The Royal Yachting Association

Possibly the quickest and easiest way to learn to sail.

Dinghies are small, easy to handle and generally light to launch and transport. Learn to sail on your own in a single handed boat or with a crew. You can potter about exploring your local stretch of water, join a sailing club full of like-minded people, or learn to race. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, expect to get wet!

National Sailing Scheme
The scheme is a series of two-day courses for adults wanting to learn in dinghies, small keelboats and multihulls. It has been designed to help you enjoy whichever aspect of the sport appeals to you. If you are not sure which type of boat you would like to learn in, see the 'What are dinghies, keelboats and multihulls?' link above.

Youth Sailing Scheme
You can take these courses at any age, but under 16s should start learning through the Youth Sailing Scheme – go to the ‘Courses for Under 16s’ on the left for further details.

Progression through the scheme
Following on from the early courses in both the National Sailing Scheme and the Youth Sailing Scheme, you can choose one of the five advanced modules to suit your sailing interests. eg. Start Racing, Day Sailing, Seamanship Skills, Sailing with Spinnakers and Performance Sailing. These are available to both adults and young people.

A diagram of the scheme is shown in the 'Progression of Courses' link above, showing the link between the various courses of adult and youth schemes.

Further details of each course can be found through the buttons on the left.