RYA dinghy training - where?
Discussion
My wife and kids want to do sail training on dinghies, RYA junior, RYA adult 1 & 2, multi-hull conversion. They want to do the courses over a series of weekends. They have sailed with me, and I am really happy they want to make it a family thing and use the time over winter for them to get qualified so they can make the most of the season in spring.
My local club does some of this, but on a volunteer instructor basis, so schedule is unpredictable and courses are quite relaxed, and in the main when we have turned up for them, they have been full or cancelled. I have also called other clubs in the London / south east area and they seem to operate on the same basis - a few of them aren’t there to answer the phones, and emails are also unanswered.
Is there a sail training centre any of you can recommend for these courses up to 2.5 hours drive from London, where you can book in in advance, they have availability on a weekend and you know you are going to turn up and get proper training and certification?
My local club does some of this, but on a volunteer instructor basis, so schedule is unpredictable and courses are quite relaxed, and in the main when we have turned up for them, they have been full or cancelled. I have also called other clubs in the London / south east area and they seem to operate on the same basis - a few of them aren’t there to answer the phones, and emails are also unanswered.
Is there a sail training centre any of you can recommend for these courses up to 2.5 hours drive from London, where you can book in in advance, they have availability on a weekend and you know you are going to turn up and get proper training and certification?
Have you tried King George Sailing Club, Chingford? I used to be a member there and they had structured RYA training there a few years ago.
www.kgsc.org.uk
It's a great place to sail.
www.kgsc.org.uk
It's a great place to sail.
the vast majority of sailing clubs run on volunteer effort, so probably only run one RYA 1&2 course per season - these are really aimed at recruiting new club members.
you probably need one of the bigger professionally run sailing centres, eg Grafham water, Rutland sailing club.(i know they are not in london, but might be an option?) also there used to be a venue in peterborough - ferry meadows
Not sure if its still a thing but the some of the package holiday firms used to run RYA courses on their beach holidays.
hope you get sorted, if you get the kids into sailing at a young age, they will never have enough money to get into drugs
you probably need one of the bigger professionally run sailing centres, eg Grafham water, Rutland sailing club.(i know they are not in london, but might be an option?) also there used to be a venue in peterborough - ferry meadows
Not sure if its still a thing but the some of the package holiday firms used to run RYA courses on their beach holidays.
hope you get sorted, if you get the kids into sailing at a young age, they will never have enough money to get into drugs
Edited by sawman on Friday 18th August 10:04
The organisatio which springs to mind is Andrew Simpson
https://andrewsimpsoncentres.org/
I thnk you're looking for a commercial pay'n'play operation not a 'members' club'.
Some of the bigger clubs blur the line, with employed training staff or having franchised school operations on site.
Welsh Harp
Queen Mary
Northampton
There are others, but I'm not hugely familiar with inland clubs currently, but that's what I'd say you need in Winter.
The RYA website has a search for training centres, but many of them are small clubs and there are a lot in your search area.
Try putting 'centre' into the search?
You may need a big pond to do multihull, so maybe you don't get everything in one place.
The alternative, which works for a lot of people, is to join one of the clubs near you and just crack on with it.
Look for a club where you will fit in with the people and go racing.
Some clubs have boats for hire, but boats adequate for learning on are not expensive.
If your family have done some sailing with you they are probably alt least close to 'Level 2' already.
Maybe some individual coaching is more appropriate?
RYA course info here:
https://www.rya.org.uk/training
Level One is two days, assumed knowledge Zero.
Level Two is another two days, assumed knowledge equivalent to Level One.
I do a fair bit of dinghy racing, but the only dinghy 'coaching' I've had since about 1980 has been organised via class associations.
Also, do not discount the beach holiday sailing operations.
https://andrewsimpsoncentres.org/
I thnk you're looking for a commercial pay'n'play operation not a 'members' club'.
Some of the bigger clubs blur the line, with employed training staff or having franchised school operations on site.
