Otley Sailing Club
Loads of work to be done throughout the year.
The current list of jobs is here:-
✅ Club boats available to hire ✅ Powerboats on the water ✅ Galley serving lunch & Barbecue available (bring your own food)
Something for everyone on our Club Family Days
This Dinghy Sailing course is designed to follow the RYA "Start Sailing" and "Basic Skills" (Levels 1 & 2) Adult syllabus.
On successful completion of this course you will be able to sail a dinghy in any direction and rig and launch in moderate weather conditions. The RYA Level 2 certificate is an Internationally recognised sailing qualification and an indication that the holder has a basic level of understanding and practical competency.
The syllabus covers practical sessions such as rigging, launching and recovery, sailing techniques and manoeuvres, ropework and capsize recovery. Background theory includes subjects such as "rules of the road", basic meteorology, clothing and equipment and emergency equipment.
Tuition is given by trained and qualified RYA dinghy instructors with an emphasis on safety and fun! There will be Safety Powerboats on the water at all times to ensure your safety afloat.
The course will be run over 2 Thursday evenings and 2 weekends to give you maximum time to fulfil the requirements of the syllabus. It is really important that you can attend ALL of the practical and theory sessions as it is not guaranteed we can help you catch up with things missed.
Dates
Thursday Theory evenings 7pm - 9pm
28th August & 4th September 2025
Practical weekends 9am - 4pm
30/31 August & 6/7 September 2025
Please note that the minimum age for the RYA Adult courses is 16 (there is no maximum age!).
Otley Sailing Club prides itself in truly offering "Sailing for All" and as such, we welcome disabled sailors on our sail training courses. We have trained and experienced volunteers who are used to dealing with disabilities of all kinds so virtually anyone can enjoy the thrill of sailing!
If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Cancellations
If you need to cancel, please give us as much notice as you can. If you cancel more than 4 weeks before the start of the course we will refund your course fee. If you cancel within 4 weeks of the start of the course, a refund will only be given if we are able to fill your place.
Cancellation by Otley Sailing Club:
1, Every attempt will be made to ensure the course takes place. However, Otley Sailing Club reserves the right to cancel a course at any time if it believes on reasonable grounds that cancellation is necessary due to unsuitable conditions. 2, Otley Sailing Club reserves the right to cancel a course at any time if the number of Trainees fails to reach a workable minimum, such numbers to be determined by Otley Sailing Club. 3, In all other cases, weekend courses may be cancelled up to 3 weeks prior to the start date. Longer courses may be cancelled up to 4 weeks prior to the starting date. 4, If a course has to be cancelled, Otley Sailing Club will offer Trainees the following options: 4.1, a full refund of the course fee paid 4.2, an alternative course on the same date or a different set of dates The Otley Sailing Club liability does not extend beyond points 1-4 above.
Safety
In addition to enjoyment and learning new skills, safety is of paramount importance on all Otley Sailing Club courses. Clearly, water sports and adventure activities are hazardous by their nature and participants must accept that there are risks and the inevitable bumps and scraps which happen during the thrills and spills of fast moving activities. To manage the risks so far as we are able, Otley Sailing Club has a 'safe system of work': - we only use qualified experienced staff - we provide a range of safety equipment for participants' comfort and safety. - we provide safe equipment for your course. - we teach to RYA recommendations and guidelines, in small groups. - we have robust management and safety systems which have been inspected by approved bodies such as the RYA
- we reserve the right to modify or cancel an activity if we feel that there are unmanageable risks.
Insurance
Our boats and instructors carry public liability insurance, however sailing is a challenging adventure sport and we do not offer cover for any courses in respect of cancellation, curtailment of your course or self-caused accident to yourselves or others, if you are worried about this we recommend that you take out personal insurance.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, there are no SUP Yoga sessions this month.
We're very excited to be working once again in conjunction with Everyday Lifestyle to offer SUP Yoga Sessions at Otley! The sessions will be run by accomplished ASI instructors with many years experience in stand up paddling and Yoga.
The lessons are 1 hour long, for a maximum of 6 paddlers. They are suitable for adults (over 16 years) who have completed a previous beginners class, or who are experienced paddleboarders, and for Yoga enthusiasts (for whom paddleboarding experience is not essential).
