Dates & Venue:

16^th-18^th June 2026. Pant-yr-onnen Lakeside Campsite, Bala.

Turnout (or Attendance):

17 boats with 23 people and 5 visitors

Weather & water conditions:

Perfect weather for sailing with consistent winds from the South West, sunny and dry over both days.

Activities:

There was general sailing each day with buddy groups going off to the Mary Jones or Bala cafes or exploring the southern end of the lake. We enjoyed the company of Ray Goodwin who joined us with the intention of filming our various types of sailing canoes and rigs. He spent time interviewing our members about their canoes and we look forward to seeing the finished videos. Other visitors, including Jim Hart from Canada, were able to try out canoe sailing. Thanks to those members who shared their boats and experience with them.

Remarks:

An accidental capsize in windy conditions was a useful learning experience and highlighted the difficulty of “rescuing” someone when your boat has double outriggers. As a group we should probably practice capsize and recovery more than we currently do.

 

 

 

Dates:                               Friday 17^th – Sunday 19^th April, 2026

Venue:                              Old Hall Campsite, Coniston, Cumbria

Attendance:                    17 members, 11 sailing canoes

Weather & water conditions:                 

Friday – spicy conditions with quite strong winds from the SW, particularly in south part of the lake, where most (very wisely!) did not venture into.

Saturday – light to moderate winds, but twitchy / gusty from the west.

Sunday – very light or no breeze from NE.

Activities:

A handful arrived early on Friday to get on the water in quite challenging conditions.

General sailing on the Saturday, many went south for a picnic on Torver common and enjoyed a mostly broad reach back north – spirited at times in the gusts! Some GPS tracks showed 10 knots!! The Bluebird and Brantwood Cafés were an irresistible attraction, with most people visiting one or other at some point. Some went to the pub on both evenings. Everyone went to the Ship Inn for a pub meal on Saturday evening.

Highlights, points of interest or issues: The meet was not as well attended as many previous years. It’s difficult to know why – possible explanations might be: current high cost of petrol/diesel, or cost of campsite (which is considerably more than a few years ago, like most campsites), or costs generally, or some may be bored of the same old venue? Anyone who was not there care to offer their reasons?

Saturday 21 – Sunday 22 March 2026, Rutland Sailing Club.
Turnout:
27 Members attended the AGM, of whom 21 went sailing in a total of 16 boats. Only one got the wrong weekend …
Weather & water conditions:
Excellent weather but very light (and sometimes non-existent) wind.
Activities:
Several members arrived early, with a few venturing out onto the water on Friday for possibly the best sailing of the weekend. Saturday – for most – was spent cruising in buddy groups, with almost everyone making it at least as far as the café at Whitwell and two completing the Two Towers loop. I suspect everyone will have had to resort to a paddle at some point in the day, apart from the small contingent that chose to go walking or cycling instead. Declan was even seen taking to the oars, setting an unofficial record as fastest OCSG Member on the water this weekend.
As the light winds became even lighter on Sunday some members took the opportunity to stretch their legs again or to head home once the after-effects had worn off from an AGM, an interesting dinner in the very busy Sailing Club galley, and one or two drinks. Those who did take to the water were able to test their paddling and ghosting skills.

Photo credits: Shaun, Keith, Roly
Meet organiser and report author: Roly

Dates & Venue:

Tuesday 24^th – Friday 27^th June 2025. Pant-yr-onnen campsite, Llyn Tegid, Bala, Wales

Turnout (or Attendance):

18 boats and 22 members attended

Weather & water conditions:

The weather was variable with gusty winds, mainly from the south-west, for the duration of the meet. There was low cloud and drizzle on the Tuesday and Thursday but fortunately we sailed in moderate winds and sunshine all day on Wednesday.

Activities:

There was an interesting range of boats at this meet showing a variety of rigs and outriggers.

With winds forecast to gust to more than 3 times the average speed (10-12mph gusting 33-35mph), significant reefing was in evidence.  Most of the group visited either the Mary Jones café or Woody’s café at the northern end of the lake. It was a quick run north and a lively journey back but all made it without incident. The southern end of the lake provided slightly more sheltered sailing and was enjoyed by everyone.

A bonus of the breezy weather was that the evening campfires burnt well and kept most of the midges at bay! We were treated to the sight of a kingfisher which had landed in the nearby willow and then flew past us twice.

Remarks:

Our variety of craft invited considerable interest from passers by and fellow campers, one of whom is submitting a short article to the boating section of the Caravan and Camping Club magazine.

Held at our usual campsite, Coniston Old Hall, 17 sailing canoes of many types were involved.

The weather was very helpful, with light winds and sunny intervals but rather chilly at times.

A few members had arrived early, taking advantage of the fine weather, and sailed on Thursday and Friday. By Saturday the main contingent were present and most enjoyed a great cruise south for picnics somewhere near Peel Island. As the breeze was quite cool, even though it was from the southwest, we needed to seek shelter in the trees for a lunchbreak.

