Learn How To Sail
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About
Hastings & St. Leonards Sailing Club is a long established RYA Training centre. We have approximately 10 qualified sailing instructors and many assistant instructors. The main course on how to learn how to sail are levels 1 & 2 in sailing and you will be taught in a wide range of different boats.
What is covered in the course is below:
- RYA Level 1 (Starting Sailing)
- RYA Level 2 (Sailing Skills)
You are taught essential boat handling skills, enabling you to sail confidently as part of a crew and you will sail under close instruction.
This follows straight on from the Level 1 section of the course, and provides a good grounding in launching, reefing, tacking, gybing, landing safely, capsize recover, rules of the road, and sailing by yourself. At the end of the course you will be confident to sail a boat on your own in reasonable winds around a triangle course using the main 3 points of sailing.
Course Information
There will be one adult course, it will be run over 11 sessions, normally a Wednesday evening (6.30pm to 9.30pm) and a Saturday morning/afternoon. The course will be run from Mid April to Late May. You will be expected to attend all sessions.
The course will start with registration in the middle of April . The course fees are £220 for adults and £145 for youths (under 18’s). These fees will be payable on the registration evening and all of the fees include individual Hastings & St. Leonards sailing club membership up until the following year.
The weather conditions at Hastings are often variable and it is strongly recommended that you have access to a wetsuit, as sea temperatures can be cold. We do appreciate that you may not wish to invest in expensive new equipment straight away! Tracksuit bottoms, T-shirt and sweatshirt under a windproof jacket and trousers will keep you warm, you have to avoid wearing jeans and heavy sweaters - several thin layers are much better for warmth. Personal Buoyancy must also be worn we have a selection of buoyancy aids in the boathouse store room to use. All of the sailing course attendees who are under the age of 18, one of their parents/guardians must become an Associate Club member at a cost of £22 and must be on the shore at all times the course is running.
There will be regular Novice Sailing on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings, after the course finishes.
Please also be aware that part of the training will entail capsize drills (involving righting the boats), sailing in small dinghies so your fitness must reflect this and are able to swim 50 metres. It is hoped you find all of these details helpful, for you to complete the application form and return to the address shown on the application. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss any details and queries you may have on the contact option below. It is expected that all applications will be considered and all applicants will be notified by mid February.
We are also running a RYA Dinghy Level 1 and 2 course for Juniors aged between 10 and 14. This is four theory sessions on Saturday afternoons throughout February and three days practical from Monday 2nd August to Wednesday 4th August, but if we have bad conditions the course will be extended to the Thursday 5th or/and Friday 6th. So trainees must be available all week.
Contact us
If you are interested in our sail training program, use our contact form to get in touch or pay a visit to the club at the weekend, (Sundays all year round and Wednesday evenings during the summer).