Learn to Sail

This year’s learn to sail programme for adults will be organised on an as-required basis; we need between five and eight participants in a class. You will work through the levels as a group with the same coach(es) where possible. You will also have a coach boat dedicated to looking after you during club sailing so that you can join the fleet almost as soon as you start sailing. The default classes are taken with up to eight adults at once in a dinghy each, so there is a level of fitness that participants will need to meet, and being able to swim in a lifejacket is required. However, if you have restricted ability please get in touch with us! There are other equally social ways of learning to sail with us and we would love to accommodate you.

• Learn to Sail (Level 1) – Starting from scratch, sailors learn how to rig, launch, and manoeuvre the boat, and will be able to sail functionally upon completion.
• Learn to Sail (Level 2/3) – builds on level 1 and improves confidence and boat handling skills with a focus on getting to know your classmates and integrating into the club. By the end of “Level 2” sailors will be able to sail effectively, and will be able to sail quickly with the odd trick thrown in by the end of level 3.

Sign up for this course here. Please give us feedback here.

Racing

We have friendly club races every Saturday afternoon during the season, see the What’s Happening page for more information. We host several regattas that other clubs in our region attend, and we travel to other clubs’ regattas, have a chat about carpooling!

Safety

NSC takes risk management very seriously and has a number of policies in place to ensure sailors stay safe. It’s important that sailors bring the right clothing and equipment to cope with cold, wet, sunny or warm conditions and have a change of clothes with them.

Club boats

NSC has a fleet of Laser yachts (like in the above photo), they’re fun, resilient, and an excellent learning platform. They are also the main adult class sailed in our club racing, as well as the world’s most popular sailing dinghy. The hire cost is included in the Learn to Sail course fee.

Most sailors will eventually want buy their own boat once they finish the learn to sail programmes and start feeling competitive in the club racing. Although it can be an expensive purchase, second had boats usually keep their value and can be sold again for a similar price. Talk to our experienced sailors before you take this step!