RYA Youth Squad
Our excellent Youth Squad is a dedicated coaching programme run by our fully qualified Royal Yachting Association (RYA) instructors for 8-13 year olds. It’s an absolute MUST for budding sailors and windsurfers, whether total beginner or more experienced ‘gun’ as we teach all stages 1-4 .
Your kids will love it in ‘Squad. They’ll get their special edition rash vest, so we know who’s in our exclusive club for young guns. And more importantly, they’ll be windsurfing and dinghy sailing with other youngsters each day, making new friends and have a whale of a time - whilst learning a new stage of their RYA syllabus for sailing and windsurfing.
Outside of lessons, your children will be in the sea, on bikes and in the pool as much as possible, with activities including kayaking and SUP'ing and time for chilling out. There’s one member of the team to every six children.
At a Glance
- Dedicated coaching for kids age 8-13
- 5 days: £195 (1 wk) £345 (2 wk)
- 5 full days a week
- Includes: 8-10 hrs windsurfing tuition (stage 1-4)
- Includes: 10-12 hrs dinghy sailing tuition (stage 1-4)
- 09.30 to 12.30 | 14.00 to 17.00
- Available during school holidays
- Free Ocean Elements Rash Vest
- Staff to child ratio 1:6
A typical day
A typical action-packed day for our Youth Squad starts at 09:30 when they join our daily Kids Clubs to start off with some organised activities led by our childcare staff. Squaddies’ will then peel away to do their lessons up until 12:30 when kids can re-join their parents for lunch.
After lunch it's straight back on the water for more coaching where the emphasis is always on fun. After their coaching session, instructors will round off the day with some alternative activities to maintain variety: like a bike ride, swimming games or kayaking. Youth Squad is a very sociable crew of budding young sailors who will wear their rash vest with pride and enjoy being in their exclusive club.
With maximum time on the water, new skills will be learnt in a safe environment where all Youth Squad members can achieve at least one RYA Youth Stage of both windsurfing and sailing by the end of the week. And go home with the certificate to prove their new skill.
What to expect – Dinghy Sailing
We structure our Youth Squad with as much time on the water as possible. The theory is taught in a fun way using games and visuals to aid learning. Then it’s out on the water where the excitement begins.
Beginner sailors will start out in our Laser Pico’s or they may join a double-handed boat with an instructor to get started. Most should be sailing their own boat solo by the end of the first morning. If they’ve done some sailing before then your kids will be charging around in their own boat from the off. More advanced Squaddies will enjoy sailing boats like the RS Feva or Laser and developing their skills with our expert coaches.
What to expect – Windsurfing
Like our sailing sessions, windsurfing has a little theory (made fun with games) and a lot of time on the water in a safe environment with our expert team always on hand.
Our expert instructors will carefully select appropriate equipment for each Youth Squad member. An Ocean Elements water sports centre has all the latest windsurfing boards from beginner to advanced level and super light rigs to make learning as easy as possible for kids.
Does my child have to join Youth Squad?
Kids don't have to be in Youth Squad to go sailing and windsurfing. Children age 13 and under are welcome to sail with a parent or guardian; while children age 14 + can join our free and inclusive adult Start Sailing and Windsurfing lesson.
If your under 13’s are happy to do water sports tasters and experiences, then our free kids club will be more than ample. If., however, they would like some coaching - they can either take private lessons or join our popular Youth Squad which gives more than 20 hours tuition in both sailing and windsurfing,
Price includes:
- 18-22 hours of dedicated RYA tuition for Windsurfing and Sailing
- Runs for 5 days a week
- All the RYA stages 1 - 4 are offered
- Youth Squad special edition rash vest
- Your RYA Certificate
- Extra supervised activities (as part of kids club)
- Small group sizes 1 instructor to 6 pupils (max)
How to Book (Limited Spaces)
Spaces for Youth Squad are limited so to avoid disappointment we always recommend pre-booking in advance. You can book online with your holiday reservation or over the phone with our sales team.
