Aerial View

A view of the Club taken in May 2017 from a member’s drone.

RYA Training

The Club is an RYA Training Centre. It runs courses for complete beginners of all ages from 5 to 75+ and courses for more experienced sailors.

The Start Sailing/Basic Skills courses include capsize recovery drills. The drills, illustrated in this slide, may appear “scary”, but everyone who takes part agrees it’s great fun.

Commodore's Challenge

Each year the programme includes a Commodore’s Challenge to raise money for the Club’s charity.

In 2016 the challenge was to set a new Seafarers’ record for the number of boats/members participating in a Club cruise. Forty-seven members in seventeen dinghies and two RIBs crossed to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Wootton Creek and set seven new Club records.

Patrol Boat Training

Patrol Boat (PB) training is carried out at Seafarers to provide a cadre of skilled helms and crew to support Club sailing. In addition to initial training, refresher training is provided to ensure all helms remain up-to-date and familiar with Club equipment and procedures.

The slide illustrates a Club Hartley 12.2 dinghy being deliberately capsized to support PB refresher training.

Club Boats

Seafarers Sailing Club maintains a fleet of boats comprising an RS Venture, two Laser Stratos, two Hartley 12.2s, a Fusion and three Hartley Alphas (Oppies). These are primarily for training and to encourage new and novice sailors to develop their sailing skills and build their confidence before purchasing their own boat.

Club boats may also be used by suitably qualified and/or experienced members for cruising and/or racing.

Practice Sailing

Practice Sailing Sessions are available on Tuesday evenings from early June to the end of August and on Saturday mornings during July and August. Precise dates and times are published in the Programme.

Although aimed primarily at Cadets and Novices, these sessions provide an opportunity for anyone that fancies going for a gentle sail with Patrol Boat cover and, if required and available, guidance from experienced sailors or qualified instructors.

Cruising

Situated where it is, the Club is spoilt for choice when it comes to cruise destinations.

This slide illustrates Club boats beached at one of the favourite destinations, Wootton Creek.

End of Season

This is not the end of an evening race. It is the end of an afternoon race late in November.

The Frostbite Series is proving increasingly popular. With the Winter SLOSHH Series (see elsewhere), there is plenty of “out of season” racing.

Range of Dinghy Types

A variety of traditional and modern design dinghies are sailed at Seafarers including Mirror, Topaz, Laser (4.7 to 2000), RS (Feva to 600), Wayfarer, ISO and Buzz. At present the Laser is the most prolific class.

The slide shows an RS Aero, a Contender, a Solo, a Laser Radial and a Wayfarer.

Round the Island

Round the Island cruises began at Seafarers at the beginning of the 1980s and appeared in most annual programmes from 1980 to 2004.

One of the Club’s current members considers his sailing year is incomplete unless it includes at least one circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight. Consequently these marathon voyages, although not in the Programme, still usually take place once or twice each year.