For those not familiar with the lake at Otley, it's an enclosed flat water location that provides a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere full of natural beauty and wildlife.
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the lesson starting.
What equipment do you provide & what do I need to bring?
You'll need to bring a swimsuit to go under the wetsuit, towel and footwear, either water shoes or old trainers.
All equipment will be provided - Wetsuits, buoyancy aids, paddles and a range of paddle boards with leash. We have a range of boards O'Shea, Starboard, Red Paddle and STX.
Also today, for those new to paddleboarding, we have morning and afternoon Beginners Stand Up Paddleboard Training Sessions.
For links to all of our upcoming SUP beginners sessions, SUP intermediate sessions and SUP Yoga sessions please visit: Stand Up Paddleboard Training
We're very excited to be working once again in conjunction with Everyday Lifestyle to offer Stand Up Paddleboard sessions. The sessions will be run by accomplished ASI instructors with many years experience in stand up paddling.
The lessons are 2 hours long, for a maximum of 6 paddlers (per course) and are suitable for adults (over 16 years) of all abilities. For those not familiar with the lake at Otley, it's an enclosed flat water location that provides a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere full of natural beauty and wildlife.
Is the Intermediate course the right course for me?
If you can both stand up and steer reasonably well then the intermediate course would be good for you. Rather than focusing on the basics, the intermediate course teaches you how to paddle more effectively so you can go faster or further with less effort and also how to do better turns. On the other hand, if you are not yet confident standing and steering then the beginners course would be best for you.
Thursday evening sailing session for Youth & Junior members this September / October.
✅ Club boats available to hire ✅ Powerboats on the water
During September we also have adult improver sessions running at the club.
What will be happening?
Kind of depends on who we have each week and what the weather is like. There's no need for everyone to do the same thing - feel free to just go sailing on your own with a powerboat to keep an eye on you, or we can arrange some races, coaching, try out different boats, whatever.
Meet at the flag pole for 6:15 ,changed and ready to go on the water so we can make a plan.
Cant quite make 6:15 ? pop a message on the Junior WhatsApp group so we know to expect you later.
Timings may have to change in October depending on daylight hours.
Adult Improver Sessions
Focusing on a different aspect of sailing each week this is an ideal opportunity to improve your sailing, and get more time on the water under experienced supervision.
We're beginning with Thursday evening sessions (£10 plus boat hire) and then, when the light goes, will move on to monthly Saturday mornings (£15 plus boat hire) .
Each session will have a focus, but all of it will improve your sailing!
Sessions might include:
Sign up to each session individually, at least three days before, so we know our numbers.
Cancellation: If you can't make a session please give us as much notice as possible. If we have to cancel a session we will do the same and issue a refund.
OSCs Autumn Regatta day & the busiest sailing day on the calendar. The day includes Barts Bash, The Norman Stephens Trophy & a North Sailability Traveller Series race
Three races are scheduled - the first about 10:45 .
Sailability Race - we'll have all the club boats on the water so everyone can join in. Notice of Race for the Northern Sailability Series is here: NOR Sailability Traveller Series 2025.pdf
Barts Bash - a unique race that connects clubs, sailors, and water lovers around the world. Each participating venue hosts its own event – big or small – and all results are fed into one global leaderboard. HGelps raise vital funds for the Andrew Simpson Foundation and local sailing clubs – supporting grassroots sailing and projects around the world
Norman Stephens Trophy Race with prizes for adult and junior racers.
Club boats available to hire all day.
At this stage it's really helpful to know how many sailors and helpers are planning to join in so please register your interest :-)
The OSC Bonfire night
There will be the usual fantastic fireworks, bonfire, bar and locally sourced award winning pies, pasties and sausages.
Please note that this event is only open to our Members and Members guests, please feel free to invite your family and friends.
Tickets are £?? per person, under 5s are free, if you're booking for more than one person, you'll need to add them as guest(s), when you register.
Food Available to pre-order
Working parties are taking place on Saturdays in the run up to Bonfire night. We'll be tidying up the shore line and building the bonfire, please come down and help out. The more help we get, the bigger the bonfire!
Registered Charity Number : 1160253
