Dragon Force 65 Radio Controlled Yachting –
DragonForce 65 racing takes place on the Club Pond on every other Sunday, meeting at 10:00 for a 10:30 start. The sessions are arranged so that they don’t conflict with the dinghy racing and everybody is welcome to join in or come and watch.
Apart from the organised racing the pond can be used at any time.
The DragonForce 65 model yachts is very suitable for the pond and is not too expensive to buy.
You can buy your own boat from Mike Weston who has run the Junior Week radio yacht racing for the last few years and can be found at www.radiosailing.co.uk/.
The boats start at £150 almost ready to sail including the radio controller; they come in a box and just need to be rigged – and there is lots of help available from current DF65 members!
The DF65 has two keels the long which is the standard for the boat and the short keel which needs to be bought as an extra; the short keel is used on the pond which is quite shallow in places.
The format of the series racing is either 10 short races or two hours racing whichever is the shorter with 4 discards depending on the number of races achieved. The final positions for the day are
entered for the series results. At the end of the series there is one discard day for 4 days racing and two days discard days for 6 days racing. Trophies will be awarded at Prize Giving for the Club Regatta and the Summer Series.
Two other links with more in formation about the boats are www.rg65.org.uk and df65racing.co.uk
The Radio Controlled Yachts section organises its own racing including maintaining the level of the pond.
The Club site lies below the high tide level and is protected from sea flooding by the sea wall. The pond is vital in protecting the site from rainwater flooding and is linked to the sea and the marsh
ditch by underground pipes and valves. If you are concerned about the height of pond water please DO NOT attempt to adjust the valves. PLEASE CALL a club Officer or email df65@mengeham.org.uk or house@mengeham.org.uk
Flood protection will take priority over activities on the pond.