Members Youth Sailing
Youth Sailing
Our Youth Sailing is a thriving and growing part of the club. We run regular parent-led sessions with the aim of providing a safe and fun environment for children to come along and enjoy being on the water. The non-sailing children are called Peanuts, and have the chance to get out on the water to experience being on a boat and getting used to how different that feels from dry land, whilst having lots of fun learning! Once they can sail (RYA Level 1 and upwards) they become Cadets and can join the sessions designed to improve their confidence and ability whilst still having fun!
HRSC is a member's club and relies on the support of its members to enable the running of events. Throughout our events the safety and welfare of the participants is always a high priority. Numbers may be limited during a session, dependent on sailing conditions and availability of equipment and personnel. Each child under the age of 16 years must have a responsible adult on site with them at all times during each session.
Group leaders:
- Youth Sailing Leader- Alice Ryan
- Social Coordinators - Carla Folty's and Alison Soole
- Peanut Group Leader - James Lutley
- JC's Group Leader's - Shaun Murphy & Eliot Motherwell
- Cadet's Group Leader's - David McDougall & Tom Hart
- Topper Group Leader - Mike Robinson
- Youth Race Coordinator - Coriolan Rousselle
- Feva Goup Leader - position vacant
- 15+ Group Leader - Caroline Armstrong
To contact anyone on the above list please email cadets@hrsc.org.uk and the message will be sent to the appropriate person.
Youth Sailing Groups
Our Youth sailing sessions are split into groups to help make sure that your child gets the most out of their time on the water with us this year. Groups are split by sailing experience, age and boat. Each group is led by a parent or team of parents.
Youth Sailing Sessions
We run sailing sessions throughout the year for our club members to participate in, with dedicated taser sessions for non-members to try sailing at HRSC. There is no charge for club members but non-members will be charged £10 per taster session, for a maximum of two sessions, after which they will need to join the club as members.
All sailors must be signed up to sail the Wednesday prior to the session. Any sailor not signed up will not be able to sail due to needing to control numbers for safety.
The sessions we offer at HRSC include:
Early Season Sailing January to March
These sessions are scheduled once a month from January to March, the aim of the sessions are to allow some additional time on the water during the winter months. Sailors attending these sessions are encouraged to enter the Junior Warming Pan.
Saturday Youth Sailing April to September
These twice a month sessions run over the high tide of a Saturday, which means session times can change. These sessions are open to all youth sailors from Peanuts through to the advanced cadets. During the session sailors are split in to their groups for on the water activity and then everyone can come back to the club house after sailing for socialising.
Friday Youth Sailing April to September
Alternate to the Saturday sessions. The Friday sessions provide the cadet group and higher, the opportunity to get out on the water on a weekly basis, to practice there skills and have fun. In 2021 the 3 Race squads also had the opportunity to participate in combined clubs racing against Warsash and the Royal Southern
Team Racing training April to October
Running once a month, learn how team racing works and get involved team racing against other sailors and clubs on the river.
Monthly Racing May to October
The club runs regular racing for club members once a month. This is for all adults and children and all types of dinghy's to take part in. Youth sailors must be at least RYA 3 to sail without an adult or experienced sailor.
Winter Youth Sailing October to December
6 sessions that will start at the end of October and carry on into December. These sessions are open to all sailors with stage 1+ and split into 4 different groups, each led by a club instructor. The focus of theses sessions will depend upon the group's and will focus on developing skills learnt over the summer..
Dinghy Racing
HRSC runs a number of dinghy racing events throughout the year.
Open Events
Our open events are always popular with club members and our friends and neighbouring clubs. Our open events are available to club members and non-members in a variety of classes. Please visit our open events page
Our most notable events scheduled throughout the year for our Youth sailors are:
- HRSC Junior Warming Pan
- Topper Open Event
- HRSC Summer Regatta
- Feva Open Event
- RS Tera Southern Championships
- Optimist Open Event.
Monthly Racing
Racing for all club members on the First Sunday of the month. Is open to junior and adult sailors. Racing consists of 4 races with a discard, and results are calculated using the Portsmouth yardstick handicap. All dinghy's welcome to attend, club boats are available to use.
Racing at Warsash
HRSC members are encouraged to take part in Class & Handicap dinghy racing organised by Warsash SC on Wednesday & Saturdays. Wednesday evening racing takes place between April & September with first starts at 1830 or a little earlier towards the end of the season. Sailing Instructions will be available on this web site and in the club house by March . Further details are published on the Warsash SC web site
What you need to go sailing
What do children need to bring?
