Dinghy Cruising – Welcome to Cody Sailing Club

Cody Sailing Club – a virtual sailing club based in the South of England, specialising in fleet dinghy cruising and family camping.

Two people sailing a dinghy behind the RYA Dinghy Trails logo.
The RYA joined CodySC for a daysail in Poole Harbour and Studland.

New Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586149123347

Blue sky, chalk islands and a lighthouse across a calm sea on a sunny day.
  • Bridge the gap between RYA Level 2 and confidently sailing in a wide variety of conditions on your own.
  • Come adventurous dinghy cruising in company – fleet dinghy cruising
  • Join us camping ashore and sailing club or personally owned sailing dinghies.
  • Bringing your own dinghies, inflatable boats with engines, canoes, windsurfers and Stand-Up Paddle-boards are very welcome at our camps.
  • Camp by the waterside in beautiful locations
  • Extend your range… Coastal cruise your dinghy on a family camping holiday.

We are a supportive Club and we welcome anyone interested in dinghy cruising and camping ashore – and we also plan group walks and group cycling sometimes.

The whole family, and singles, will enjoy the good life getting back to nature with Cody.

Sailing to Swanage as a fleet from Poole Harbour

We have a wide operating area, across the South of England, and we venture further afield for camps. We sail in Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

We are based in Hampshire, with a membership across the South of England. We currently keep our club boats at Frensham Pond. For daysails we travel to great locations on the South Coast, and we travel further afield for camps.
A family day on the beach at Mill Bay in Salcombe Harbour. Seven boats sailed and some more members drove to the beach.

The primary purpose of the club is to organise affordable coastal sailing cruises and sailing-themed camps for our members, in a friendly and supportive group environment. The sailing is designed to suit a wide range of sailing abilities, whilst the camping also appeals to non-sailing members of all ages.

While we are most definitely not a racing community, we welcome members with all levels of sailing competence, and there is always a healthy interest in effective and efficient sailing.

We do not offer clubhouse facilities or storage for club member’s boats. Our camping locations do not support car-trailer launched boats. You will get the most benefit from Cody SC by having a hand-launchable dinghy on a combi-trailer that is no heavier than a Wayfarer.

Members bring Canoes, SUPs and Windsurfers to camp. Here the canoeists are preparing for an early morning paddle towards Salcombe.

Our programme provides both tidal and inland sailing events that are tailored to suit the mixed interests of our membership.

Two dinghies on the beach at Alum Bay for lunch.

Many of our camps are on private coastal sites that landowners have made available to the club over many years.

We enjoy fleet dinghy cruising in tidal waters in the Solent and other prime UK locations.

Enjoying the beautiful scenery at Lannacombe Beach. Sail out of Salcome on the ebb, turn left and round Prawle Point. The headland of Start Point is in the distance.

We support Cruiser Rally’s for our Yachting community and dinghy fraternity alike, and in order to maintain social contact all year round we hold winter events both on the water and ashore.

To provide dinghy space for non-boat owners on our cruising events, the club also provides access to two Comet Trios subject to an additional Dinghy Section membership fee. These boats are also available for hire by qualified crews.

Club Boats being sailed by members after they have passed RYA Level 1 and 2, and want to now build their skills and experience.

We are an active and friendly sailing club whose membership used to be drawn mostly from around the Farnborough and Portsdown, Hampshire area, and now we have membership from Yorkshire to Somerset, Kent to Dorset. We organise regular dinghy cruises on the sea and inland waters as well as yacht cruises and many family camps. Other activities involve friendly racing and many social activities including visits and talks.

Enjoying a three sail reach in the beautiful Salcombe Harbour.

I for one take great comfort when sailing with Cody friends knowing that there is an intent and experience to give assistance to others.

I love sailing because there is always something to learn. I love dinghy sailing because it’s so immediate.

Thanks to all for 3 great days of sailing and especially to everyone who has worked tirelessly to make the weekend possible

Thanks for a great couple of days!

Cody Trio sailing off the Isle of Wight Needles – Thanks to Jenny for the photograph.

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Round Hayling Island

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The video log of this sail is at https://youtu.be/n4wA9di9Sbw?si=vKznbb8V9YR98pAT

The route of the daysail

Broadmarsh slipway at the head of Langstone harbour was our meeting point (on 5th September) for what turned out to be quite an epic Cody sail, thank you Simon M. for organising such shenanigans.

Down the back…


Simon and Martin were to sail in Simon’s fairly new (to him) comet trio, James and Sandy also in a comet trio and, as usual, myself and a guest sailor (potential Cody fodder) Rick, were to ride along in the almost famous Skismo, a 1973 GP14. The plan was to sail all the way round Hayling Island in an anti-clockwise direction making use of the ebbing tide down to the Solent and the flood tide into Chichester harbour back up to the tip, almost, of Langstone harbour.

The fleet of three

This is a sail I have not done before and for Rick, my guest, it was his first ever sea sail, having only ever sailed his GP14 on lakes. The wind was a tad fresher than expected but certainly manageable. Each of the three boats had one reef in. “It might get a bit choppy at the exit” said Simon, “but nothing to worry about’ he continued reassuringly. Blimey! A bit choppy! As we beat our way out of Langstone harbour into the big wide world of the English Channel and towards our next waypoint, Langstone Fairway, we noticed the increasing height of the undulating seas beneath us. We had sailed 5nm by this point.

The seas got bigger, the swells shorter and before we knew it, we were facing breaking waves right on our path to the next waypoint at the entrance to Chichester harbour. Langstone Fairway was our turning point but it was obvious we would be going through a washing machine had we done so. We decided to tack again and sail just a bit further out to sea. This did the trick, although we were pitching up and down in 4ft peaks and troughs they were breaking less, although one breaking wave caught me off guard and landed square on to my back as I sat on the freeboard minding my own business.

Another 2nm along the coast and both the waves and the wind started to ease and Bar Beacon was now only 1.5nm from our bows.Once we had turned Northbound into Chichester harbour we had the wind behind us, the sea state had turned to almost flat calm and Hayling Island Sailing Club’s bar was beckoning. The last 1nm into the harbour was busy with other helms and their considerably bigger toys coming in and going out so keeping a good look out was crucial at this stage. We landed at Black Point, the Northern tip of HISC and had a very lazy lunch, in beautiful surroundings, in gorgeous sunshine and of course, in great company.


Making use of the flood tide we set off Northbound towards Sweare Deep where eventually the bridge onto Hayling Island caminto view. Yes, the bridge that is lower than the
height of the average mast. We beached our boats on very uneven ground just short of the bridge, unloaded our belongings and one by one we capsized our boats and pushed/pulled them under the bridge.

The other way is to take the mast down…

After a swift bailing session we then each had to negotiate the rather intimidating concrete footings of the old Hayling Billy Railway bridge, decommissioned in 1963 (they are taking their time removing them!)

The gap looks intimidatingly small…

By this time the wind was slight, the sea flat as a pancake and all that was left to do was not run aground as we approached Broadmarsh public slipway for our eventual exit. A most excellent sail and one I would highly recommend to anyone who has not done it. Thanks again Simon for organising (and not
aborting when it got somewhat lumpy).

Simon.C