Welsh Harp
Queen Mary
Northampton
There are others, but I'm not hugely familiar with inland clubs currently, but that's what I'd say you need in Winter.
The RYA website has a search for training centres, but many of them are small clubs and there are a lot in your search area.
Try putting 'centre' into the search?
You may need a big pond to do multihull, so maybe you don't get everything in one place.
The alternative, which works for a lot of people, is to join one of the clubs near you and just crack on with it.
Look for a club where you will fit in with the people and go racing.
Some clubs have boats for hire, but boats adequate for learning on are not expensive.
If your family have done some sailing with you they are probably alt least close to 'Level 2' already.
Maybe some individual coaching is more appropriate?
RYA course info here:
https://www.rya.org.uk/training
Level One is two days, assumed knowledge Zero.
Level Two is another two days, assumed knowledge equivalent to Level One.
I do a fair bit of dinghy racing, but the only dinghy 'coaching' I've had since about 1980 has been organised via class associations.
Also, do not discount the beach holiday sailing operations.
I did my RYA Dinghy 1 and 2 at Alton Reservoir - between Colchester / Ipswich. It's a commercial organisation owned by Anglian Water and when I did it they offered 1 to 1 and group courses on demand.
https://anglianwaterparks.co.uk/alton-water-park/w...
https://anglianwaterparks.co.uk/alton-water-park/w...
I think most of the “blurred line/professional/volunteer” clubs don’t do level 1 & 2 for adults or stage 1 & 2 for children during the winter months as it’s too cold.
Most stop in October and restart March/April.
As for clubs in/near London, I’d go to which ever you’re likely to sail at longer term….my “home club” was an hour and a half away, the sailing was great but my usage was limited at a 3 hour round trip had to be worth it…. Now my home club is 10minutes away so any day I fancy some work/fresh air/ training I can pop up and sail or if conditions look “unsure” actually go and look. (Helps that it’s open 364 days a year with safety boat on duty all day every day)
Most stop in October and restart March/April.
As for clubs in/near London, I’d go to which ever you’re likely to sail at longer term….my “home club” was an hour and a half away, the sailing was great but my usage was limited at a 3 hour round trip had to be worth it…. Now my home club is 10minutes away so any day I fancy some work/fresh air/ training I can pop up and sail or if conditions look “unsure” actually go and look. (Helps that it’s open 364 days a year with safety boat on duty all day every day)
tracer.smart said:
Thanks all, great suggestions, and many more options than I thought. I am going to focus in on the tidal training locations as they will be sailing with me in tidal waters.
I'd need to double check the sylabus but I'm pretty sure that Level 1 & 2 includes quite a bit on tides and navigation now so apart from the practical element Students have to show an understanding of both to pass even at inland centres.Marcellus said:
tracer.smart said:
Thanks all, great suggestions, and many more options than I thought. I am going to focus in on the tidal training locations as they will be sailing with me in tidal waters.
I'd need to double check the sylabus but I'm pretty sure that Level 1 & 2 includes quite a bit on tides and navigation now so apart from the practical element Students have to show an understanding of both to pass even at inland centres.Level 2 Dinghy sailing is quite basic handling of a small boat under sail in easy conditions.
Level 2 Powerboat includes some basic stuff about tides and navigation.
I will reiterate that I expect the OP's family are very likely above Level 2 already and probably won't get much out of these courses.
The RYA website I linked to before gives details of course content and outcomes.
Having been a member of a few sailing clubs, I think it's generally much easier to run these courses effectively and efficiently on non-tidal waters.
Marcellus said:
tracer.smart said:
Thanks all, great suggestions, and many more options than I thought. I am going to focus in on the tidal training locations as they will be sailing with me in tidal waters.
I'd need to double check the sylabus but I'm pretty sure that Level 1 & 2 includes quite a bit on tides and navigation now so apart from the practical element Students have to show an understanding of both to pass even at inland centres.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff