TSA boats page

TYPICAL BOATS

If you are interested in joining the TSA, clearly you must have a sailing boat, trailer and a
means to tow them to a launching site. However, just what sort of sailing boat you have is not
important, apart from it obviously having to live on a trailer so you can join the different
cruises. There is no rule about the type of boat anybody has. Some members have 18ft
boats, most have ones in the 20ft to 22ft range, and the largest regularly trail-sailed yacht
is 24ft weighing about 21/2 tons, or one that is 26ft, but weighs a lot less due to using water
balast, depending on how you want to judge the word 'largest'.

The age of the boats varies between brand new and over 30 years old. All the boats have one common feature - they are sea-worthy and safe in the owner's opinion. Nobody in the TSA is
competent to assess the suitability of another member's boat, trailer, or equipment
for a particular cruise. Most boats carry some form of VHF radio.
(There is more information about items to be found on a trail-sail boat
on the page listing the KIT CARRIED on board during one cruise.)

When anybody joins a cruise, the boat and crew must be fit to do so,
as if it was sailing alone, and by happy coincidence, heading in the
same direction as the other TSA members. Open sea assistance from
small yachts can not extend to much more than watching to see if
others are in obvious difficulty. However, just knowing that a friend is
aware of you is a significant comfort if the weather suddenly turns nasty.

Discusing a voyage that has just been completed is another way of learning
how others deal with the elements, that is all the more valuable because the
boat is there to be seen. Most people are proud to show off their boat to friends.

Likewise, as there is often a RYA qualified examiner amongst the cruising crews, and a short time can be found during a cruise for the practical RYA examination for an INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCE for coastal sailing in foreign waters. One can also take the additional examination for CENVI rules, which is needed if a skipper will later be using European inland waters.