Latest information:
We are currently planning for the new Training Sessions. The Pico training boats have now been moved to their new home (see picture). The Club has also bought a large catamaran for use as training and will be offering special catamaran training sessions on it.

Two new Dinghy Instructors will also be joining the Training Team. Keep watching this page for further updates but if you need more information about the Yaverland Sailing Academy ring me on 856177.

Originally the Club owned 6 Topper sailing dinghies to help teach beginners how to sail but the Toppers have now been replaced by a fleet of 6 Laser Picos. Picos have self draining hulls, have the option of a Jib and can be sailed with 2 people on board. We have also added a Dart 16 to the fleet so we can also offer catamaran training sessions.

As well as having our own training boats, we also have wetsuits and buoyancy aids so you dont even need to buy any equipment to start learning to sail - you dont even have to be a member (although we do hope youll join once you "catch the sailing bug"). If you have any surplus equipment why not donate it to the club for the beginners to use.

Training takes place on Saturday morning and carries on during the Spring, Summer and into the Autumn (usually finishing at the end of September when the sea starts to get too cold). We run training blocks of 4 weekends and and limit the number to 6 so that every cadet gets their own boat. You will need to ring and book a place on the course. Once you are booked onto the course you will arrive at 9.30 am so that the training starts promptly at 10 am. You will learn how to get the boat ready for sailing, how to steer the boat and recover from a capsize. When the beginners go out there is always at least one safety boat close at hand to help.

We take the safety of our trainees very seriously so we supply every trainee with a safety helmet. We only go out when the conditions are suitable and when its not safe to go out on a Saturday we sometimes move the training session to Sunday. Also, we have a minimum age limit of 13 and require that 13, 14 and 15 year olds are accompanied by an adult.

Once the Trainees have reached a certain level and are Club Members they will be able to hire the Picos on Saturday afternoon so they can further their training.

Charges for 2012:

£35 per person

To help those wanting to learn about sailing I've produced a training guide, which you can access by clicking here for the PDF version or by clicking here for the website version. Both are only drafts at present so if you have any suggested improvements please e-mail Tim by clicking here.

At the Merrydown Races in 2010 two of the Clubs Trainees did extremely well. Clare Wakely crewed with Ian Molyneux and came joint Third with Joanne Pollon who was crewing with Chris Murphy. So well done to both of them.

Every time I go sailing I fill in a log sheet, which records basic details of the day such as temperature and wind direction. But I also write down my experiences while sailing as well as any observations. As this log goes right back to when I started sailing it is an excellent record of a beginners experiences and many of the observations will be of interest to other people beginning to sail. To view the Captain's Log click here.

We are always looking for volunteers, either to help with the rescue boat or people to assist with pico training. No experience necessary.