RYA Advanced Sailing Courses

Seamanship Skills expands on some of techniques learned in a Level 3 course such as rudderless sailing, sailing backwards, and heaving to, and adds such techniques as sailing without a centreboard, anchoring, reefing afloat and being towed. It also covers various methods of launching and recovery. The classroom sessions include rope work and meteorology. Seamanship skills standard is required for invitation to train as an Assistant Instructor at Littleton.  The course will be given mainly in our RS Vision dinghies.

Sailing with Spinnakers introduces concepts of apparent wind, downwind Velocity Made Good, and controls for using asymmetric spinnakers, used in the majority of modern performance dinghies. The course will usually be in RS200 performance dinghies, RS Feva or RS Visions. 

Having learnt to sail you may wish to start racing and join a club. This course takes you through the fundamentals of getting off the start line and round the course, introducing the basic skills needed to enter your first race or have fun with friends

Requirements: Sailing and knowledge to at least the standard of the Level 2 course or Stage 3 in the Youth Sailing Scheme

Syllabus: All the skills required to start club racing, including basic start sequences and timing; improved tacking and gybing, using the 5 essentials to best effect and having a basic understanding of the racing rules

Improve your racing technique and knowledge for racing at club level, building on boat handling and speed, as well as starting to build the knowledge required to develop a strategy based on the conditions. 

Requirements: RYA Start Racing or some club race experience

Syllabus: A course designed to build on current basic racing skills, helping to improve the key principles of Line bias and the first beat; stopping and hovering; Roll tacks and gybes; adapting the rig and sail settings

Develop the skills needed to adapt to racing at different venues and in more challenging conditions

Pre-requisits: RYA Club Racing or equivalent

Syllabus: A practical course working on the key techniques and knowledge to enable you to take part in a wider range of open meetings and regional competition. This course will cover elements such as Starting from different parts of the line; formulating a pre-start race plan; changing the rig on the water; boat on boat tactics and loose and tight covering.

Performance Sailing takes technique, experience and tactics to the next level through coaching and a thorough understanding of sailing concepts. This course is only suitable for very skilled dinghy sailors, usually with experience across several different dinghy types in tidal and coastal environments.  Entry requires handling skills to at least Seamanship Skills standard, successful club race experience and spinnaker handling. The course can only be completed under demanding weather conditions, so please contact the RYA Training Principal if you would like to explore the possibility of us running this training for you.