- Buoyancy aids (correctly fitted) to be worn all the time OUTSIDE of clothing. If you are not wearing a buoyancy aid at the group briefing then you cannot sail. The club has buoyancy aids available to hire at £1 a session. Please ensure these are re-turned after use
- Full length wet suits and splash jackets are recommended, especially before the end of June or in cold conditions
- Shoes or wet boots which can get wet/muddy no bare feet, wellies or crocs.
- Sailing gloves
- Helmets are recommended for young and inexperienced Cadets. A limited number are available to hire at £1 a session from the Club.
- A hat and sun cream are needed (even if it's not a sunny day, children can still get sunburnt!)
- Shower facilities are available in the Club bring a towel
- Complete change of dry clothes and a towel
Please ensure that all belongings are clearly labelled so they can easily be returned with their owner. All children will need a medical form completed for their first session of the year.
What do parents need to bring?
- Buoyancy aid
- Clothing to get afloat or go into the water
- Suitable shoes to walk into the water
- Enthusiasm and patience
Youth Session Procedures
1. Sign up your family up to sail on the club website by Wednesday at 6pm.sign up by emailing cadets@hrsc.org.uk
2. Arrive at the club for the time indicated on the boat allocations email. This is usually 1 hour before the children's group briefing.
3. Safety briefing: If you are a group leader, on a safety boat or shore safety you will need to attend the group leader/safety briefing in the club house with the officer of the day.
4. Sign in your child in and collect coloured band for their group. You may need to complete a medical from and pay for equipment hire.
5. Equipment set up :Help to assemble the safety boat fleet and club dinghy's.
6. Children's briefings with the group leader just before heading out on the water. This is usually held in the dinghy park. Children must be dressed and ready to sail at this briefing
7. Enjoy the sailing session, and actively participate on/in the water. All parents must remain onsite and are allocated a duty to assist with the running of the session.
8. Pack up: Help with packing equipment away, ensuring boats are clean and any breakages have been reported to the OOD or Group leader.
9. Sign Out: Ensure your child has returned their band so that we know everyone is safe and ashore.
10. Socialise: Join us in the club house after sailing for refreshments from the kitchen and bar.
Parent Roles
Officer of the day: The officer of the day is a nominated parent who is in charge of safety during the session. They are the primary on shore contact for group leaders. The OOD needs to arrive at the club 15 minutes before the group leader/safety briefing to open up the club. The OOD will deliver the safety briefing and then remain onsite for the remainder of the session. Any incidents or breakages must be reported to the OOD.
Safety boat Driver or Crew: All safety boat drivers must be PB2 trained. Safety boat drivers and crew must wear a buoyancy aid whilst out on the water and be prepared to enter the water if needed. If you are on a safety boat please make sure you boat is ready and on moored to the wall, with the appropriate equipment (e.g. buoys, safety pack, paddle) before the children's briefing. As a reminder kill cords should be worn at all times, around your leg. The safety boat drivers and crew must attend the group leader/safety briefing.
Rigging support: Based in the dinghy park parents in this role will help to ensure that the club sailing and safety boats are rigged correctly and ready to sail. After the session the equipment will need to be put away in the correct place. Any equipment that has been broken during the session needs to be reported on the club notice board.
Shore Safety: Parents allocated to shore safety are located on the slipway to help the safety boats and children launch at the beginning of the session. This group of parents then support the junior cadets on the beach during their session. At the end of the session parents on shore safety support are required to help all groups recover their boats (dinghy and safety). Parents will need sensible clothing and shoes that can get wet
Registration/Kitchen/Bar: The parents in this role will collect medical forms, any money and give each child a numbered band. Whilst the sailing session is happening these parent will be responsible for opening the club bar and kitchen for after sailing social activity.
Social Events
HRSC is all about fun on and off the water.
We aim to open the bar and kitchen up after every Saturday sailing session and the bar after every Friday session for you and your family to return to the club house and enjoy a social atmosphere over a drink with other parents whilst your child spends time with their sailing friends.
On the water we hope to add some excitement to our normal sessions with social sail-aways and a picnic in Badnam creek providing on the water fun for all the family.
Onshore activities to look forward to include discos, film nights, easter egg hunts and a possible camp. All social events are available to members. Some events may come at an extra cost.
Some socials can be found on the club website others will be emailed out as more information becomes available.
Any parents with social ideas wanting to get involved and support our social coordinates please let us know.
If you're coming along for the first time, please take the time to read the documents below.
Please completed the medical declaration and disclaimer for each child sailing before coming along, you can now do this online
Click here to view this years Cadet Sessions
HELPFUL INFORMATION ABOUT RIGGING OPTIMISTS Follow link below
Last updated 13:17 on 16 April 2024
