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Sailing is a fantastic, sociable sport, but one of the things that puts British people off learning to sail is the British weather. In this article, Richard Edwards, General Manager of Justactive.co.uk discusses some options for learning to sail in a warmer climate
Have you ever imagined how it might feel to be at the helm of a nice yacht, sailing along in the Mediterranean with deep blue water underneath you and the sun on your back? There is no doubt that sailing is an extremely enjoyable sport but a lot of people are put off by the prospect of sailing in a wet British weather - and put off by other people's stories of cold, wet UK sailing expeditions.
Also, another thing to consider is that where a whole family is going away, it is important that everyone on the holiday has a great time which means catering for a range of requirements.
Some of the key considerations when thinking about planning to learn to sail on your summer holiday are:
1. Do you have a preference for what sort of boat you want to learn to sail in? A yacht? Dinghy?
2. Do you want a formal qualification at the end of your course (usually RYA)?
3. Does everyone in the party want to learn to sail and if not, what do they want to do whilst the sailing is going on?
For people who want to try sailing and lots of their reservations dissolve if they are told that the sailing is going to take place in an environment like the Mediterranean where blue skies, warm breezes and warm water are the summer norm.
Most people learn to sail in a dinghy (a small, open boat) as they are highly responsive boats and one of the best ways of getting a real "feel" for how a boat moves in the wind.
It's common for yacht sailors to have started sailing in small dinghies before they graduate to something bigger.
There are a number of "beach club" holiday destinations in the Med that accommodate learning to sail in dinghies. Guests usually have a lesson for three to four days of the holiday and master the basics by the end of the first week. When not attending sailing lessons that a are able to take advantage of all of the other facilities that a typical beach club will offer such as mountain biking, tennis or just lying by the pool.
For people wanting to learn to sail a yacht there are also "one week learn to sail" courses available where you live on your yacht for the week and have daily tuition until you are competent to sail the yacht without an instructor. On day four or five of your first week you are ready to go and join a "flotilla" with a group of other yachts for a few days sailing in company -a really sociable and enjoyable end to your first week. If you want a two week holiday you can then either follow your first learning to sail week with a complete one week flotilla or have the second week at a beach club
Both the dinghy course and the one week learn to sail courses (if successfully completed) result in the people attending being awarded an official RYA qualification. These qualifications are then built on over subsequent years as more sailing courses are attended and more experience gained.
Most of a beach club holiday centres also offer lots of activities for non-sailors to keep themselves occupied. Beach Clubs by definition are based right beside a beach which will have plenty of sun loungers for those that want to watch the world go by and they nearly all have one or two swimming pools with plenty of space and for those that prefer freshwater swimming. Most Beach Clubs also have a range of mountain bikes and a guide for (early morning!) rides on local trails plus waterskiing, tennis, beauty spas and gymnasiums. The mountain bikes are usually "hard tails" from brands like Specialized, Trek and Orange although some clubs do have the full suspension bikes as well.
Sailing is a great sporting to get in to, and if you look around at what is available outside of the UK there are some great ways to combine learning to sail with a fantastic holiday for you and everyone you go on holiday with.
Richard Edwards is the General Manager of http://www.justactive.co.uk which brings a range of activity holidays to everyone.
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