Has anyones dc managed to get in to sailing without family knowledge of sailing?

[Bbgg]

My eldest dc has done a beginner sailing course and would like to do more. But I notice at the local club they seem to expect you to be involved helping at the club. I have social anxiety myself and not sure if I could cope with becoming part of it all. Also we have no knowledge of sailing at all. Just wondering if we need to accept it’s not something he can do without heavy parent involvement.

13 to dd did her first sailing course about 5 years ago. She belongs to a club, DH usually takes her and the extent of him helping is assisting them in wheeling the boats down to the water and back, uncovering them etc. He has no sailing knowledge whatsoever. Dd has huge social anxiety so we don’t get involved in the social side

I get the impression that at younger age (primary) there are fun nights planned but at older age (teen) you are more expected to do the adult stuff? Not sure how to bridge the c
gap between. Is your dc 13 now, or 13 when started?

My son sails and I have a disability so can't help with the sailing but I volunteer to help with registration instead. It's worth a chat with the club. Any good club will be keen to welcome new sailors. Some of our best sailors are the first in their family to sail. The social events can feel a bit cliquey but I guess that's just because some people have known each other for years.

I would call the club and have a chat. If they don't feel welcoming then it's worth trying some other clubs.
It's a fab hobby! I only got into it in my late teens but had so much fun sailing at university and beyond (till I got ill)

I would talk to someone at the club about it and see what their expectations actually are, because it might just be that children who are into sailing have typically been introduced to it through a family interest, as opposed to it being required that parents become immersed in it - and it would be a shame for DS to miss out if he doesn't need to.

It's often hard to tell just from looking whether parents are active club members purely to support their child's interest or because they just love it themselves.

Also, it's the same for lots of children's activities (horse riding, skiing, ice skating, etc) where the parents end up getting stuck in regardless of their own knowledge or sporting prowess, and people are usually happy to guide parents who don't have a clue (I have been that parent many a time..).

Dc sail here too, lots of the parents just help with launching and then bringing in the boats and carting stuff to and from the shed. Some parents do nothing at all. I would just let her try it and then see how much you feel you can help.

So true! I have ended up chaperoning loads of dance / theatre school shoes despite zero knowledge when I began, thanks to DD's endless drive to perform

I was clueless when I began!

Do you have a local Sea Scout group?
OH was in them after leaving the Cubs. Plenty of opportunity for sailing and to broaden knowledge without parent interaction.

I signed my son up to sea scouts. They didn't sail once. Just endless cookery. Not sure how usual that is, although I know our other local group is a selling off all their boats

Yes, my DS has. DH and I have never set foot in a sailing boat but DS is competitive in his junior class- sails at national/ international events, is in regional squad etc.

If you are near to an Andrew Simpson Centre, DC can sail there with no parental involvement at all. My DS did his first course there when he was 6 and sailed at their weekend clubs regularly from about 7.

We bought him a boat when he was 8 so he could start going to open training and competing and from that point we did need to be involved. He was still too small to help with getting the boat on/off the car, rigging etc so we had to learn how to do all of that. It was a steep learning curve, but the class we are in is incredibly friendly and helpful. There are always people around who will help.

I still sometimes think DS is at a bit of a disadvantage because a lot of the sailors' parents can offer them advice/ coaching whereas what actually happens on the race course is completely unknown to me. However, I think it makes DS have to think for himself- he has had no choice!

It very much depends on the club.
ours has a huge youth programme and whilst it’s true that the kids that do the most have parents who sail (so may be racing themselves each week, or happy to drive around the country to events) there is a full cadets program which could take any young sailor from RYA 1-2 through to regular racing. That is partly because our club really invested in it though.
we’re also a full volunteer club so that means all roles are done by members - so while things like safety rib driving and race officer roles need quite a lot of expertise, we also have kitchen and bar roles that anyone can get stuck into. Everyone is expected to do a certain number of duties each year.
Then informally there are those that help - sorting the tables for lunch, picking up
lost property, sweeping sand out when the kids have traipsed it in - and those that fuck off home and do nothing.

