Dinghy Cruising Association
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DCA Rallies

Rallies

​Rallies are held across the UK and overseas.  They range from day sails and short camp cruises in sheltered waters, to coastal expeditions over a couple of weeks. They are always an occasion for socialising, making new friends, comparing notes and boats and lots of picnics! You can sail in company or you can sail alone - the DCA does not over organise; join in as much or as little as you wish. At some rallies people all launch from the same place; at others they launch at different locations and meet up at a designated spot.

Coronavirus caused the cancellation of  all rallies in 2020 but this year , provided there are no lockdown or travel restrictions,  rallies will go ahead as planned. It is important, however, that large social gatherings continue to be avoided  at launch sites, camp sites, pubs and cafés and that each attendee at a rally is mindful of their own safety in terms of social distancing. Rally hosts will maintain a record of those present in case of need  for contact tracing.
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Lunch break at Loch Lomond
The DCA does not run a safety boat. Dinghy cruising on exposed tidal waters is for experienced sailors only. Individual sailors must decide whether they and their boat can handle the expected conditions. Always check marine weather forecasts and local conditions before you sail, and remember there is no shame in deciding not to sail if you think conditions are more than you or your boat can manage.​
 Members are welcome to just turn up, with or without their own boat. Depending on the location, members cruise not just in sailing dinghies but also occasionally in rowing boats, kayaks and canoes. Newcomers might find it useful to contact the organiser of the rally in advance, to make themselves known and see what opportunities there may be to sail with others as crew or in company.

In order to plan rallies the DCA has five regional groups and members normally meet up in early spring to decide on the programme for the year.   In 2021 these meetings may well be conducted online via Zoom or the Forum or simply by email discussion.   The agreed rally programmes are always included in the Dinghy Cruising journal sent to all members and are posted in the   Forum  as well as here on the website. Typical rally locations are outlined below together with links to view the planned dates for the current year. It is important to remember that these are always subject to changes and members planning to attend a rally should always contact the person hosting the rally or check the details on the Forum. 

​South Coast

The South Coast is one of the most active areas for rallies. Some of the places they visit include:
  • East Head, Chichester Harbour
  • Bembridge
  • River Medina, Folly Inn
  • Oxey Lake
  • The Kench, Langstone harbour
  • Wootton Bridge
  • Poole Harbour
  • Ashlett Creek, Southampton Water
There is a special camping fortnight at Cobnor, Chichester Harbour each year - a highlight of the South Coast season.

2021 Rally Programme

​South West

Picture
Halton meander, River Tamar
​​In the South West rallies may be planned to explore some of these locations and places:
  • Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar
  • River Exe
  • Carrick Roads
  • Fowey
  • River Dart
  • Truro

2021 Rally Programme

North West

The North West hosts rallies in the Lakes and a number of coastal locations, for example:
  • Coniston
  • Derwentwater
  • The Dee Estuary
  • The Menai Strait
  • Glasson and the River Lune
  • Ullswater
  • Windermere

2021 Rally Programme
Picture
Picnic spot on Coniston

​North East & Borders


The North East is one of the smaller regional groups in the DCA. However they do host the wonderful Border Reivers rally which starts at Kielder Water in Northumberland and then heads north, over the border to Loch Lomond in Scotland. 

Other rallies are organised at Kielder and on occasion to:
  • Holy Island, Lindisfarne
  • Kyles of Bute
.
2021 Rally Programme 

East Coast

The East Coast region's rallies often involve exploring the following rivers:
  • River Deben
  • Rivers Ore and Alde
  • River Crouch
  • River Blackwater
  • River Colne
  • River Orwell and Stour

2021 Rally Programme
Picture
Iken Cliff on the River Alde © Terry Shave

Pop up Rallies

If any member of the DCA is planning to go sailing and thinks it would be good to have company, they are welcome to make a post   on the Forum giving details of when and where they plan to launch, what the proposed route and duration would be and how they can be contacted by anyone interested to join them.  This can be accompanied by a post on the Facebook page with a note saying, for example, 'Pop up rally this weekend in the North West region' - for further information please login to the DCA Forum.

Other raids and festivals that may be of interest:

UK
  • The English Raid
  • ​​Sail Caledonia
  • Scottish Traditional Boat Festival: Port Soy
  • Seafair Haven
Europe
  • La Semaine Du Golfe
  • Dorestad Raid
  • Charente-Maritime Rally
Picture


​Wojtek Baginski shares his photos from some overseas raids that were attended by DCA members:
  • Raid Finland   One    and   Two  and
  • Raid Poland   One  and   Two.
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  • Home
  • About
    • Origins
    • News
    • Contact us
  • Cruising
    • Getting started
    • Living aboard
    • Taking the family
    • Safety
  • Dinghies
    • John Welsford talks about designing boats
    • Boat reviews
    • Technical Articles
    • Roamer and Rebell
    • YM Designs
  • Rallies
    • South Coast
    • North West
    • North East
    • South West
    • East Coast
  • Journal
    • Archive >
      • Back Copies
    • Digital Subscribers
    • DCA Awards
  • DCA Library
    • Good Reads
    • Book Reviews
  • Join the DCA
  • Members Section
    • Renew/Update
    • Forum
    • DCA Shop
    • Membership lists