Learn to sail with at RYA accredited yachting centres
If you've ever dreamed of learning to sail, there's no better time to take to the water than now! We have loads of courses for all budgets and with all sorts of aims.
Maybe you’ve seen boats bobbing about in the harbour and always wanted to have a go? These sailing lessons will see you heading out on the water with an instructor for a couple of hours to see if you find your sea legs. If you want to be able to skipper your very own yacht, make a start with our RYA certified courses to enable you to become a qualified crew member.
What’s the difference between sailing a yacht and a dinghy?
One thing worth explaining is the difference between dinghies and yacht sailing. Both are offered at centres around the UK and both are great fun. A dinghy is a light boat for one or two people and is generally between two and four metres long. These are used for day sails and are taken out of the water at night. As they are much smaller rigs, you'll really be engaged in their handling and you can risk a dunking in the water - but they are great fun and will bring on your seamanship skills by leaps and bounds.
In comparison, a yacht is much larger and heavier. They can be more like keelboats that are used mainly for racing, or proper ocean-going yachts that have accommodation onboard so you could set your course for a sail around the world if you wanted to. These vessels often sail with a crew made up of several people, each of whom has their own role to play. The boat leans, but you're less likely to get a dipping and the movements are a lot slower than on a buzzy little dinghy.
Sail on the open seas, sheltered waters or inland lakes
As for where you sail, we are spoilt in the UK as we have stunning coastlines, lovely in-land lakes and sheltered waters to explore.
We can't think of a better place to sign up for sailing school than on the waters around Brighton. The only problem here is that you might be so drawn in to the shoreline scenery and watching the wildlife (check out this video of dinghy sailing with Dolphins!) that you forget you're there to be shown how to sail!
So it's time to reef the main sail, furl the jib and head out on these superb sailing lessons. Whether you have a weekend set aside to learn the art of sailing or just want to give it a try to see if you like it, being shown how to work those sails, rudders and hull in relation to the wind and the waves is a truly fab way to conquer the seas and inland waters of the UK.
