RYA Youth Sailing Scheme
There are four courses for young people (aged 8 to 16) - RYA Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 and Stage 4. The club may offer all four courses but it depends on demand. For more information about the courses please click on the headings below:
By the end of this introductory course, you will have a basic understanding of how a boat sails, and some experience of steering and handling the boat. Stages 2 and 3 will complete your introduction to the sport in easy stages.
| 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. |
By the end of this course you will have a range of sailing skills and background knowledge, and be well on the way to being a confident small boat sailor.
| 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. |
By the end of this course you will have a range of sailing skills and background knowledge, and be well on the way to being a confident small boat sailor.
| 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. |
A Stage 4 certificate means you have the skills to sail a double-handed boat as helm or crew and solve a variety of problems afloat.
| 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. |
