Rutland Recommendations

[MarkF]

Hi all,
We are hoping to take our new-to-us BR20 to Rutland Water for a maiden voyage sometime next week, depending on the weather and light winds.
I've found the RYA dinghy trail posted on the forum, which looks promising. 
I just wondered if anyone can offer some advice please about where best to launch (I'm waiting to hear back from the RSC) where we can safely leave our car + trailer. 
Does anyone know if it is necessary to book in advance?
Also are there any areas that are restricted or tend to get extremely busy.  We'll be sailing with children, so we are aiming for zero drama and possibly ice-cream!
Many thanks,
Mark.

[Graham W]

Mark,

Congratulations on your purchase. 

Someone should be along shortly to answer your geographical questions.  Just be aware that petrol outboards aren't allowed on Rutland Water, so unless you're electric, don't get stuck with a failing wind!

[The Lazy Sheet]

Hi Mark
I've recently acquired my BRe, previously having sailed at Rutland SC for many years, so just given up my membership. You have two choices:
1. RSC at Edith Weston (what3words///starts.watchdogs.acrobat) - Good facilities (changing, showers, bar, cafe and mini chandlery) and generally easy launching. Call to check cost. When I launched a couple of months ago (for my shakedown sail) they weren't sure whether to charge me £27 or £40 (so quite pricey). You should get your BR20 on the water for £27 I think (maybe even less) but they were convinced my BRe was a cruiser. There are numerous slipways but the most suitable one is probably at: w3w///upholds.boosted.recur.  Club website: https://www.rutlandsailingclub.co.uk/
2. Whitwell Watersports Centre (w3w///begun.eventful.talked). Facilities not as good as RSC and Whitwell creek can, apparently, be painful to sail from but I've not sailed there for nearly 40 years so that's not first hand experience. Facilities are a bit hit an miss as well and you can find yourself launching through lots of other novice water users which may make it a little trickier.

Just be aware that although Rutland Water is 3,000 acres, the extremities are off-limits for sailings, so no sailing west of (Upper) Hambleton in the southern arm for example. Also, no anchorages etc.

BTW - Graham is spot on re outboards unless you're fishing in an Anglian Water fishing boat. They have a quite similar attitude to kayakers - Rutland Kayak Club can only go out on a Sunday morning and only in a group but kayakers fishing can seemingly do what they wish whenever they wish. I digress. 
Having said all that, Rutland is a good safe bet for a shakedown sail.

Willie

[Conor]

I'd be interested to hear how you get on, I also have just got a new-to-me BR20 and am based at Graham so planning a trip to Rutland sometime soon to try trailing and sailing.

[Nicky R]

We used to have Willie's BRE and launched it at Rutland several times. We've generally used Whitwell and found that it's fine. As Willie said, the creak be busy and it's very sheltered, so we've generally used paddles to get out and into the lake itself. The novices tend to be spread out and not moving fast, and the lack of wind means we've not been moving fast either, so we've not had a problem getting through them.

The facilities at Whitwell are fine - not the poshest, but they have everything you need (loos, a cafe and a tiny water sports shop). Ice cream is available from the harbour cafe, and I think maybe the water sports shop too.

launching is relatively easy - they have a pontoon next to the slip so you can keep your feet dry, but it is a very shallow slip so the boat may need some pushing to get it off the trailer. There is plenty of car and trailer parking fairly close to the slipway (either in the little car park next to it, or on the grass at the top of it), and you can tie the boat up on the pontoon while you sort out the car and trailer, or longer if you want.

No need to book in advance, but just check there's nothing on that blocks the slip. They run a triathlon once a year and shut it when that's on, but I don't know if other events shut it too.

The lake itself will have plenty of room unless there's a large sailing event on. It looks like the Toppers are there on the 23rd and 24th June, so there'll be lots of boats on the lake that weekend. But they'll launch from the sailing club and the northern arm will probably be relatively quiet. I don't know how busy the other sailing events get.

Hope that helps.

