Moving from RYA 1 & 2 To Regular Sailing

OK, so you’ve done RYA1 & RYA2 and are now competent to sail.

True – but that doesn’t help you map out how the next few months is going to work: Fear not, we are here to help in all sorts of ways & here as a starter for 10 is a Q & A around the common issues we’ve heard. OR you can come down to training on Sunday mornings for refreshers & more practice on the water, starting at 10am

Its expensive, isnt it ?   Well…No, not until you want to buy a boat (and even then some are pretty cheap) but you wont want to rush into buying a boat before you’ve worked out whether you prefer single handed sailing (eg Laser) or two handed sailing (eg 2000 / RS400). So….. just rent out our club boats. They’re booked through our Spond site once you have registered your interest in joining the club

There’s a bit of communication needed if you want to regularly sail in 2 person dinghies as we need to match up two people for those – you will need to contact the class captain to arrange crewing opportunities & we’d suggest you do that in advance rather than just turn up as it can be discouraging to turn up & not sail. 

As for buying a boat later on… we have people in the club that are happy to help. If you keep an eye on apolloduck website or the dinghys & bits for sale facebook page you’ll see plenty of trading of second hand boats & hardware. To give you an idea: a low cost starter could be ~£600 , rising to ~£1500 for a competitive racing boat and on up to £5000 for a brand new boat (you don’t see too many of those at the club)

But don’t I need lots of kit ? We have a range of  basic kit you’ll need (wetsuits, jackets, buoyancy aids) so really all you need to bring is boots and gloves: Get those online or at one of the  2 local chandlers, Storrar Marine or Trident. That gives you a low cost entry. If you’re enjoying the sailing, a wetsuit & buoyancy aid are normally a good next buy. See here for our what to wear page.

So that the mechanics of boats & kit…. what about becoming an active member of the club & joining in the activities?   We have a programme of sailing each year that comes out in January – and if you are joining through RYA 1 & 2 courses, that season will already be underway. Here is the calendar 

And joining the club ?  Well…. thats why we do the training courses – not to make money, but to see more people enjoying sailing & joining us. No pressure – come down a few times, try it on for size. if its a fit after a few weeks, we’d be delighted to welcome you. And then for your second years sailing, we run coaching sessions for beginners, returners & improvers – typically Sunday mornings from 10am to gently ease you from beginner to race winner.

Any more questions – probably best just to ask at the club. Or you could always use the contact us form.