if your daughter has just done RYA 1/2 she’s going to need a bit more coaching at some point, the tricky thing with sailing is that the best way to learn is to practice and keep going regularly but until you’re confident to go out in different weathers that’s tricky.
speak to the club and see what they suggest. Best would be to go down when it’s open (they might be closed for a few months now) and chat to people.
they might have a Cadets group, or supervised beginner sessions (in our club you can launch whenever the rescue ribs are out but that’s mostly racing, we do occasional free sailing sessions for confided building/fun sailing. The race cover ribs will retrieve anyone who’s capsized/being blown down tide BUT they’re not there to teach and will ask you to go ashore if it’s clear you can’t handle the conditions as the ribs need to be able to cover all boats on the water IYSWIM).
a lot depends on where you are and the type of club you have. Ours is on the sea and race focussed. An inshore lake or reservoir might be easier to get out on as a beginner.
the traditional route is to learn in a double hander with an older teen or adult, so if there’s anyone who might offer taht id definitely take them up on it.
broadly speaking, if you’re not sailors but want to support your daughter in sialing taht will be encouraged, probably welcomed with open arms. Sailors all want more people to enjoy their sport.
poeple will be willing to help if you’re not sure how to rig the boat or launch, but be careful to get there with plenty of time so you’re not asking another parent just as they’re trying to sort their own kids, invest in some wellies or waders so you can help pull trolleys (not just your own) back in and out, and if you rent a club boat be sure to ask exactly how to derig, wash it down and put it away after - my husband runs the youth boat fleet at our club and there is nothing worse than having to constantly fix the borrowed boats after because someone left the sail on the beach/the cover off/didn’t mention something broke etc.
Sorry, that’s an essay, dm me if I can help any more!

<Waves at 2reefs> Oppie, Tera or Topper squad I’m guessing! Probably seen you at an inland’s 😂

👋Toppers. He has an ILCA too now, the driveway is groaning a bit!

In some ways I think it is easier to go down the squaddie route for a non-sailing family because so much age-appropriate coaching is provided. That doesn't always seem to be the case if trying to start through club sailing. It does mean you have to be ready to travel though.

Thanks so much for all the replies. He has done rya 3 now. There is a local sailing trust which takes them through the rya levels and provides race training . But after that it’s joining a club. The one local to us actually has a rota for parent help. There is another club which is an hour drive away which I could look in to further

Also wonder if doing a sailing holiday as a family might help so I have better understanding of it all myself

I do have him on waiting list for the local sea scouts. I think it is quite popular so no places available just now

It's likely parent help can just consist of shore duties, which pretty much anybody could do.

The junior boats are very easy to rig and de-rig, it wouldn't take you long to learn that. We learned by standing in the garden with the boat and a youtube video. I wouldn't be able to rig a Feva though and definitely not a 29er- way too many stringy bits for me.

Are you planning on buying a boat? After a bit of race training you can go to open training for the class of your boat. That is a great springboard into the sailing world.

My brother has. He had cancer as a teen and was offered a sailing course with the Ellen McArthur Trust as a kind of therapy. He loves it. My family have no knowledge of sailing and certainly aren’t the type to own boats, but he travels a significant distance to sail, and spends several days on the water at a time.

Yes I would consider buying him a boat. Do they just store them at the club?

We keep ours at home because we travel a lot and having to go and get it from a club every time would be a hassle. DS's sailing is not club based at all, although we are a member of one.

If you have a club that is very active for juniors there might be enough to do there to keep it interesting, but it is fun to be out on the circuit with your own fleet and so much coaching & progression is available through the pathway.

It depends on the club.

For any Londoners, this place is fantastic, and parental input not required

www.westminsterboatingbase.co.uk/

It's a charity to provide water sports to DC who would not otherwise be able to access them, and is v cheap for all youth members. (Makes its money by grants, bequests, venue hire and selling full priced adult courses)

So being out on the circuit involves going to other clubs around the country and competing in their events?

You go to venues arranged by the class you are in. You will have a local circuit and then there will be a national circuit. For us, the local circuit involves coaching on a Saturday and then racing on a Sunday. Loads of information about toppers here:
www.itca-gbr.co.uk/

There are then squads you can qualify for through the RYA which provide additional coaching.

What boat/class would suit your DC depends on their age and size e.g. Toppers are ideal for 8-15yo between 30-60kg. Optimists and Teras for smaller juniors and ILCAs for stronger juniors and youth.

Yes squads are a great way to access trainings, but it’s totally optional. Some excellent young sailors army our club never do squads or most travellers events, they just sail at the club almost every day it’s on (and have still done be really well at some national championships).
its an option slightly further down the line but you’d probably want to get a first season of club racing in (assuming they want to race!) first.