Dragon Force 65 Racing at Spinnaker Sailing Club
by Steve Bullmore 6 Mar 23:08 PST
18 February 2026
Dragon Force 65 Racing at Spinnaker Sailing Club © Steve Bullmore
The driving rain, howling wind and stream filled roads didn't put off a strong audience of 20 Dragon Force 65 sailors for a fascinating talk with Nigel Barrow on tweaking and tuning your boat. Who knew there were so many subtle adjustments that could be made to get the "edge" on the water?
There were discussions about windage, mast bend, backstay adjustment, sail twist and rudder techniques for starting. Not forgetting the "mix" involving fine turning the transmitter for multilevel adjustments of sail trim.
The Dragon Force 65 is a new class to Spinnaker and with the support of the club and the enthusiasm of the class captain, Steve Bullmore,there is a big drive to encourage sailors to have a go and hopefully to join the fleet. Standing on the bank on a Thursday morning are sailors from all age groups, sailors who have grown up sailing model yachts uniquely and those who have transitioned from dinghy sailing and yachting.
Much like Emsworth Sailing club, Spinnaker is keen to see a fleet of men and women sailing their model yachts, competing as equals. The fleet has both depth in experience as well as excitement from those new to the discipline which is proving to make for a really fun but supportive Thursday and Saturday morning. From 10 - 12 there are back to back races using DF scaled orange marks and an automatic start box.
Whilst everyone there is keen to do their best, there is certainly a distinct learning curve to follow and spending time head to wind, or forgetting which level does which action on the boat is very much part of this! Once the basics have been mastered, refining boat handling or tweaking the rig to get the boat up to speed is the next step. Skills such as rule observance, judging distance are key skills when in close racing. This makes for a great spectacle and the occasional giggle when you can't see where your boat has gone or indeed which way it s pointing!
Spinnaker Dragon Force 65 Fleet would like to say thank you to Nigel for sharing his great wisdom in model yachting and to extend a warm welcome to anyone that would like to join us for a sail. We are keen to grow the fleet and showcase Spinnaker as being the perfect water for model yacht racing in the New Forest.