Dinghy Sailing Beginners
If you are new to sailing and to Yorkshire Dales Sailing Club the way to start is to attend our free ‘Discover Sailing’ taster day on Saturday 13th April 2024 and/or to join one of our 2 hour introductory sailing sessions. In these sessions you will be given an introduction to sailing by a qualified instructor in a large dinghy with up to 4 other participants. These sessions are open to both adults and children or to family groups. You do not need to be a member to do your first session but we ask you to join the club to do further sessions, and after one or two sessions, we will encourage you to join one of our RYA beginners courses (see below). We ask for a £10 per person donation to attend the introductory sessions. The sessions will run from 10am until 12 noon, please arrive at 9.30am to register and get kitted up. The club can provide you with a wetsuit, buoyancy aid and helmet, you will need to bring your own footwear (wetsuit boots or trainers) a waterproof top and gloves. Places must be booked in advance, numbers are limited.
These beginner sessions can also be booked by beginner / novice members who want an ad hoc lesson or a bit of extra tuition.
Once you have decided you enjoy sailing you can fast track your learning by joining an RYA course. We run courses for children (minimum age 9, maximum 16) following the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, Stages 1-3 and courses for adults and teenagers (minimum age 13) following the RYA National Sailing Scheme Levels 1 & 2.
RYA Youth Scheme
The RYA Youth Sailing Scheme courses run over a series of 5 Saturday morning sessions over the summer term and 3 in the autumn term or alternatively they can join one of our intensive 3 day courses in the school summer holidays. The Saturday morning sessios run from 10am – 12 noon, participants need to arrive at 9.30am. The cost is £60 for the block of 5 sessions and £35 for the block of 3, this includes a RYA logbook and certificate.
Stages 1,2 and 3 will run on the same dates but as separate courses. Stage 1 for complete beginners, Stage 2 for those who have already completed Stage 1 and Stage 3 for those who have completed Stage 2.
RYA Courses
The RYA National Sailing Scheme courses for adults and teenagers (minimum age 13) run over two consecutive days, some are programmed at weekends and others mid week. They run from 9.30am to 5.15pm each day. The courses cost £129. Logbook and certificate included in course fee.
These courses are only open to club members. If you are not a currently a club member you can join the club for a minimum period of 3 months in order to access the course and hopefully your experience will make you want to join the club permanently! For membership please contact and for further information on RYA courses please contact Erica Caswell at
In the event of a cancellation of the course by the club, it will either be re- arranged or your course fee will be refunded. Bookings close 7 days in advance.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3