Learn to sail with our teen sails
Why not try something different for the school holidays? Our teen sails are exclusively for young people (13-17 years old) and run over five days. Starting and ending from Chichester harbour, the five days are spent onboard. Everyone is involved in all aspects of sailing the boat, learning along the way as we stay in a different place in the Solent waters each night. Accommodation is in bunks onboard and we cook and eat together. We have both Karic and Jalapeno available for our teen sails, with the two boats meeting up each evening and some lunch times for the crews to mix and hang out together, with beach BBQ’s weather permitting!
27-31 July 2022
During the five days we can cover the syllabus of either RYA Competent Crew or RYA Day Skipper. RYA Competent Crew gives you a basic knowledge of yachting, how to sail a boat and how to be a useful crew member. RYA Day Skipper is focused on you being the skipper! You’ll learn how handle a yacht at sea, in harbours and marinas, leaving you with an extensive skill set. The Day Skipper practical course assumes that you have navigational knowledge to RYA Day Skipper theory standard. We recommend that you complete the RYA Day Skipper theory course first. (RYA minimum age for the Day Skipper practical course is 16).
We can also arrange bespoke dates for groups. Please contact us for details.
If you want to try out a two day introduction to sailing, you can book on one of our regular RYA Start Yachting courses that run on the first weekend of every month.
All our instructors are commercially qualified RYA instructors and on these courses will hold valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks – formerly known as CRB checks. On our teen sails we always have a DBS-checked volunteer First Mate as well. If you want to discuss any aspect of our teen sails please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Course content
The course content will vary according to the course you book on. Click on the links below for more details:
This chartlet gives an idea of the sailing area we have to choose from during this trip. The shelter afforded by the Isle of Wight keeps many options open with plenty of anchorages and marinas to choose from.
Rates
Our rates are all inclusive, covering all food onboard, hire of sailing waterproofs and visitor mooring costs.
Our teen sails run from Itchenor reach in Chichester marina.
A Typical Day
0930
Arrival and stick the kettle on.
Introduction to the boat, where things are.
Safety briefing, open up a lifejacket and look inside.
Look around deck, what are the bits of rope called an what do they do?
1030
Prepare mooring lines to leave the pontoon safely.
Fenders and lines away.
Student on the helm as we motor down river, get used to steering the boat.
1130
Pick up a mooring buoy using boathook, communicating as a team.
Cup of tea while we look at the running rigging (lines) in more detail.
Raise the main sail, understanding what order to do things in.
With the sail up, leave the mooring, with the engine on for back up.
Sailing practice in open water with the engine off! Turning the boat’s direction through the wind (tacking)
1300
Drop the anchor and prepare lunch.
Chance to go through the sailing we did and review what was happening.
Use of diagrams to learn ‘points of sail’.
Watching other boats sailing around and describe what they are doing.
1430
Practise sailing the boat around a three point course.
Experience giving way to other vessels, with an explanation of the ‘rules of the road’.
Cup of tea underway!
Make use of an empty pontoon to practise bringing the boat alongside and stepping off safely with mooring lines.
1800
Put pontoon practise into action, moored back on home pontoon, or we might decide to stay out at anchor overnight.
Go over the day and a chance to ask questions you’ve been saving up.
1900
Dinner onboard and a stroll to the pub, a dinghy ashore if we’re at anchor or just watching the stars come out.
Frequently asked questions
Please see our FAQ for tips on what to bring and what to expect.