Dinghy Start

RYA Start Sailing (adults) / Youth Stage 1+2 (kids)

Course length

5 days or 2 weekends

Pre-requisite experience

None required

Course overview

A foundation course for those new to sailing, quickly building a solid skills base, enabling you to enjoy sailing and gain confidence in a variety of craft.

RYA Start Sailing course syllabus (adults)

Rigging

• Wind awareness. Knowledge of spars and rigging, parts of the sail, sail controls and foils

Ropework

• Ability to tie a figure of eight knot, round turn and two half hitches and secure a rope to a cleat

Sailing techniques and manoeuvres

• Wind awareness
• A practical understanding of the following manoeuvres:
• Reaching - sailing across the wind
• Stopping - lying to
• Controlling speed
• Tacking - turning the front of the boat through the wind
• Getting out of iron
• Sailing upwind
• Sailing downwind
• Gibing - turning the back of the boat through the wind

Launching and recovery

• Ability to secure a boat on a trolley
• Understand the principles of:
  • Wheeling a trolley clear of other boats and overhead cables
  • Launching and leaving the shore
  • Coming ashore and recovery of boat
  • Wind awareness ashore

Sailing theory and background

• Awareness of other water users
• Basic knowledge of rules of the road - power versus sail, port versus starboard, overtaking boat, winward boat

Clothing and equipment

• Understand the importance of personal buoyancy

Meteorology

• Awareness of onshore and offshore winds
• Understand sources of weather information

Capsize recovery

• Understand the basic theory and importance of staying with the boat

RYA Dinghy Youth Stage 1 course syllabus (kids)

Rigging

• Ability to assist with rigging a boat

Launching and recovery

• Ability to launch a dinghy and get underway with instruction
• Ability to secure a boat to a trolley
• Assist with recovery and stowage of dinghy gear

Ropework

• Ability to tie a figure of eight and cleat a halyard

Sailing techniques 7 manoeuvres

• Can be a responsive member of crew under instruction
• Can steer when sailing and being towed
• Can steer on a reach and go about
• Understand the effect of basic boat controls
• Understand the basic principles of stopping, controlling speed and getting out of irons
• Can paddle or row
• Can call for assistance

Clothing and equipment

• Can put on personal buoyancy correctly
• Confidence in the water wearing personal buoyancy
• Understand personal safety - and knows what to wear for sailing

Capsize recovery

• Understand the importance of staying with the boat

Sailing background

• Ability to name basic parts of the boat
• Understand what action to take to help those in distress
• Understand local hazards
• Understand how to prepare for a tow

Meteorology

• Knowledge of wind direction

RYA Dinghy Youth Stage 2 course syllabus (kids)

Rigging

• Can put a boat head to wind for rigging
• Can rig a dinghy

Launching and recovery

• Understand how to manoeuvre a trolley clear of other boats and overhead cables
• Can lauch 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
• Can crew a boat effectively
• Can sail a shallow triangle across the wind under supervision
• The five essentials
• Returning to the beach

Capsize recovery

• Can be scooped in during recovery exercises
• Can right one type of dinghy

Sailing Manoeuvres

• Understand the No Go Zone
• Understand what is meant by winward, leeward and gybe

General

• Spars and rigging
• Parts of the sail
• Sail controls and foils
• Offshore and onshore winds
• Telling someone ashore
• The dangers of man made hazards

Rules of the road

• Knowledge of the Port/Starboard rule

Meteorology

• Understand several ways of finding wind direction

Clothing and equipment

• Can choose and correctly adjust a personal buoyancy aid
• Understand what to wear