Start Sailing
Hill Head is an RYA Accredited Training Centre, and offers a wide variety of courses and regular training sessions for members throughout the year. Training covers the core practical disciplines of sailing and power-boating, along with land-based First Aid and VHF courses.
Our primary focus when getting people into the world of sailing is making sure that your first steps into that boat are done in a safe and calm manner with volunteer instructors that can understand your needs. We pride ourselves with doing just that. Our Start sailing courses are done with each individual’s requirements in mind and we tailor the course, types of boats, methods of teaching accordingly.
Below is the start sailing courses we typically offer each year. Please note due to COVID-19 we have postponed all RYA Training and are awaiting further guidance from the RYA on when we can restart.
Youth
- Monthly Oppie sessions for children
These typically run from April to October and are booked 2 weeks prior to each session, on the training notice board in the foyer. We run three types of sessions; beginner, intermediate & advanced. This allows us to cater for all abilities and experiences. Each boat will have a experienced cadet to provide 1 to 1 in boat tuition, alongside this there are several Dinghy & Senior Instructors stood in the water to provide an excellent learning environment.
- RYA Youth Stage 1/2
This course is ideally suited for cadets aged 10-14 as the next step from the beginner Oppie sessions. The course is delived in Oppies with the more able cadets progressing to RS Teras. This course consist of 3 days, usually spread over 2 weekends in May.
- RYA Youth Stage 2/3
This course is the natural progression from the Stage 1/2 course. It is aimed at slightly older cadets aged 11-16, who have already completed their RYA Stage 1. This course is delivered in RS Teras, Toppers & Picos. As it is slightly more advanced it is 4 days, usually spread over 2 weekends in April.
Adult
- RYA Adult Level 1/2 start sailing course
This course is aimed at those who might be complete beginners or have sailed before but not had any official teaching. For the adults we use slightly bigger double handed boats such as the RS Vision & Wayfarer, but also single handers for those who wish to sail solo such as Picos & Hartley 12. At Hill Head we are able to make excellent use of our volunteer instructors by having a mixture of experienced Assistant, Dinghy & Senior Instructors teach in boat and also from a safety boat. This course runs over 6 days, 1 of which is a theory evening, spread over 3 weekends in June.
Many new members to Hill Head will be people who perhaps cannot sail. We provide an open and social environment whereby you can learn whilst being taught by our volunteer instructors and using our own club boat dinghy fleet.
We pride ourselves on creating a safe environment upon which you can have fun and the all important confidence that you need when learning.
For more information concerning all aspects of sailing training contact Margaret Hyde, Sailing Training Co-ordinator
