Courses
Stewartby Water Sports Club Sailing Section School is an RYA recognised training centre. Learn to sail / Powerboat with qualified RYA Instructors. We aim to deliver your training to the highest standards and make it an enjoyable and satisfying experience; qualifications earned on RYA courses are recognised and valued in most parts of the world. We have a superb team of volunteer Senior Instructors, Instructors, and Assistant Instructors who give their time freely which enables us to offer a wide range of activity at a very reasonable cost. All our courses run over one or two days covering shore-based work and as much time as possible spent afloat. The RYA schemes are structured to enable an absolute beginner to become a safe, competent sailor or powerboater.
The school has a range of modern equipment for tuition which are also available for your use if you join the club as a member! We can supply you with all the equipment you will need to start sailing. The club has great facilities with showers, changing rooms, wet classrooms, a galley (kitchen) is generally available during the summer months. We even have a bar should you feel like celebrating your new qualification!
At Stewartby, we offer a range of different power and sail courses.
Powerboat Courses
Courses range from one to two days, covering essential topics such as boat handling, safety procedures, and rescue techniques.
Level 1 Start Powerboating
Launch and recovery (8-11 year olds to observe), preparation of boat and crew, boat handling, picking up and securing to a mooring buoy, leaving and coming alongside, man overboard (theory).
Level 2 Powerboat Handling
Launching and recovery, boat handling, securing to a buoy, anchoring, leaving and coming alongside, man overboard.
Safety Boat
Preparation, boat handling, dinghy rescue, windsurfer rescue, kayak or canoe rescue (can be covered as theory), towing, end-of-day procedures, safety, suitability of craft, local factors, communication, rescuing other water users.
Adult Sailing Courses
We offer RYA-accredited courses that guide you from beginner to advanced levels in a safe and supportive environment. These short courses, run over two days, focus on hands-on learning to help you build confidence on the water.
Dinghy Level 1 Start Sailing
How to sail in all directions, including an awareness of launching and recovering.
Dinghy Level 2 Basic Skills
Rigging, launching and building confidence sailing in all directions. Capsize recovery and essential safety knowledge.
Dinghy Level 3 Better Sailing
Further coaching to consolidate the skills learned during Level 1 - Start Sailing, and Level 2 - Basic Skills. Short taster sessions from the advanced modules such as Day Sailing and Seamanship skills.
Youth Sailing Courses
Our RYA Youth Sailing Scheme courses take part in in small dinghies, tailored to the sailors size, to ensure a fun, safe, and supportive environment. Led by expert instructors, these courses help young sailors build skills, confidence, and a love for the water.
Start Sailing Stage 1
Launching and recovery, sailing across the wind, turning around, steering and basic parts of the boat.
Start Sailing Stage 2
Improved sailing skills on all points of sail. Tacking, gybing, ropework and collision avoidance.
Start Sailing Stage 3
Improved rigging, sailing theory, launching and recovery. Building confidence in a range of sailing techniques on all points of sail and capsize recovery.
Start Sailing Stage 4
Transferring pre-learnt skills, techniques and manoeuvres to sail crewed boats, enhance rigging, launching, recovery and practical skills to recover a man overboard.
Advanced Sailing Courses
Building on the foundational RYA courses, our advanced modules let you tailor your training to match your sailing interests. Open to both adults and young people, these courses deepen your skills and enhance your experience on the water.
Dinghy Sailing With Spinnakers
Learn how to rig the boat, hoist, gybe and drop/recover one type of spinnaker, either conventional or asymmetric. Gain the knowledge and understanding to sail the best possible course downwind.
Dinghy Start Racing
All the skills required to start club racing, including basic start sequences and timing; improved tacking and gybing, using the 5 essentials to best effect and having a basic understanding of the racing rules
Dinghy Seamanship Skills
Launching and recovering the boat in different circumstances. Stopping, reducing sail, recovering a man overboard and picking up a mooring.
All of our courses are taught by RYA instructors and we operate by RYA ratios of instructors to students.
All of our 2025 course dates can be found in the calendar or can be located at the bottom of this page. To book onto any of our courses or for more information please email learn2sail@stewartbywatersportsclub.co.uk
2025 Courses
We are still in the process of confirming our 2025 dates, we aim to have them confirmed by the end of December 2024.
Last updated 13:34 on 3 January 2025