Remote Control Sailing

South of Perth Yacht Club have adopted the DragonFlite 95 (DF95) radio controlled sailing yacht as a racing class. A keen and enthusiastic group of members from all sections of the club have purchased a DF95 and commenced racing the yachts on Friday afternoons from 3pm to 5.30pm in ‘the pond’ by the Western Hardstand area.

The DF95 was designed by an English gentleman by the name of John Tushingham and the yachts are manufactured by Joysway in China. The Australian distributor of the DF95 and spare parts is Hobby Warehouse. The yacht is delivered in kit form with a good instruction manual on how to put the yacht and rigging together. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to assemble. The cost is under A$500 which includes everything except 8 AA batteries which can be rechargable.

The first DF95 was delivered to the UK in April 2016. Since that time the restricted one designed yacht is being raced all over the world with national and state championships being held in Australia. The last world championships were held in November 2018 in Dallas USA.

SoPYC members are enjoying the close racing and strict one-design aspect of the DF95 along with the comparative minimal entry cost to the sport. At the end of the day, the yachts performance is totally up to the skipper. No crew needs to be organised, no pen fees, no annual registration fees, no slipping fees, no storage issues and easy to transport. It is also a great deal of fun.

If interested, you are most welcome to come down to the club on any Friday afternoon and be a spectator or a competitor racing a DF95. All the DF95 owners are happy to hand over the controls so that you can experience the fun and enjoyment of sailing these exciting yachts.