Junior Summer Sailing Weeks

A week of fun and sailing during the summer holidays

Booking FAQ and Terms and Conditions: https://www.obansailingclub.org/training/training-f-a-q/

Our Junior Summer Sailing Weeks consist of sailing, games, water, and (hopefully) sun. The focus of the weeks are on having fun, developing a love for sailing and building confidence. We follow the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme and if a student has achieved everything for their next stage we will award that certificate at the end of the week. Students will all be working at slightly different skill levels within each group, and will often be in the same group next year building further on their skills, especially if they are at the younger end of the age range, or haven’t had much chance to sail since last year.

Our weeks are split into 3 levels – Beginners are working towards their Stage 1 or 2, Improvers on their Stage 3, and Advanced on Stage 4, the advanced modules (Seamanship Skills, Sailing With Spinnakers, or Start Racing), or coaching based on the students’ strengths and interests. We’re not able to run all three levels at once, so we split them over multiple weeks with as many combinations of levels together at once as possible so that siblings can come on the same week.

Why learn to sail?

Learning to sail has so many benefits for children:
✓ An exciting new sport with opportunities to progress and a sense of achievement
✓ Free sailing sessions available to members throughout the summer.
✓ Connections with the outdoors and nature
✓ Learning risk assessment skills in a safe environment
✓ A sense of freedom, adventure and challenge for all ages, helping to develop confidence and independence
✓ Meeting a wide variety of new friends with a common interest

Course Requirements

Junior Beginners: Minimum age 8*, no prior sailing experience necessary. You must be happy to be in the water wearing a buoyancy aid, but do not need to be a strong swimmer.

Junior Improvers: RYA Stage 2 or equivalent qualification/experience. If you haven’t sailed in a while then you may be better considering the Beginners course as it is assumed you’re able to confidently do most of the skills from Stage 2. You’ll also get a lot more out of the course if you’ve had some practice, for example by joining in our Monday Mayhem sessions.

Junior Advanced: RYA Stage 3 or equivalent qualification/experience. As with the improvers week, if you haven’t sailed in a while then you may be better considering the Improvers course as it is assumed you’re able to confidently do most of the skills from Stage 3. To make the most of your week it helps if you’ve been sailing, such as at our Monday Mayhem or Dinghy Racing sessions.

If you’re unsure which of these is the right course for you then please contact us.

*The age limit on these courses is based on several factors. Students who are nearly 8 and have already sailed dinghies (for example with family at Monday Mayhem sessions) may be possible on a case by case basis, with some limitations. Please contact us if you’d like to discuss this.