Afloat was ahead of its time in predicting the popularity of dinghy cruising in Ireland, says Stephen Foyle, who represents part of a new effort to share the cruising experience here.

Citing a 2012 article — Is ‘Adventure Sailing’ a New Tack for Dinghy Sailors? — Foyle, who is secretary of the Irish section of the Dinghy Cruising Association established last year, notes that membership of the UK-based body has nearly tripled in the last decade, from 468 members in 2012 to 1,208 today, averaging 70-80 members each quarter, and that membership is now worldwide. He continues:

Our numbers here are small but it is obvious there is a strong appetite for this type of sailing. We tentatively organised two sailing get togethers on Loughs Derg and Erne for 2022. With little publicity, these were well attended and very successful and all sailors are fully in support of further such events.

A cruising dinghy on Strangford Lough | Credit: DCA

It has to be emphasised that the ethos of the DCA include sailing together in boats with no pressure of racing or arriving at a destination at a particular time. Boats do look out for one another but each crew takes ultimate responsibility for their own passage planning and safety. At an event, sailors can and indeed do, sail wherever they wish! However a general destination with possible stops is usually agreed on. There has been far more interest than anticipated.

The emphasis is on simplicity and the pure joy of sailing without any pressure of high performance. Much of the pleasure is in seeing and experiencing the wide variety of boats, both traditional and modern and the exploration of interesting waters. By nature and choice many small boat cruisers are solitary sailors. The DCA is only really here to facilitate contact and meeting of like-minded sailors. We would also like to encourage better launching and trailer parking facilities around our coasts, rivers and lakes which are currently very poor.

There is remarkably little interest in most established sailing clubs around the country in promoting small boat cruising. Perhaps this is because it’s perceived as an oddball and less glamorous activity compared to course racing and big boat racing. This is understandable but could clubs and the sailing industry be potentially missing out on a large section of sailing interest at a time when other membership is dwindling?

Your author was also correct in predicting the explosion in popularity of dinghy cruising in France where the Voile Aviron (Sail and Oar) groups hbe really taken off, as has the massive interest in traditional boats. When last looking at the pre-registration list for the Semaine de Golfe ’23 run in May (a traditional boat festival run in the Gulf of Morbihan biannually) there were 812 boats registered, 11 from Ireland. A very large proportion of these are small sailing dinghies.

And yes, your author is correct in thinking that Ireland would be a very attractive proposition for similar events to Morbihan, Brest or Douarnenez which attract hundreds of boats and thousands of spectators. A trick that our government is sorely overlooking.

In this day and age of intense work and technological pressures, simple dinghy cruising offers an incredible escape without breaking the bank trying to run an expensive large racing or floating caravan type yacht. It is only now that many people are realising that a small boat is all that is needed to experience the joys of exploring islands, creeks or estuaries.

Dinghies moored on the shore of Lough Derg during a DCA rally | Credit: DCA

Simplicity is often undervalued and yet it can hugely increase the quality of our lives by letting us live experiences in a very accessible way. The videos of Roger Barnes (DCA president) or Tim Cooke (An Ilur in Ireland) articulate this philosophy.

We are not in any way an opposition group to the excellent Drascombe Association. Many of us sail in their well-run rallies. However, as owners of non-Drascombe boats, many of us thought that it was time to put in some work to facilitate our own wide variety of boats. We are complementary to that association and there is much cross-membership.

Stephen Foyle is secretary of the Irish section of the Dinghy Cruising Association and can be contacted via [email protected].