Youth Sailing
Youth sailing at Keyhaven takes our competent Junior sailors who are members of KYC when they move into Year 7 and exposes them to more testing conditions, longer sailing sessions and a wider variety of sailing activities. Unfortunately, we have neither the time or permissions to run ab initio training but do offer coaching and organised sailing sessions designed to be fun, at times exciting, challenging and confidence building.
Sailing sessions are published on the KYC website and through the Teamer App. We are seeking young sailors between school Years 7 and 11 to come and sail the club owned RS Zests and Qubas, BIC Opens, a laser and sometimes a Lymington River Scow. We also have a number of club RS Tera's which are useful for the smaller sailor in heavy weather. Youths are welcome to bring their own boats.
Youth sailing at Keyhaven is not just about racing! Whilst competitive sailing is an important element of the sport and we will race during the year, we are really looking to improve sailing competence and confidence on the water. Youth sailing provides a link between junior sailing and adult sailing and therefore youths have to rig and de-rig their own boats, sign in and out and are encouraged to make their own assessments of the conditions whilst under a parent run support system.
This season we intend to thread the Needles again after the great success of past expeditions. We also plan a bar-b-que on the beach and a trip to Yarmouth. Details will be emailed to Youths nearer the time. In addition, there will be a Junior and Youth regatta in September and the Youths are encouraged to race in Keyhaven week. If the weather is good and the tides permit, we often return from our sessions via the ice cream van at Mount Lake. Youths should bring a couple of pounds for this if the weather is good.
The club boats are available to hire through the club website but are free for the youth sessions and centrally booked prior to the event.
Parent participation is essential for Youth sailing. Parents are needed to man the support boats, provide shore cover and assist in the clear up afterwards. However, parents must be members in order to meet the club's insurance terms. To run the Youth sessions, we need to crew at least two safety boats with a minimum of 1 RYA Powerboat Level 2 in each boat (a course that is regularly run at the Club). The RYA Short Range (radio) Certificate, First Aid and Safety Boat qualifications are also useful (courses that are also regularly run at the Club). Active parents will also be asked to complete a DBS check at the club (free of charge through the RYA). Parents are asked to declare any qualifications and volunteer to assist in the sessions. We are also looking for qualified dinghy instructors and coaches to add some more rigour to our sailing sessions.
It is a tradition that Youth sailors bring cake for after the sailing session! A donation of £1 per youth for each session covers hot chocolate or squash for the sailors and tea and coffee for the parents. A lot of kudos is gained by the Youths for the best homemade cake of the week, preferably with them doing the cooking and not the parents! However, we are not proud and shop bought cake is equally welcome after a hard day sailing.
If you wish to take part in Youth Sailing or have a youth who wants to make new friends and improve their sailing, please email
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Last updated 10:01 on 30 April 2024