On completion of this course, you will have a basic knowledge of sailing and sailing in light winds without an instructor on board if conditions are appropriate. It will be assumed that every student starting this course has already mastered the practical skills and absorbed the background knowledge required for Start Sailing.

Over the two days we aim to cover the following:

RYA Basic Skills (Level 2): This practical course consolidates what you have already learnt on Start Sailing (L1) course and sets out the foundations for developing your sailing. Practical on water sessions include coming alongside, improved tacking, gybing and man overboard. By the end of this course you should be a competant light-wind sailor, able to confidently sail around a short course in our J80 Keelboats without an instructor onboard but coaching nearby from a RIB. Our J80 Keelboats are kept on moorings just outside the centre on the Menai Strait so you will be transferred from the slipway by RIB to the moorings and rig on the water before learning to leave and return to pick up the mooring whatever the state of the tide.

Key learning points

Rigging, reefing afloat, sailing in all directions efficiently using the essentials of sailing, man overboard recovery, picking up a mooring, use of engines if appropriate, anchoring, safety information, sailing theory of how a sail works, weather and great experience and understanding of tide sailing in our unique coastal venue.