2025 Brand New Course

Please Note* Due to a sailing Event at SYC, the Mirror Nationals, which all children on the course will be encouraged to enter.... this Week 2 of Start Racing is a 4x day week. (Monday - Thursday) (Mon-Wed 09.30-16.30 and Thursday 14.00-21.00)

Start Racing, our new 2025 course is to get our Junior Sailors club racing. In mid July the Mirror Nationals will be held at Sligo Yacht Club and this is the perfect preparation to build skill and confidence, getting the Junior Sailors race ready!

This Level 4 course is open to any dinghy sailor who has showed good progress through Level 3 Improving skills, has completed at least one week of Improving Skills, and has an active sailing log and/or equivalent proof of time spent on the water.

To book your junior sailors place on this course please read the important information below, including some exciting course time amendments, and then contact Sophie for the Booking Code …

At the core of a successful sailing club, is the promotion of its weekly club sailing and racing. We would love our student sailors to have a part in this and so, this coming season we are enabling students to join our Thursday evening club race night as part of their Level 3 + 4 (Improving Skills and Advanced Skills).

Racing is a fantastic way to hone sailing skills and improve efficiency, while having great fun! This added time on the water also enables students to clock up the required 20 hours Logbook time with Irish Sailing at the Improvers and Advanced levels. Sailors will have their new SYC logbooks signed on the night by the club Race Officer or Junior Organiser. Their Logbook will also be recorded online on the Checklick platform.

As always, our sailing courses are primarily aimed at your child having fun. However, we also endeavor to assist your child progress their sailing abilities, to become a competent and confident sailor. Sailing skill development happens at different paces for different children and hence children progress through levels at their own pace. Regular participation in club sailing will significantly contribute to your child’s confidence and skill level. In fact this is to be encouraged which is why Thursdays for Level 3 + 4, will start at the later time of 2pm and end at 9pm, to enable the children to come racing with us. Please note Monday-Wednesday will continue at the regular time of 09.30am - 4.30pm.

It is important to note that Start Racing will take a minimum of 2 weeks to complete and we strongly advise that all participants who wish to complete the level book the initial 2 weeks.

The objective of this course is to introduce you to sail boat racing and develop your skills and knowledge to a level where you can comfortably race at club and inter club level in Ireland.

We will be following the Start Racing syllabus from Irish Sailing.

As part of the course you will learn about:

Performance Tuning
Racing Rules
Start line strategy
Mark Rounding Techniques
Race Course Tactics
Optimum Boat Speed

Assessment during the course to achieve the Start Racing certificate will be continuous.

Levels Offered:

The club follow the Irish Sailing course structure

Advanced courses namely Advanced Boat Handling (Level 4) as well as this new course Start Racing (Level 3 + 4)…perfect for getting sailors ready for the racing season at SYC, which they are welcome to join on Thursdays through the Summer.

Please contact the Centre Principal, Sophie Skinner with any questions about eligibility.

Own Boat:

Students will progress and improve quickly when sailing their own boat. To this end, we encourage own boat involvement with a €50 discount to sailors who bring their boat down. Once they have completed a week of training, junior sailors can join the club racing Thursday nights in their own boat. You are welcome to leave your boat on the premises for the 6x weeks of sail training.. from 30th June to the 8th August. Of course, sailors must learn helming as well as crewing skills and so an alternating of boats will take place throughout the week to facilitate this.

Course Times: 2025 Amendment

This course now runs from 9.30am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday, with the exception of Thursday where the students will join in our SYC club racing. Thursday times are 2pm-9pm comprising of training time as well as joining our social club racing. Students will have an hour break from 5 - 6pm to eat and rest before heading back out onto the water.
SYC is not responsible for any course participant outside these above times. (This is a full day and provides great value for money!)

Conditions for acceptance to Start Racing:

Applicants must be at least 11 yrs old.
Applicants must have successfully sailed at least one week of level 3, possess an active dinghy sailing log or equivalent proof of time spent sailing.
Applicants must have their own dinghy suitable to the course they are applying for or a place in such a dinghy. A very limited number of boats are available to rent from SYC to facilitate participation for a rental fee. Please contact the Centre Principal, Sophie Skinner for more information on this option.

Booking Conditions

Sligo Yacht Club reserve the right to cancel a course if there are insufficient bookings. Fees will be refunded if we cancel a course.
All trainees agree to abide by Sligo Yacht Club - Code of Conduct.
Trainees or their legal guardians (in the case of trainees under 18yrs of age) agree that SYC may take their photograph or videos during the course and may use such material for training or on our website or other publicity material.
Sailing is a weather dependent sport and every effort will be made to make the best use of the prevailing and forecast conditions at the time of the course. However safety is paramount and sailing may be curtailed due to adverse weather conditions. Unfavorable weather conditions will not be grounds for refunds.
Trainees will be allocated a place in groups based on their sailing skillset. Our courses offer an ideal opportunity for children to make new friends and mix with others. Sligo Yacht Club cannot accommodate children being placed with friends/family unless there are pressing extenuating circumstances. If you feel that this applies to your child please contact the Centre Principal, Sophie Skinner, prior to making your booking. Refunds will not be issued based on group allocation.
Where a place is cancelled with less than 72hrs notice prior to the start of the course, a refund will only be issued where SYC is able to fill the cancelled slot. All cancellations must be done by email to the Centre Principal, Sophie Skinner on training@sligoyachtclub.ie .
Trainees become temporary members of Sligo Yacht Club for the duration of the course.

Junior Sailing Level 3 + 4 Start Racing [ Week 2 ] (4x Day Week)