125 Discussion Forum

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Is the 125 for me? I have recently developed an interest in sailing. I took a small boat sailing course with the Brighton Seacliff Yacht club (I live in Adelaide) which was great, and inspired me to start putting money aside for a dinghy of my own. The 125 looks great - affordable, flexible (ie. takes 2 adults, spinnaker and trapese for when I have developed sailing skills a bit futher), and reasonably easy to sail. My only concern is that there might not be enough of them out there. I'm interested in racing, and I don't want to end up being one of a small handful of sailors with 125s around Adelaide. Is it possible I would be better off saving for a seemingly more common 420 or 505, in this case? I am not interested in smaller classes as I want to be able to sail with a friend. Many thanks in advance for your advice! Simon 4-Jun-2007    Edit    Delete

Re: Is the 125 for me? The 125 i a good sized boat for someone, like yourself, who wants to have a good time! A 125 is a good boat for someone who has just come out of a saiing school as they are not too complicated but have all the bells and whistles for when you are ready! One advantage of the 125 that I can see, compared with a 420 or a 505, is that a 125 is not as compliated and would be a lot easier to step into. Also there are a lot of people who are able to help getting you going in the class. i.e. rigging the boat and getting proficient with the trapeze and spinnaker. the 125 is also a lot easier to sail then a 505! I am not sure what fleet numbers are like in SA but the past 2 nationals have had about 40 boats! In Queensland recently we had 27 boats at our state championships! The best thing to do is contact the SA association, Don Barnett is the president, go and have a look a and a sail of a 125. I did that 8 years ago and got hooked! I am now on my 5th boat and loving sailing 125's Grant Steinback 4-Jun-2007    Edit    Delete

Re: Is the 125 for me? Thanks, Grant. Good to hear that the 125 has healthy numbers. I'll get in contact with Don and see how I go. Will post back here in a few weeks with the results of my 125 exploration! Simon 4-Jun-2007    Edit    Delete

Re: Is the 125 for me? Good to hear you are interested in a 125, Simon. Our fleet in SA would outnumber the 420, which is mainly sailed by teenagers. The 125 is a very easy boat to sail and is quite cost effective. A 505 would definately not be recommended to a beginner. The fleets in SA are at Adelaide SC, Largs Bay and the Port River, together with many country clubs. Contact me from the SA contacts in this website and I will try to get you together with a boat and suitable yacht club. Don Barnett 5-Jun-2007    Edit    Delete

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