What we’re about
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 2022 season (the twelve months ending October 31, 2022) our fleet conducted 173 races on 45 different race days with 49 different sailors participating, ranging in age from 13 to 83. The 29 different skippers included a high-school student and 12 women. Of the skippers, 17 had never raced a Snipe before joining the fleet within the past two years; and of those 12 had never skippered a boat before. The 42 crews included 19 sailors who had never raced in a sailboat before joining our fleet.
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 beginner and novice training for Thursday evenings during Daylight Savings Time and Saturday mornings all year round, rigging up on Saturday at 8:00 AM during July and August and at 10:00 AM the rest of the year.
We also schedule racing almost every Sunday throughout the year, where intermediate and experienced racing sailors will compete against each other in the Corinthian Sailing Club regular Sunday racing program, frequently inviting beginning and novice sailors to crew when there are extra openings.
During the 2022 season 23 of our skippers and 31 of our crews competed against sailors from other fleets, mostly in the central United States, in 4 local regattas on White Rock Lake and 9 travel regattas. 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.
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 ten fully-rigged and maintained sailboats 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, available on our fleet website at https://dalsail.com/registration.html.
Each skipper will 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:
Fleet Guest – 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. A visitor who completes the information form and signs the liability waiver becomes a Guest of the fleet, and is entitled to 5 training and/or racing events at no cost.
Member - in order to continue beyond this point, the Fleet Guest must join Snipe Fleet 001 as a Member at $50.00 semi-annual membership dues and must also become at least a Provisional Member of the Corinthian Sailing Club (see below). This level allows racing in all races, all instruction, full fleet voting rights, skipper participation in all non-sanctioned Regattas and crew participation in all 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).
Fleet Member and SCIRA member – Dallas Snipe Fleet 001 was the first fleet formed by the Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA), upon its formation in 1932. There currently are 800 fleets world-wide in more than 50 countries. SCIRA members from the U.S. frequently travel to other countries to participate in their local and national regattas, using borrowed boats and local crew members. Fleet members wishing to skipper in SCIRA sanctioned regattas (meaning that the regattas meet certain standards), must also join SCIRA at the cost of $30.00 per year.
Corinthian Sailing Club (CSC) Provisional Member (without boat ownership) – Any Snipe Fleet Member not owning or leasing a boat or davit at the club must (after five events), apply for Provisional Membership in CSC. The membership is month to month at $30.00 per month for up to six months, after which the member must upgrade to at least CSC Associate Membership or be dropped from CSC and the Fleet. Provisional Members of CSC have no voting rights or use of power boats, but may use loaner boats from the different fleets, subject to each fleet's loaner boat availability and rules. Monthly fees paid by a Provisional Member will be credited to the annual fees for CSC Associate or Regular Membership upon upgrading.
Corinthian Sailing Club (CSC) Associate Member (without boat ownership) – Any Snipe Fleet Member not owning or leasing a boat at the club may, at any time during Provisional status, with the sponsorship of two current CSC members, apply for Associate Membership in CSC. 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 $162.50 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 $325.00 and cover the period until the next April 1.
Corinthian Sailing Club Regular Member – Any Snipe Fleet Member who owns or leases a boat or davit 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 $317.50 for the half year and $635.00 for the full year and there is a $635.00 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 and snipeusa.com). Snipe Fleet dues are payable through the Fleet 001 website (dalsail.com).
