Experience required
The level of experience to hire our craft is very much dependant on the specific craft and the conditions at the time of hiring. If wishing to have a boat available to use away from our centre’s direct supervision then we will require a higher degree of experience than if you will be using the boat within sight of the centre.
Dayboats, Wayfarers etc & dinghies away from our centres or rental longer than 2 hours:To use any of our day sailing boats, Wayfarers etc or any dinghies away from our centres we need the skipper to be of a minimum standard of RYA Seamanship Skills, as you will not have direct safety cover.
You must be competent at sailing on and off a mooring and anchor, rigging the boat correctly for the conditions, navigate and passage plan and be capable of managing the boat, all other equipment and your crew safely at all times. Be able to make the correct judgement on the conditions and whether they are suitable for your and the crafts capabilities.
For smaller dinghies (Picos etc) being used from our centres and on our training areas an RYA Level 2 or equivalent and recent sailing experience is required. You must be happy rigging, reefing, launching recovering, capsize recovery. This year you must be certain that you will not need assistance to rig and launch or return.
Please do not take exception when asked for your sailing ability and experience, this is for your safety and to help our staff guide you to the right sort of boat for you. Yachtmaster certification is accepted as long as you have dinghy sailing experience. Unlike many warmer holiday sailing centres, we expect you to be able to rig the boats yourself, with the guidance and help from our staff. This gives us a very good indication to the level of your ability prior to you setting out, so we can best manage your session and help you get the most enjoyment from it.
Get in touch and talk to one of our staff to find out more information about what vessel would best suit you, and our availability.
