Dartmoor Radio Sailing Club is a relatively new sporting venture in the area of Tavistock, Yelverton and the surrounding area. Four years ago in 2011 the club obtained the use of a suitable lake about a mile from Cadover Bridge, and the members proceeded to put in the necessary facilities for both the recreational sailing and racing of radio controlled model yachts.
The main class sailed by this club is the International One Metre ( IOM ), which is just one metre in length, can be carried de-rigged in a normal car, and has an astonishing performance. A smaller class of yacht now becoming popular at the lake is the RG65 Dragonforce, which is just 650 mm in length. The RG65 comes complete, with everything a beginner needs. Boat, sails, radio receiver, servo and winch, a 2.4 gHz transmitter, and a rigging stand. The complete outfit can be bought new for around £140.00. Many members have other designs, and they can also be seen sailing here. The photograph of an RG65 and an IOM 1 Metre together shows the relative sizes of these boats.
The lake’s infrastructure consists of a good safe launching jetty, a viewing stand, a bridge across the culvert which drains the excess water from the lake, a toilet, and a new clubhouse with several tables and seats with adequate parking.
Racing is carried out according to the normal International rules of sailing with amendments, because the skippers are not actually on board the boats. The perspective is a little different, and the competition can be vigorous ! Skippers from the various Model Yacht Clubs in the Westcountry often visit the lake, and at least one MYA District event is held here each year. During the winter months, our IOM Winter Series is run once each month on the second Saturday, the points scored over the series decides the winners of the prizes.
The Club meets at the lake on Wednesdays for informal fun sailing and racing, mainly using the RG65s, and on Saturdays the Club meets and sails IOM boats and other classes in informal racing events. Races are normally run using the standard RYA course, with a windward start , a windward mark followed by reach to the spreader mark, then a run to the leeward mark, and a finish to windward. This may sound a lot, but on a breezy day, a race can be run and finished in a very few minutes. It is surprising just how fast these models are.
We welcome visitors and potential new members, and everyone is usually given the controls of a yacht and encouraged to have a try. Contact numbers are John: 01752 401579 or Tom: 01822 853431 and ask for Tom. A good view of the lake can be seen on the website, just Google ‘Dartmoor Radio Sailing’.