An easy run back north meant a visit to café could be fitted in before landing back at the campsite and heading into Coniston village for the AGM, for which a community room had been hired. Most then went for drinks and a meal in one of the pubs before returning to a quiet campsite – the new regime there has meant that there are no longer noisy late night parties,

More cruising on Sunday, but a good handful chose to race, with the course being around Peel Island and back – harking back to the earlier years of our club activities, when longer races, often around an island, were a regular feature. After the elapsed times had been corrected for sail area and crew numbers, Keith was declared the winner of the Solway Dory Trophy, but only by a very close margin from Peter R, who had won it last year.

So another successful first meet of the season and 35 years to the day since the very first race for the Solway Dory Trophy was held on Ullswater in April 1990, which later that year lead to the formation of the Open Canoe Sailing Group.

 

 

 

 

Held at Pant Yr Onnen Campsite at Llangower near Bala, Wales and running from Tuesday 25th to Friday 28th June 2024.
This was a midweek meet organised for Wednesday and Thursday although several came early or stayed on for the following weekend. There were 29 people in total, bringing 21 assorted boats; mostly sailing canoes with outriggers, 3 trimarans, some kayaks, a dinghy and even a paddle board.
Liz, the campsite owner made us very welcome and in spite of boilers breaking down, made sure we had all that we needed. Even though the site was at full capacity it was quiet and there was plenty of space, most of us camping near the spit with a fantastic lake view.
The promised warmer weather stayed with us for the first half of the week, bright sunny days and light breezes from various directions. Some of those arriving early enjoyed sailing without drysuits for the first time this year. Wednesday remained warm and sunny for our usual cruising day so groups formed to sail off for the day, either south or towards Bala with perhaps a café on the way.
Two prospective new members were made welcome, one bringing an interesting skin on frame canoe and both with considerable sailing experience. I hope we shall see more of them at future meets.
The wind strengthened overnight bringing light rain showers and by Thursday morning it was
apparent we would not be racing. At the 10am briefing we could see white topped waves in every direction and putting out a buoy would be difficult. 40 mph gusts were forecast for later so it was suggested that anyone wanting to try sailing in these conditions should go out early on. 3 sailors ventured out zipping around for short spells. One or two people departed for home, some went walking or into Bala, some worked on their boats or rigs and others had a restful day out of the wind.
Friday dawned dull and damp, unfortunate for those of us packing away tents but worth it for
another enjoyable stay on this lovely campsite and some great sailing with friends.

PDF:

OCSG Meet Report for Bala 2024 

Dates & Venue:
Wednesday 15th May – Sunday 18th May 2024 at Milarrochy Bay Campsite, Loch Lomond
Turnout (or Attendance):
20 boats and 29 members
Weather & water conditions:
Dry, warm and sunny. Mostly very light winds (F1) with only occasional sudden spells of very gusty winds (F5) from variable directions for the first 2-3 days. Light winds (F2) on the final day provided some very pleasant sailing conditions.
Activities:
The inaugural “Raid”, a type of on-the -water, individual orienteering challenge was held over two days. Seventeen boats took part on each day. The course on the first day was on the southern end of the loch and involved sailing and paddling up to 18 miles, visiting up to 6 control stations. On the second day, there were 7 control stations towards the northern end and involved up to 23 miles. The lack of wind favoured paddling, but occasional, stronger, and unpredictable winds made for some interesting sailing too.
The last two days took the form of a standard meet with very pleasant, less strenuous trips to the excellent cafés at Luss and Balmaha. Some went to Inchconnachan, one of the islands, on an unsuccessful wallaby search, while others undertook some serious research into the paddling power output required to propel the boat through the water and whether this exceeded the calorific input from the pubs and cafes! This involved towing a boat with an electric motor at 3 knots and noting the extra power consumption. Investigations will continue at Bala!
Remarks:
Despite the lack of wind, the trial Raid was enjoyed by all who took part. It will undoubtedly become a regular event and will evolve with feedback from participants. It had taken a considerable amount of effort to organise. Thanks go to Mark Aplin and the organising group for all their work.

2024 Loch Lomond Meet and trial Raid Report PDF

Dates: Friday 26th – Sunday 28th April, 2024
Venue: Old Hall Campsite, Coniston, Cumbria
Attendance: 33 members, 20 sailing canoes
Weather & water conditions:
Light to moderate winds during much of Saturday, but chilly from the northeast.
Light breeze on Sunday morning for the race, but dropped off somewhat for other cruising in the afternoon.
Activities:
General sailing on the Saturday, many went south for a picnic. The Bluebird Café seemed to be an irresistible attraction, with most people visiting at some point. Some went to the pub on both evenings. AGM and pub meal on Saturday evening. Some raced on Sunday am.
Highlights, points of interest or issues:
Procedures for the planned trial Raid at Loch Lomond in May was discussed at some length following the AGM.

Dates & Venue:

Friday 22^nd – Sunday 24^th March, 2024 at YMCA Lakeside, Newby Bridge, Windermere

Turnout :

15 people with 10 sailing canoes

Weather & water conditions:

Saturday was quite windy and gusty, Sunday was much better.

Activities:

With Saturday being so windy, only a couple of canoes ventured out (and survived, thankfully!) Others went cycling or walking.

Sunday was much better and more people managed to get on the water, including up to Bowness.

Remarks:

Fewer attended than last year but it was still deemed to be worthwhile by those who were there.

Open Canoe Sailing Group Winter Meet 2024 Report (PDF)

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