Watch out for these Learn To Sail courses each year.
Enrolments open 6 weeks before each course.
3 day courses in the January, April and October school holidays. The school holiday programme is an introduction course and focuses on water confidence, boat confidence & fun!
This course is great preparation for the Learn To Sail course or as a stand-alone confidence builder. The course runs 9am-3pm each day.
Upcoming courses:
APRIL SCHOOL HOLIDAYS:
Course #1:
Monday 22nd – Wednesday 24th April 2024
Course cost: $360
9 week course with two sessions a week. This programme runs for a full term with the option of Term 1 or Term 4. Sessions are Sunday 9:00am-11:50am and Wednesday 4:00pm-6:50pm. This programme will teach basic skills of sailing. The sailor will gain confidence on the water and with the boat.
Dates 2024
TERM 1:
Sun 11 February- Sun 14 April
Course Cost: $525
Have you already completed a holiday programme with us? You need to log in to your existing account and click new registration to sign up. Click here.
9 week course with two sessions a week. This programme runs for a full term with the option of Term 1 or Term 4. Sessions are Saturday’s 9:00am-11:50am and Tuesday’s 4:00pm-6:50pm. This programme will teach basic skills of sailing. The sailor will gain confidence on the water and with the boat.
Dates 2024
TERM 4:
Sat 10 February- Sat 13 April
Course Cost: $525
Have you already completed a holiday programme with us? You need to log in to your existing account and click new registration to sign up. Click here.
If the programme you want is FULL, you can still select ‘BOOK THIS COURSE’. However when you select the full programme it will say ‘waitlist’ and have no charge attached. If a space opens up we will transfer you to the programme. The fee will be applied and we will email you the programme information
WHO IS THE IDEAL SKIPPER?
Students must be competent in the water, pass a 50m sea swim test before sailing and be at least 8 years old. Most sailors start at around ages 9- 13. Weights range from 30 – 55 kg. To build confidence sailors capsize regularly at the start. There are up to 15 sailors in each course.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
You will need to provide:
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- Lunch/Snacks
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- Water
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- Towel
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- Togs
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- Wetsuit
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- Hat
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- Sunscreen
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- Beanie
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- Pen (to write in your coursebook)
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- If you have thermals or a jacket bring it along :-
We will provide:
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- The Boats
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- Life Jackets
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- A massive lost property full of free gear to help get you started if you are a few items short…
WHY SAIL?
WE COULD SAY IT’S AWESOME FUN, OR ‘COS IT’S IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD OR THAT YOU’LL LOVE THE COMPETITION, BUT, WITH AN ENCOURAGING SMILE, AS WATER RAT SAID, IN WIND IN THE WILLOWS: “THERE IS NOTHING – ABSOLUTELY NOTHING – HALF SO MUCH WORTH DOING AS SIMPLY MESSING ABOUT IN BOATS”.
WHAT BOAT DO WE TEACH LEARN TO SAIL IN?
Your young sailor learns to sail in plastic optimist dinghies, owned by the club. The club has Fevas as well which are a bigger boat with 3 sails. These boats are great for sailors to learn with a coach on board as they can be sailed with up to 4 smaller sailors at a time. The club will also supply a buoyancy vest for your lessons.
IT’S A FAMILY CLUB. HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
The Learn to Sail program is a great way to become involved in the club. You can watch the sailing from shore while meeting new and veteran club members. You are always welcome to make yourself a Tea or coffee in the kitchen while you watch.
Parent help with set up, back up, launching and retrieving is always appreciated.
Once your child has learnt to sail there are plenty of ways to get involved around the club and we offer courses provided by certified educators through Yachting New Zealand’s training programme eg: VHF and Safety Boat handling courses.
THE COACHING
We have a very large experienced coaching team. All our coaches have completed a Yacht New Zealand Coaching Course, VHF Course, First Aid Course, and a Power Boat Course.
You will notice we rotate the younger coaches to give coaching experience to as many of our junior coaches as possible. Your Head Coach and senior coaches will be nearly always the same.
We are very lucky that sailing has a culture of giving back. That means our coaching team consists of multiple World Champions and even Olympians!
All young sailors get nervous, and so do their parents. Have patience!
From the Learn to Sail Team
WHATS THE NEXT STEP AFTER A LEARN TO SAIL COURSE?
When you finish a Learn to Sail course, Sailors join our Blue Fleet. Click here for more information on Blue Fleet
ANY QUESTIONS?
If you have any queries regarding our courses, please contact the learn to sail manager via email lts@murraysbay.org.
We are grateful to Tara Menzies, Bayleys Real Estate for her support of our Learn to Sail Programme. Please support her business where you can.
“Murrays Bay Sailing Club facilitates an environment for young children to learn to sail in a fun and exciting way. We work to ensure all junior sailors will emerge with an enhanced sense of self-reliance, knowledge of seamanship, appreciation of teamwork, and a solid foundation in sailing. We will introduce your child to racing and show them how it can lead all the way to National and Olympic racing options. However, our overarching goal is to have them fall in love with the sailing lifestyle and help them appreciate how life on the North Shore – one of the world’s best dinghy sailing grounds – gives them this opportunity. “
Susannah Pyatt, Coach
