One of the purposes of the Dinghy Cruising Association is to maintain contact with, and provide information for, a membership which is widely and thinly distributed. In order to achieve this, it was thought desirable to publish a bulletin of which this is the first issue.

It is hoped that people interested in dinghy cruising but who are not yet active will, after perusing this bulletin, decide that the D.C.A. has something to offer them. Copies are free to members and price sixpence to non-members. Future issues will depend on the success (if any) of this bulletin. It is hoped to include accounts of long and short distance cruises and future plans of the Association.

Annual subscription (with effect from 10/12/55)

Full Member 5/- 18 years off age and over. Cadet Member 2/6 under 18 years of age

A glance through this bulletin will show that the D.C.A. has progressed rapidly since its formation in spite of the fact that it has not been widely publicised. Dinghy cruising enthusiasts are very individualistic and we wish to emphasise that the D.C.A. has not been formed to "organise" dinghy cruising but to provide a service. In order to be recognised by other clubs we have to be properly constituted and, when cruising, the welcome extended to us at ports of call will depend on the reputation of the Association. It is hoped that as a result of D.C.A. activities, the sport of dinghy cruising will be fostered and will be recognised more widely than at present. ------------

The present editor is temporary and if anyone would care to run the Bulletin he would be glad to hear from such a person. The editor would also like to hear from anyone who can offer cheap printing facilities. ------------

The following is a summary of events leading up to the formation of the Dinghy Cruising Association:

"In the December issue of the Yachting Monthly 1952, I read a letter signed 'Clubless' stating that he had been invited to join a local sailing club but, since he was only interested in day cruising in a dinghy, he saw no point in so doing, owing to the fact that the dinghy section of the club was solely concerned in racing. He asked if there was any organisation catering for the requirements of sailing enthusiasts like himself.

I replied to this letter (Y.M. February '53) under the pen name of 'Lonehand' saying that I had cruised in the Solent for some years without meeting another cruising enthusiast and consequently I had had to learn the slow hard way and would therefore welcome some organisation through which I could contact other enthusiasts, so that information could be exchanged on all aspects of dinghy cruising. In Y.M. March '53 a letter from Mr. Mitchell replying to mine suggested a cruising association.

I then wrote up (Y.M. April '53) in reply to Mr. Mitchell's letter, offering to form a dinghy cruising association. About a dozen replies from people 'interested' were received but I was not actually able to meet another active enthusiast. I circulated a notice giving details of four rallies but became rather tired of meeting only myself at them, so the whole idea fell through.

One Friday evening in January this year, I reached home and was told by my people that someone called Michael Lawes from Lymington had rung up saying that he had just read a letter of mine in Yachting Monthly and wised to contact me before sailing to Malta in his dinghy. Feeling slightly dazed, I rang him next day and he arranged to come over to Bognor Regis Sunday morning. The next day was a great occasion for, after cruising for four years, I was actually meeting an active dinghy cruising enthusiast. I travelled back to Lymington with Mike and had a thorough look over his boat, thereby gaining some immensely useful information. He told me that he had seen my letter when he had picked up a two year old copy of Yachting Monthly in a doctor's waiting room when having his innoculations prior to going abroad! He was convinced that a lot of people would like to take up dinghy cruising but were not sure whether it was practicable in view of adverse opinion on the sport. He urged me to make a further attempt at forming the association and, as a result, my letter in Y.M. March '55 and other publications brought a very favourable response. Although my letters were addressed to South coast enthusiasts, many enquiries were received from the East coast, so two sections were formed. J D Reeve and Lt. Com. G D Fairley RN were instrumental in organising the South coast section, and T Thorp, secretary of the Maldon YHA Sailing Group and Miss J Bentley (Joan Abrams) the East coast section". Eric Coleman