​Fast Handicap Fleet

​The Fast Handicap fleet at Ogston Sailing Club is made up of many different classes of dinghy, if a dinghy has a Portsmouth Yardstick (The International Dinghy Handicap measurement system) of 1075 or less then it may be part of the Ogston fast handicap fleet. We offer a range of different types of racing at Ogston, from Pursuit racing (Wednesdays) through to General Handicap and Fleet Racing at the Weekends through the season.


Some of the most popular dinghies which make up the existing fleet are;

 Flying Fifteen

This is a two person 20' (>6 mtr) long planning keel boat with spinnaker. This boat is popular in both Classic and Modern format differentiated by the construction methods and ages, with more recent designs seeing the introduction of carbon fibre to the hulls. Originally conceived in the mid 1940’s the designer was challenged to design a boat as fun as an International 14, a little larger but principally that would cope with the rough and tumbles of the coastal waters of the Solent and essentially would not capsize. So, with a lump of metal on the keel the design holds true to this day.
The club has a number of active and competitive F15 sailors and those interested to join their ranks would be welcome to discuss the joys of the 15

Albacore
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A two person 15' (>4.6mtr) dinghy and can be considered a great first boat for those who are just learning to sail and similarly a very competitive racer for more advanced sailors. It is fast and lively while being relatively easy to learn to sail and race. A fully adjustable rig and adjustable sail controls allow a crew to depower in high winds - enabling both light and heavy crews to race head to head. A very versatile boat, it is often sailed by husband/wife and parent child combinations. The Albacore is a boat that is both simple to get into at first, and one which will challenge your tuning and tactical skills.

Phantom
A high performance singlehander, its original design harks back to 1971. They wanted to produce a single-hander that was exciting to sail, manageable and at the same time affordable to build. It isn't possible to design a boat that will accommodate all weights, even in these days of 'wings' and equalisation systems. As there were already boats on the market for the lighter helms they decided to design a boat that was both comfortable and fast for larger sailors. A Phantom sailor shouldn't weigh less than 10 stone, and is most suitable for those in the weight range of 12 -18 stone(76 -115 Kg). One advantage with the phantom is that both the class association and the designers view the development of the class in a proactive manner always providing that care is taken not to outclass older boats. Latterly the design has been modified to incorporate self draining cockpits and carbon spars. Additionally the design allows freedom in cockpit design and sailors are therefore able to develop cockpit sail and rig control systems that suit their individual requirements. It is a one design high performance single-hander the Phantom has a hard chine hull with a deep 'V' bow, a flat run aft, and planes easily. With her lightweight hull and large rig on a stayed mast she has a high power to weight ratio, but is stable and responsive. This is a single sail dinghy, there is no trapeze or spinnaker and it can carry a wide range of helm weights.

RS Aero
A single sail, single handed hiking dinghy. This is one of the newer designs of boat in the dinghy world and was the result of years of development that has offered a technically advanced boat. Which helps explain why it’s the most exciting and best-selling modern single-hander of current times. Its light weight drives everything about its incredible user friendliness through transporting, rigging and launching – before you even experience the addictive sensations afloat. Its design is the result of complex thinking leading to beautiful simplicity – the RS Aero ignites the pure excitement of sailing in its least complicated form. Three rig sizes enable youths, ladies and men to enjoy the ride. Already an International Class, the community is building fast for the most competitive sailors. With 3 rig sizes 5 mtr, 7 mtr and 9 mtr a broad helm weight range can be accommodated along with being able to cope with a full wind spectrum. Crew weight of 35kg through to 105kg are easily able to exploit the boats potential.

Other dinghies in the fast handicap fleet include the Fireball (2 person planning trapeze 3 sail dinghy), Contender (Single Sail, single person trapezing dinghy) and the K1 (single person hiking, 2 sail keel boat dinghy).


If you’d like any assistance or introductions to our members with any of these or other dinghy classes, please feel free to get in touch with me your Fast Fleet Captain for 2023, David Tiney.