Just in case you weren’t entirely up to speed with what’s going on with the 2017 DF Racing Travellers here is a handy graphic which has been produced to show the detail of what’s happening where and when! Click on the image for a full size version.

There is more information about the TT Series on this page

It’s that time of year again when we all get our game faces on and head over to West Lancs YC in Southport for the first of the DF65 ND Winter Series. It has to be far and away the most social and raciest winter series North of the Watford Gap.

It attracts skippers from far and wide including Welsh Wales, the Lake District and Yorkshire and is well worth a go, even if you’re a novice skipper. There is always plenty of friendly advice on hand from some of the countries best DF skippers.

The series is run alongside the RC Laser ND Winter Series and both classes run on the same course at the same time which means that mark roundings can be fun and it keeps your skills sharp with nearly 30 boats on the water at times.

Racing starts at 10am with bacon butties beforehand and lunch also available.

As if that isn’t enough to tempt you to have a go we have also opened the entry for the first of the 2017 DF Travellers Series which, you’ve guessed it, is taking place over the weekend of the 11th and 12th of February, with DF95 racing on the Saturday and DF65 racing on the Sunday as part of the Winter Series. Details of how to enter are available in the drop down menu on the events tab.

The weekend is particularly important as it is Tushys 60th and there will be an amusing social gathering on the Saturday evening at a local restaurant which will no doubt end up being messy…..perhaps a chance to beat him on the Sunday….

Of course we forgot to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, so have that as well and we’ll see you on a startline somewhere soon!

As a Class Association 2016 has been a great year with positive growth in both the DF65 and DF95 classes, plenty of fun and competitive events around the country and some of the best racing. After several years of having a mend and make do approach to the Class Association we have, in 2016, got a team of people together who are keen and enthusiastic about taking the DF Racing Classes forward into the future.

With this in mind we need to have an AGM to make sure things get sorted and put in place in a proper manner, to this end as a registered DF class owner you’ll find an email in your inbox letting you know how it will work. It does require a little input from you as an individual, but not a lot and we’d be really pleased if you voted for the future of the Association.

If you haven’t had the email please use the contact form on the AGM page to let us know and we’ll update your details accordingly.

We’ve been beavering away recently to organise the 2017 DF Racing calendar so that you can all organise your passes early on. There are a good few events already on the board including eight double header weekend events with the DF65 being sailed one day followed by the DF95 the next. These events will make up the DF Racing 2017 Travellers Series which is spread over the course of the year at venues countrywide so there is sure to be a race within an hour or two from home…. unless you’re me!

We have also nailed down both the DF65 and DF95 National Championship weekends so you can pop those events down in your diary as well.

The ever popular West Lancs winter series kicks off very early next year and the Coalhouse Fort Frozen Fingers & Toes series has already begun.

We’ll no doubt have some other dates to add as time goes on so keep your eyes on the Events page where you’ll find the dates for all the events so far. We’ll fill in the detail for these events as we get them through from the clubs. As ever if you are organising a club series and you’d like us to put it up on the events page then please drop us a line and we’ll pop it up there for you.

In the meantime here is one of Sue Brown’s photos from the recent DF95 Nationals at Lincoln MYC.

Photo – Sue Brown

So the MYA has just issued it’s 2017 race calendar and whilst you’ll see a couple of DF events up there they are by no means the only events that will be happening for the classes during the 2017 season.

We are currently finalising our own DF racing calendar which should be available in the next couple of weeks for everyone to plan their seasons. There will be a National Series which will take the form of 6 or 7 weekend events with DF65’s one day and DF95’s the next with some social planned for the in between bits. Judging by what we’ve enjoyed this season there is plenty to look forward to in 2017.

Keep your eyes here for the unveiling of the Calendar over the next week or so.

So we’ve decided as an association that it would be a good idea to promote our two classes to the dinghy sailing world a bit more. As such we will have a small stand at the 2017 RYA Dinghy Show at Alexandra Palace at the beginning of March 2017.

We are pleased to be able to take stand C47 in the Great Hall from where you’ll be able to find out all about our 2017 race calendar, chat to the people that know and find out about the boats that we sail.

It’ll be a great way for us to spread the word about these two great classes that are revitalising the Radio Sailing world and introducing dinghy skippers into our world of racing.

We’ll have both a DF65 and DF95 on show along with some video footage of the classes that we have collected over the last few years. Hopefully John will get round to editing it before the show kicks off!

We hope to see you there for a chat and a brew, or even a beer.

Just a quick note to let you know that the registrar, Wayne, has gone somewhere sunny for a couple of weeks.  As such there will be a delay in any registration requests of approximately two weeks. If you really can’t wait please drop us a line.

Afternoon everyone, since its entry into the radio sailing world the DF95 has had it’s own bespoke set of restricted class rules which have served it well and allowed skippers to race on a level footing.

As with all new things there is always a little bit of work to do to keep the rules fair and up to date for all. With this in mind we have had a small update of the DF95 restricted class rules and we are now all racing to V1.2 with immediate effect.

Those competing in the US NCR this coming weekend should have had an email from Regatta Director Chuck with the updated rules. Those competing in the UK Nationals next weekend should take note also.

On updating the rules John Tushingham has also provided a short document that gives an explanation of what has changed so you don’t have to hunt through the document to find whats changed!

Click here for the update rules – dragonflite-95-restricted-class-rules-v1-2

Click here for an explanation of whats changed – v1-2-rule-changes-explained

We’ve had a note from Mick at Lincoln MYC who is organising the DF95 Nationals who informs us that there are those amongst the 36 entries who haven’t yet paid the entry fee of a measly £20. Mick also tells us that there are also several shortages on the food front with some competitors not having put a food order in for Saturday evening. So if you haven’t paid or ordered food please get in touch with Mick, pronto, and he’ll be ever so grateful.

Remember that guys like Mick give their time for free to organise events so that we can all enjoy the racing. Making Mick and other’s lives easier by sticking with the instructions keeps them happy and more willing to hold events for us in the future. Yes, I know, my entry was late, I paid late but my food order was well on time!!

If you still fancy getting an entry in for the event you can do so by visiting the Lincoln MYC website.

See you all in a week or so!

We’ve been asked by John Tushingham to let you all know that there is a DF95 tune up event being held at the Keighley Club on Sunday 30th October, an ideal opportunity for those based in the North to get your eye in a week before the DF95 Nationals at Lincoln. Racing starts at 10am and will continue until it gets dark or your fingers go numb. Bring your own lunch. Give John a call on 01943 816808 if you fancy some racing.

DF95 skippers at Keighley earlier in 2016