Welcome to BYC Training
If you’ve never sailed before, Ballyholme Yacht Club would love to help you.
You can learn to sail at any age – we take new sailors from the age of 3 to over 70, learning to sail in some of the safest and best sailing waters in Ireland and the UK. We are situated in Ballyholme Bay, a sheltered inlet with a large sandy beach.
Ballyholme Yacht Club is a members club but visitors are always very welcome and we are always looking for new members. We have a long pedigree in teaching sailing and hosting sailing events – from the largest club dinghy series in Ireland to World Championships.
There are lots of opportunities to have a go at sailing – “Try- a-sails” which are organised taster sessions throughout the year for individuals and families, Dolphin&Sharks, “Friday Evening Sailing”, RYA Courses from beginner level for adults and children or RYA Coaching for more advanced sailors. Private Lessons are also available for people who cannot commit to a course timetable or for younger sailors who may have trouble concentrating for a full day or weekend. All sessions are supervised and organised by RYA qualified instructors.
TRY-A-SAILS
Please see the TRY-a-SAIL page for more information
DOLPHINS & SHARKS
Dolphins & Sharks are a series of evening Try-a-sail sessions for cadet members. They run through May and June on Wednesday and Thursday evenings using our Laser Bahias, Picos and members’ own dinghies. They do not follow a syallabus and are mainly about getting more confidence on the water. Please see the Dolphins & Sharks page for more information.
“FRIDAY EVENING SAILING”
Social Sailing is a chance for adult and cadet members to get more experience on the water. Beginners can simply use their own boats knowing there is rescue cover provided from 18:00 to 20:00 weather permitting. Please note that Adult members must be “full members” – Social members are not allowed to participate in BYC organised on-water activities.
Members and non-members can hire Laser Picos by contacting Alice Armstrong but this must now be under a RYA RTC lesson plan. There will be a Senior Instructor on-site who will discuss your learning plan for the evening and who will be available for a debrief at the end of the session on the water before coming ashore, or on-land.
RYA COURSES
Ballyholme Yacht Club is an RYA Regional Training Centre and Champion Club – we offer sailing, powerboat, first-aid, dinghy instructor and race management courses throughout the year. We have adult courses, children’s courses, private lessons and all sorts of other sea-related courses, with over 200 trainees most years.
Our full-time Training Manager Alice Armstrong puts on courses throughout the year and not just in the school holidays. RYA Courses are held as a number of evenings, over weekends or as week-long courses.
Please look at our Training Calendar or the RYA website to see the vast array of courses that we are putting on this summer. Or simply click one of the windows in the panel below for more information. There are very few RYA courses that we are unable to accommodate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COACHING
This summer we are actively looking to do a lot more coaching for adults and children who have already done one or more RYA courses and want more experience/ confidence on the water before their next course, or want to improve their skills including learning to race or elite racing. Coaching will be available as individual days, evenings, weekends or weeks throughout the summer. Sessions will be tailored to different levels of ability.
SCHOOLS
We also link up with local schools (regular school games and Try-sail days) and organisations to get as many local school-children and adults on the water as possible.
For any queries about learning to sail or anything else related to training or power-boating, please email Alice or contact her at 07546198939. Or call down to Ballyholme Yacht Club and see for yourself what sailing is all about.
