Draycote Water Sailing Club

Jim Saltonstall gives the lowdown on this West Midlands reservoir

Draycote Water Sailing Club is one of our most popular inland waters strategically positioned in the Midlands, with relatively easy access from all points of the compass. The club is situated on the south side of the M45, south-west of Rugby. Take the A426 for access to the reservoir.

Club facilities are superb, with quite a large clubhouse at the water’s edge, overlooking a great piece of water, suitable for hosting any major open meeting, or even a national championship. The lounge is quite large, overlooking the water, and there are good catering facilities at the club, as well as changing rooms adequate for hosting the larger events. In the past the club has been an excellent host to the GB youth programme winter training, with great hospitality from the members.

There is a large car parking area, as well as boat parking - especially when the 'tide' is out. Numerous slipways give easy access to the water, which are relatively shallow shelving, so not too much of a struggle for launching and recovery. The club hosts events for small keelboats as well as dinghies and cats, and it is looking to attract more 49ers and 18 foot skiffs.

Accommodation in the area is widespread. Dunchurch is the nearest small village with hotels and B&Bs available. The club secretary will be able to provide you with an accommodation list in the surrounding area, and remember that Rugby and Coventry are also not far away. The water itself lies predominantly in a north-east/south-west line, and measures approximately 1.5 miles long and half a mile wide. The land around it is relatively high in places, offering testing conditions as far as wind shifts are concerned. The clearest wind direction, giving the longest beats, are from the south-west or north-east. Winds from the north-west or south-east produce the shortest windward legs with very unstable wind in both direction and strength.


Race Area

The main race area is the centre of the reservoir. But for the larger events the area could be split in half to accommodate two race areas depending on the number of ships on the water. In this scenario you obviously will have shorter beats, but we then put in more rounds of the course, making it all much more exciting racing both from a boat handling point of view as well as a tactical one.

Let’s look at the main race area, and the significant points as to which way to go up the beat. Basic theory reminds us that whenever you face the wind direction in the northern hemisphere, and there is a land mass on your port side, it pays to go left up the beat as there is more wind on the port side of the course due to the wind convergence area.

Basic theory also tells us that when facing the wind direction and there is a land mass on the right-hand side of the course, that there is less wind on the starboard side of the course, due to the wind divergence area. What else do we already know about a land-locked venue? When the wind comes off the land onto the water, its first sheer in the northern hemisphere, is to the right, therefore lifting on starboard tack as we approach the shore, and lifting on port tack close into the shore, where the wind is more backed over the land. So keeping this basic theory in mind, we now have to build a picture as to which way is the best way to go up the beat, as there are other variables to be considered, such as hills/ valleys/ points of land which are all there at Draycote.


Wind Direction

315-045 degrees (northerly): As with any offshore wind it is going to be shifty, so the key issue as always is to get out to the starting area in good time and assess the mean wind direction, establishing the maximum left and the maximum right. The next objective is to try and establish the time frame from max left to max right, so that at start time we can establish which is the lifting tack out of the line, and how long we can expect to stay on it until the header comes and to tack on it, crossing the fleet smelling of roses!

With the starting line at the southern end of the pond, looking up the beat there will be more wind on the port side of the course as this the wind convergence area; so we should be using the wind shifts up the port side of the course in generally more wind velocity. Approaching the apex of the beat, we are looking for lifts on starboard tack as the wind veers coming off the land onto the water, with lifts on port tack if the race committee has placed the mark close to the northern shoreline. On the north shore, there are two hills, one in the centre, with the other slightly to the right. The wind funnels through here and tends to lift you on starboard tack, so look to use the lift if the windward mark is in between the hills.

045-135 degrees (easterly): with the convergence wind area on the left, it normally pays to work the port side of the beat. As you approach the top left-hand side of the beat there are, as expected, lifts on port tack off the northern shoreline, so look to use these if the mark is in the north-east corner of the lake. When you begin the run, starboard tack is favoured to keep you in the stronger wind area, before breaking out on port tack to get to the leeward mark.

135-225 degrees (southerly): More pressure on the left, but a large hill on the south shore means that we cannot go too high up the beat on the port side of the course, as the clubhouse area offers too much of a wind shadow. If the windward mark is placed to the west of the clubhouse, it pays to work the shifts left of middle for the first 60 per cent of the beat, then get across the face of the club clear of the wind shadow, using the wind bend coming round the hill as it lifts you on port tack. We then use the shifts coming off the south shore to the west of the club. On the run back, stay clear of the wind shadow area, before coming across to the leeward mark.

225-315 degrees (westerly): Perhaps the most constant wind direction on the patch, it pays to go left up the beat, not only because of the wind convergence area, but also as there is a wind bend created by the hill on the south shore behind the clubhouse. As you go left up the beat you progress into the extra wind velocity and find that you tend to get headed on starboard and lifted on port, just to the west of the club.

In short, Draycote is an excellent club, centrally placed in the country, close to the motorway links. Most important of all, it offers great sailing with good facilities, so book early for any events to save disappointment.

Club website

Map

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