Shropshire Sailing Club - Learning

RYA Youth Sailing Scheme

There are four courses for young people - RYA Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Stage 4. The club offers all four courses to members depending on demand. For more information about the courses please click on the headings below:

RYA Stage 1 - Introduction

RYA Stage 2 - Building Skills

RYA Stage 3 - Confident Sailor

RYA Stage 4 - Crewed Boat

Courses are usually run over a weekend: Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am to 4.00pm.

Rigging	Can assist with rigging a boat.
Launching and Recovery	Can launch a dinghy and get under way with instruction. Can secure a boat to a trolley. Can assist with recovery and stowage of dinghy and gear.
Ropework	Figure of eight knot. Secure a rope to a cleat.
Sailing Techniques and Manoeuvres	Can be a responsive crew under instruction. Can steer when sailing and being towed. Can steer on a reach and go about (reach to reach). Understands the effects of basic boat controls. Understands the basic principles of stopping, controlling speed and getting out of irons. Can paddle or row. Can call for assistance.
Clothing and Equipment	Understands personal safety and knows what to wear for sailing. Can put on personal buoyancy correctly. Is confident in the water wearing personal bouyancy.
Capsize Recovery	Understands the importance of staying with the boat.
Sailing Background	Can name basic parts of a boat (ie hull, mast, rudder, tiller, centreboard, sheets etc.) Understands what action to take to help those in distress. Understands local hazards. Understands how to prepare for a tow.
Meteorology	Has knowledge of wind direction.

Rigging	Can put a boat head to wind for rigging. Can rig a dinghy.
Launching & Recovery	Understand how to manoevre a trolley clear of other boats and cables. Can launch and recover a small dinghy in an offshore wind.
Ropework	Can tie a round turn and two half hitches and a reef knot.
Sailing Techniques and Manoeuvres	Can control speed and stop by lying-to. Can get out of irons. Can go about (close reach to close reach). Can crew a boat effectively. Can sail a shallow triangle across the wind under supervision (gybing optional).
Capsize Recovery	Can be scooped in during capsize recovery or can right one type of dinghy.
Sailing Manoeuvres	Understands the No Go Zone. Understands what is meant by windward, leeward and gybe. Has knowledge of: spars and rigging, parts of a sail, sail controls and foils, offshore and onshire winds, telling someone ashore, the dangers of man made hazards eg overhead power lines, weirs.
Rules of the Road	Has knowledge of Port/Starboard rule.
Meteorology	Understands several ways of finding wind direction.
Clothing and Equipment	Can choose and correctly adjust a personal buoyancy aid. Understands what to wear.

Rigging, Launching & Recovery	Can rig, launch and recover in an offshore wind. Can reef a dinghy ashore according to the weather conditions. Can store a dinghy ashore.
Ropework	Can tie a bowline, clove hitch and rolling hitch.
Sailing Techniques and Manoeuvres	The five essentials: sail setting, balance, trim, course made good and centreboard. Sailing on all points of sailing on a triangular course. Tacking upwind. Gybing from a training run. Righting a small capsized dinghy as helm and crew. Coming alongside a moored boat. Prepare for/take up tow from power craft. Picking up a mooring.
Racing	Understands the course and starting procedure.
General	Understands: how a sail works, terminology to use afloat, importance of clear communication aboard, lee shore dangers and sailing in close company with other water users, advice to inland sailors for coastal sailing, the dangers of hypothermia afloat. Knows the importance of personal safety and telling someone ashore.
Sailing Manoeuvres	Understands how to recover a man overboard. Understands the points of sailing.
Rules of the Road	Knows the basic rules of the road: Port/Starboard, windward boat and overtaking boat.
Meteorology	Knows how to obtain a weather forecast. Understands the Beaufort Wind Scale. Knows when to reef.
Clothing and Equipment	Personal safety equipment. Boat bouyancy. Basic safety equipment eg anchor, paddle, bailer.

Rigging, Launching & Recovery	Can rig, launch and recover in any wind direction. Can set up a boat according to weather conditions using sail and rig controls eg mast rake, reefing..
Ropework	Knows the use of and can tie: figure of eight, round turn and two half hitches, reef knot, bowline, clove hitch, rolling hitch and sheet bend.
Sailing Techniques and Manoeuvres	Can demonstrate: saling techniques and manoeuvres from Stage 3 in a crewed boat. Communicate effectively as helm and crew. Effective use of the five essentials by helm and crew afloat including use of tell-tales. Recovering a man overboard. Returning to the beach, jetty or mooring safety in any wind direction
Sailing Background	Has knowledge of: IRPCS, Beaufort Scale, Synoptic Chart, Tidal Ebb and Flow, Spring and Neap tides. Knows how to recover from total inversion. Can apply the IRCPS afloat. Has basic knowledge of of IALA bouyage how to use tide tables and how to find the direction of tidal streams.