Please select your home edition
Edition
Hyde Sails 2024 - One Design

Getting your kids into sailing? Make it fun!

by Mark Jardine 20 Mar 2017 12:38 GMT 20 March 2017
Family & Commodore's Weekend at Ripon © Ian Smith

By far the best way of increasing sailing participation is to get kids hooked on the sport. While we all know that sailing can be such an enjoyable pastime, persuading our own children of this can sometimes be a tricky task.

There are so many competing activities and pastimes on young people's radar nowadays that going sailing, and how that is done, can seem to them like a long-winded and difficult exercise. The last thing you want to hear is that they "can't be bothered".

The Open Meeting circuit for kids in racing is huge. Optimist, Cadet, Topper, 29er, Mirror, RS Feva, RS Tera and 420 fleets roam between the big UK sailing clubs for weekend events together with campervans, support RIBs and anxious parents wanting their children to be the next Ben Ainslie, Hannah Mills, Ian Walker, Alex Thomson or Dee Caffari. The reality is, and the stats are there to show it, that very few will make the leap into the British Sailing Team and even fewer still will go on to the Olympics, let alone win a medal. Competition at the top is tough and the attrition rate is high. The journey results in many broken dreams and a number of sailors quitting the sport entirely.

Family sailing has the advantage that it is also great fun for parents! If you own a yacht already you can take the kids out on it - on a good day - and just anchor up in a bay, maybe taking a kayak with you to explore the beach and have a barbecue. There are also dinghies such as Wayfarers, Wanderers, Scows, 2000s and many more which take passengers well, give kids their first taste of helming under supervision and in safety, and provide the fun 'transport' to a great day messing around on a secluded beach. With the pressures of everyday life so high, getting away for a few hours on a boat and playing on a beach can be extremely cathartic for adults as well.

Some sailing clubs are superb at making sailing events enjoyable for kids. Results are often secondary to the activities, with racing confined to the morning and rafting, dressing up as pirates and passage sails down creeks, the highlights of a 'Cadet Week'. This is what sailing should be for kids; something that has them enthusing about their day when they get home rather than moaning that they, "only finished 14th". These Cadet Weeks also lead on nicely from the RYA's hugely successful 'Push the Boat Out' days which get so many people who are new to sailing out on the water. It's no surprise to see sailing clubs which arrange fun activities are thriving while some of those with a pure racing philosophy are watching their membership dwindle.

Salterns Sailing Club near Lymington is purely for kids. Situated on a waist-deep pond, kids can go out in Optimists, Scows and British Moths with parents on hand in waders should they get into difficulty. The club is for children and run by children, with a junior committee of 12 years olds making the decisions and running the club. It's an RYA Training Centre and runs two 'Moppy Camps' each year. The key message is always to help children enjoy sailing; that says it all really. Salterns is also successful in bringing top sailors into the sport, Land Rover BAR's Matt Cornwell being one of them: a top bowman and often regarded as one of the 'nicest people in sailing'. A coincidence?

Please don't get me wrong. I have nothing against sailors racing at a high level in the big classes and Britain's place at or near the top of worldwide sailing simply wouldn't be possible without it, but I feel the 'grounding' for a sailor has to be in the fun that it is. Make their first sailing a trip out to a beach for a barbecue on a beautiful day. Don't throw them in at the deep end, crewing in a frostbite series race in January. Once they've started to love sailing at an early age they'll always come back to the fun side of sailing, no matter how competitive their sailing becomes in the meantime.

What are your thoughts on making sailing fun? Have you got a favourite spot you like to sail to with your kids? Tell us using the facebook comments below or email me directly at .

MS Amlin – Boat Insurance Specialists

MS Amlin, formerly Haven Knox-Johnston, have grown into one of the UK's leading providers in boat insurance. All policies are backed by the financial strength and security of MS Amlin Syndicate 2001, one of the largest Syndicates in Lloyd's.

We can cover the full spectrum of marine craft, from a much loved family dinghy, day boats, racing yachts, RIBS, all manner of cruising and motor boats, to brand new multi-million pound super yachts in the UK, the Mediterranean and further afield. With the support of one of the world's largest insurance groups, we deliver service based on years of experience on the water, so we do genuinely understand our clients' needs.

MS Amlin Underwriting Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

www.boatinsure.co.uk

Related Articles

The appeal of offshore
Is there still appeal? Have we made it too onerous? Why would someone take it up now? I had been pondering. Yes. Marquee events have no issue attracting entrants. Middle Sea, Transpac, Cape to Rio, Fastnet, and Hobart all spring to mind instantly, but what of the ‘lesser' races? Lots of boats in pens (slips) a lot of the time Posted on 18 May
X 195 'Turtle' Launch
The first new X One Design in 18 years! I attended a rare event in the X One Design class: the launch of a new boat. It has been 18 years since the last new X was launched, and X195 has been a project that long in the making. Posted on 17 May
Banger Racing, Back Racing and No Racing
Racing on the cheap, a return to racing for young Aussies, and ILCA struggles We start with racing on the cheap at the Colander Cup, then focus on a return to racing for the Aussies at the Youth Worlds, moving on to a complete lack of racing at the ILCA Worlds, and then looking at how SailGP should be back out on the water. Posted on 14 May
Exposure Marine Fastnet Race Kit Video Review
A set of 3 torches specifically designed for offshore racing crews It's a huge year for offshore sailing, and arguably the biggest event of the summer is the Rolex Fastnet Race. Within an hour of entries opening the Royal Ocean Racing Club had received a record 435 yacht registrations. Posted on 14 May
How Seldén Carbon Masts are made
I took a look around the Seldén Mast factory with Richard Thoroughgood to find out more I took a look around the Seldén Mast factory with Richard Thoroughgood from Seldén to find out a bit more about how the carbon tow reels become the masts that we use when out sailing. Posted on 12 May
For the love of slightly larger, even faster boats
Bring it on. No chicken chutes allowed. Celestial, the newest Cape 31 in Oz is up and racing Thank you. You have let For the love of small, fast boats run before the breeze like a superlight planning hull under way too big a kite, with immense sheep in the paddock, and the Sailing Master grasping the flare gun in his pocket... No chicken chutes. Posted on 4 May
The Allure of Timber
The longevity, and sheer beauty, of boats made of wood In these days of exotic materials, high modulus carbon and ultra lightweight construction, it's possible to overlook the longevity, and sheer beauty, of boats made of wood. Posted on 29 Apr
A look inside the Spirit Yachts yard
A close look at what makes their yachts unique Traditional skills in boatbuilding could be regarded as a lost art from a bygone era. In the world of fibreglass and carbon, the joinery and laminating techniques of wood ribs and cedar strips are a thing of the past. Posted on 28 Apr
Make me smile even wider and brighter
What's better than writing about a great programme to get people into yachting? Only one thing... What's better than writing about a great programme to get people into yachting? Well, how about actually speaking with a former participant who has then gone on to work in the industry. That's what! Posted on 22 Apr
The holistic approach of Ancasta Yacht Services
Helping owners protect their investment and keep their boat in top condition Take a look behind the wood, gelcoat and trim panels on any modern yacht or powerboat, and you'll see that they are complex things. An array of cables, hoses & pipes interconnects electronic devices and amenities which make life on board more comfortable. Posted on 17 Apr