Snipe Fleet 001. This is a group whose main focus is on racing Snipe sailboats, mostly on White Rock Lake.
The Snipe is a relatively small 2-person racing sailboat requiring average or better physical stamina and agility. The ideal combined weight of the skipper (who steers the boat) and crew (who works the jib sail) is 270 to 340 pounds. People of all ages, experience and skill levels race Snipes. In our 2020 season (a Covid-shortened season) our fleet conducted 151 races on 24 different race days with 37 different sailors participating, ranging in age from 11 to 81. The fourteen different skippers included a high-school student and four women. The 23 crews included 13 sailors who had never raced in a sailboat before.
So far in our current 2021 season, which began last November, we have conducted 37 races on 10 different race days with a total of 20 different sailors participating. Here is a link for a 3-1/2 minute video about Snipe sailing:
( https://dalsail.com/TexasSnipe/This_is_Snipe_HD.mov ).
We schedule racing most every Sunday throughout the year, and we will frequently either add or substitute Saturday racing depending upon the weekend weather forecast and regatta scheduling. A regatta is an event in which sailors from local and distant clubs gather to race against one another and compete for prizes. It is similar to a track meet or a swimming meet. Snipe Fleet 001 generally participates in three local regattas each season, and some of our sailors travel to compete in regattas at other clubs.
We invite all skill levels (from rank beginner to world class expert) to learn about our fleet and submit a membership application. We conduct regular sessions to teach sailing to beginners interested in learning about competitive racing. Our short course series lets beginner and novice racing sailors practice maneuvers and tactics with instruction from experienced racers in a fun-filled 2 hours with up to twelve non-scoring short races. Here we might swap out crews and skippers every couple of races so that everyone signed up (and accepted) for an event gets into a boat. Our long course series consists of participation in the Corinthian Sailing Club regular fleet racing as well as our fleet's participation in White Rock Lake regattas.
Our fleet includes four boats available as loaners to anyone with sailboat racing experience who would like to skipper on an introductory or trial basis.
In order to sail with us, we ask that you fill out an information form containing a release of liability. Here is a link to the form, downloadable as a Word document. Please fill it out and sign it either manually or electronically then email it as indicated on the form, or bring it to the dock with you and hand it to a
fleet officer. https://www.dalsail.com/InfoForm.docx .
Each skipper will also acknowledge responsibility for any damage to a boat under his/her command. A skipper who uses a loaner boat in a regatta may purchase regatta boat damage insurance from our national organization, Snipe Class International Racing Association-USA (SCIRA-USA).
Our group membership levels are:
Visitor: - A person coming to the dock to meet our members and to find out about sailing Snipes. We welcome any and all visitors to show up early for any of our events to meet Snipe sailors and learn more about our fleet. If you fill out the information form, we can better help you determine whether a Snipe or some other fleet at Corinthian Sailing Club is the best fit for you. There is no cost to a Visitor.
Fleet Guest – A Visitor who completes the information form and signs a liability waiver becomes a Guest of the fleet, and is entitled to 5 days of racing, 5 days of on dock instruction, and 5 sessions of Zoom sailing lessons at no cost.
Fleet Associate Member - in order to continue beyond this point, the Fleet Guest must join Snipe Fleet 001 as an Associate at $20.00 yearly membership dues, on a calendar year basis, not pro-rated. This allows racing in any of the non-regatta races for the remainder of the calendar year as either skipper or crew, all on dock instruction and all Zoom sailing lessons. A Fleet Associate Member has no voting rights on fleet business, but is encouraged to join one of the committees that conducts the fleet business. Associate Members who mostly crew and seldom or never skipper may fully participate in all the non-regatta events and activities for successive years by renewal of dues payments. Those who wish to regularly skipper and/or participate as skipper or crew in regattas must move up to the next membership level.
Fleet Regular Member and SCIRA member (without boat ownership) – This level allows racing in all races, all instruction, full fleet voting rights, and participation in all SCIRA sanctioned Regattas, whether at White Rock Lake or anywhere else. It also allows a skipper to use a loaner boat in all the races (subject to availability). If during any season (Nov-Oct) of Regular Membership a skipper uses a loaner boat in more than 50% of the races, he/she must move up to the next membership level in order to skipper in the next season. Skippers who race fewer than 50% of the races in a season may stay at this level. The cost is $35.00 per calendar year paid to Fleet 001 plus SCIRA-USA annual membership (currently $30.00). An Associate Member upgrading to Regular membership just pays the $15.00 difference to the fleet plus the SCIRA fee paid directly to SCIRA-USA. Fleet Members from prior years have 60 days to renew before being dropped from membership.
Corinthian Sailing Club (CSC) Associate Member (without boat ownership) – Any Regular Fleet Member not owning or leasing a boat at the club may, at any time, with the sponsorship of two current CSC members, apply for Associate Membership in CSC. A Fleet Regular Member who has skippered in more than 50% of the previous season's races must be at least a CSC Associate Member to continue to skipper loaner boats. As a CSC Associate Member, you have full access to the club, may use a Snipe loaner boat at any time to practice or day sail, may use loaner boats from any of the other fleets (subject to their specific fleet rules), may use a club powerboat (after receiving training), and may use the CSC clubhouse for private events, according to CSC rules and guidelines. Current CSC Associate member dues are $135.32 for those who join between October 1 and April 1 of the next year and cover the period until April 1. For those who join between April 1 and October 1, the current dues are $270.63 and cover the period until the next April 1.
Corinthian Sailing Club Regular Member – Any Regular Fleet Member who owns or leases a boat kept at CSC must also become a Regular Member of CSC. Regular Members have all the privileges of a CSC Associate Member and may keep a boat at CSC in the mooring field or on a davit that the Regular Member owns or leases. Current dues are double the CSC Associate Member dues and there is a $500 one-time initiation fee. There are discounts for students and new members under the age of 30.
Payment of Membership dues--CSC and SCIRA dues are paid through their respective websites (cscsailing.org (https://cscsailing.org/) and snipeusa.com (https://snipeusa.com/)). Fleet dues are payable through the Fleet 001 website (dalsail.com (https://dalsail.com/)).
