Glandore Harbour Yacht Club

Hi all,  

 The GHYC bought six Topazes in 2003 and about four more have been bought privately by club members.   These are some of the categories of sailor that we can cater to since we bought these boats, previously we had very little to offer to these groups 

1. Local children whose families were not involved in sailing, didn't own boats, tended not to do the ISA graded courses.  
2. Primary school children - three local primary schools now sailing in Sept/Oct and April/May.   
3. Adults who have little or no sailing experience.   
4. Club junior sailors who want to get involved in team racing.  This was one of the prime motivators for getting the boats- to have six identical boats, robust enough for team racing.  The Topazes have proved a huge success for us in this regard.     We find the Topaz ideal for these uses mainly due to their durability and the simplicity of sailing them. 
   

The kids love capsizing as they are easy to right, easy to get back into and don't need bailing - this is a great confidence builder for beginners.  Being able to easily reduce the sail area allows us to cater for all sizes and all states of nervousness!   We would expect that anyone who is going to keep on sailing as they grow older or more experienced would move onto a larger or higher performance dinghy or into keelboats.  We don't have any club policy regarding the next step on from the Topaz.  

All the best,   Frances Lynch, GHYC member.

Glandore Harbour Yacht Club