also hope to include Class Open events by arrangement with the relevant Class Associations.

On the racecourse, we are able to provide a variety of course options and the plan is to follow the pattern and procedure currently adopted at popular venues i.e. a series of short windward/leeward, trapezoidal or Olympic style courses.

The low purchase cost of these boats combined with the exceptionally low storage and launching fees makes Ramsgate the ideal place to race Sportsboats. Mix in the RTYC’s reputation for providing high quality, competitive races in some of the best racing water in the South East and you have an irresistible combination.

If you wish to find out more about the launching, storage and mooring fees, or what is happening in the Sportsboat scene at Ramsgate, you can email us at info@rtyc.com. For further information on Sportsboats follow the links to the various classes on www.1720sportsboat.co.uk, www.lasersb3.com, www.j80.org.uk, www.rs-association.com.