Nicky

[MarkF]

Thank you for all the incredibly helpful responses.

We will certainly keep an eye on the wind to avoid turning the day into an impromptu raid!

I was concerned about congestion at Whitwell. Keeping well clear of people is a priority until we've got used to handling her.

RSC got back to me quoting £40 for a day launch, £66 for two.

[J P Thompson]

The one thing that would swing it for me is the Aqua Park at Whitwell that occupies the area around the slipway, at weekends it becomes extremely busy. Launching at the sailing club would be a more relaxed affair unless there is a major event on, this would be listed on the club's website calendar.

[Nicky R]

The aqua park is busy I agree, but people are kept off the slipway. There are big gates to close off the slipway most of the time so people can walk across to the aqua park without being run over by people launching, but the water centre staff swing them over the pedestrian access points when you're ready to launch to keep the slipway free of people. (Or at least that's what they did for us last year.

There are advantages and disadvantages with both sites - I guess it just depends on what your concerns are. Whitwell suits those of us who want to launch more cheaply, but the sailing club may be quieter. Whichever you chose, Rutland is a lovely lake to sail on and I hope you really enjoy it.

[Conor]

Hi Mark

I am not sure if you have planned your Rutland sail yet but I am planning on taking my BR20 up on Thursday 1June. If you are going to be around please say hello. I have only sailed it 3 times so far so still figuring things out, but am very impressed so far.

If anyone else happens to be around then similarly please say hello.

Cheers
Conor

[MarkF]

Hi Conor,

Our plan is to go on Thrs & Friday this week.  However, the wind is looking stronger than anticipated last week.  It's currently forecast to be at the top of F3, which is of course fine for the boat, but may be a bit strong for us for an initial sail, as it's supposed to be gusting over 20knts.

We will decide what to do over the next day - if we make it there, we'll definitely come and say hello! 

Nicky - thank you for the info about access at Whitwell.  I must admit to being a bit disheartened by the one day launching charge at RSC.  However, for 2 days it seems like a more economical option, as they said they were happy for us to leave the boat there overnight.  I'll let you know if that's the case.

[Conor]

Hi,

We will be there tomorrow, probably arriving between 10 and 11. Still a bit of a discussion about whether we goto RSC or Whitwell, would prefer RSC but the ambiguity of pricing is putting me off.

Hopefully see you there or on the water

[MarkF]

Hi Conor,

regrettably, we decided today that we would postpone our Rutland trip for another weekend (hopefully very soon).  The wind where we are has been too gusty and the forecast on the lake looks very similar.  Thanks again to everyone for their advice.

Were this not our first outing, we would be there, as the sailing conditions look excellent. I hope you have an enjoyable day and with luck we'll meet up another time.  I'd be interested to hear which location you choose to launch from.

[Conor]

Hi Mark

I totally understand, it is worth staying inside the comfort zone while getting used to it. We sailed with mizzen and jib only with the ballast tank full the first couple of times out to build confidence.

[Conor]

Had a great visit to Rutland today and thought I would share for anyone else heading there.

We sailed from the sailing club, and it was £40 for a cruiser or dayboat, £26 I think for a dinghy. It is more expensive than Whitwell but the facilities etc were very good. It is less per day if you go for a weekend or week.

We talked to a few of the people working there and they all were incredibly friendly and helpful. We had a choice of where to launch from so went from the cruiser area in the bay which was a very easy launch. Some of the members came along to say hello and help us get her out of the water. The onshore facilities were great, the restaurant is open Thursday to Sunday and Thursday lunch was £5 for a really good meal

The lake seems perfect for the Bayraider, a few different areas giving different conditions and a couple of options to anchor/moor. As this was my first foray into trailer sailing I lost a lot of time getting my boat packed up to get there, rigging and packing away so didn't get as much time on the water as I would have liked but that was mostly due to me needing to learn a few things. Rigging and derigging, packing and unpacking are remarkably easy, even if I did manage to make it complicated!

I am already considering doing a weekend there either onboard or in the campsite next door