Spring update from Welsh Sailing

With glam conditions in South Wales for our BIG Days Out, we kicked off the season in style with a variety yachting, motor, powerboat and foiling sessions.

A group of participants gained their RYA Safety Boat certificate at Cardiff Bay YC, giving them great knowledge and skills to take back to their clubs and centres.

There were also some real rewards for those who took the opportunity to gain confidence or develop their yachting and motorboating with Swansea Watersports, who tailored the sessions to meet individual needs to create a bespoke learning experience.

Commenting afterwards, Yachting Skills & Drills participant Ruth Cullen, aged 60, who is an adult returner having learnt to sail briefly as a teenager, said: “It’s been absolutely excellent. We had a chance to do berthing, we’ve been out for a sail, motored under power, done tacking and gybing… the instructor was lovely and the company was great. It was a really good experience.”

Catch up with more feedback from our participants in our Facebook reel or on Instagram.

Down the road meanwhile at Tata Steel SC, seven more Welsh sailors and instructors took off with our First Flights Foiling sessions – bringing us to a total of 23 as we run regular sessions to open up this exciting part of the sport to more people. Watch the video from foiling coach Harry Levick on Facebook and look out for more dates soon!

Keen to do something similar to stretch or refresh your skills or try something new? Look out for our BIG Weekend in the North at Plas Menai, 10–11 October 2026, when we’ll again have a wealth of one and two-day opportunities for you. Booking for our BIG Weekend will be opening in late summer - in the meantime, save the date!

Race coaching 

For anyone wanting to gain their race coaching qualification, we have an RYA Race Coach L2 Course soon at Neyland YC over the weekend of 25-26 April 2026. This course provides the skills to create a positive and safe learning environment to inspire your sailors and would-be participants are urged to sign up ASAP to secure a place:  Book now for our RYA Race Coach Level 2 course.

If you are already an RYA Race Coach Level 2 or 3 or Senior Instructor, we have a FREE Race Coach Development Day at Port Dinorwic SC /  Clwb Hwylio Y Felinheli on Sunday 17 May 2026 – offering an informative day on the water with trainer Alan Williams and fellow race coaches, providing new insights for coaching, safety management and briefings: Sign up for our Race Coach Development Day.

With our plans for a Welsh Sailing Foiling Academy, we’re also keen to support race coaches and instructors to develop the skills they need to deliver our programmes by providing training opportunities using our two WASZPs and Plas Menai’s foiling RS Aero.

For anyone who is an RYA Race Coach Level 2 or 3 with experience of foiling, we have a chance for you to add an RYA Race Coach Foiling Endorsement to your skillset on Saturday 16 May at Cardiff Bay YC, providing the practical knowhow to run foiling-specific sessions and training programmes. Book for our RYA Race Coach Foiling Endorsement.

Instructor days

We have two great value instructor development days coming up at Cardiff Bay YC to help powerboat and youth and junior instructors get set for the new season.

• Powerboat Instructor Development Day: Wednesday 1 April with Sam Chisholm, sharing ideas about session delivery, the knowledge base, latest updates and the question of ‘pass/fail/something else’. Cost just £10: Book for our Powerboat Instructor Development Day.
• OnBoard Development Day: Thursday 2 April with RYA OnBoard’s Hannah Cockle, providing fresh inspiration and new ideas for instructors and volunteers who deliver junior and youth sessions. Also just £10: Book now for our OnBoard Development Day.

We now have just ONE place left on our upcoming RYA Dinghy Instructor course at Neyland YC, with a discount for OnBoard volunteers - if you already have your pre-assessment ticked off, take a look and sign up by Wednesday 25 March.

Youth & junior

Look out for bookings opening very soon for the Dragon Series 2026 and make sure you’ve added the dates of our major youth and junior championships to your calendar!

• 20-21 June 2026 - Welsh Club Championships for youth and junior sailors at Cardiff Bay YC -main and regatta fleets – come and battle it out for individual and club prizes!
• 22-23 August 2026 - OnBoard Festival alongside the Welsh WASZP Championships at Bala SC – main and regatta fleets – ideal for those new to racing and something for experienced racers too, with try WASZPing and winging sessions as well!
• 12-13 September 2026 – Welsh Youth & Junior Championships at Plas Heli – pinnacle event in Wales and a must-do indicator for selection to the Welsh National Sailing Team.

Find out more at our Welsh Sailing Hub.

Youth sailors! The deadline for entering the RYA Youth Nationals at Hayling Island Sailing Club is looming large - the Standard Entry Closing Date is Midday Friday 20th March 2026.

And finally…

Please do share all our dates and opportunities with everyone at your club or centre, and keep up with all the latest news and announcements by following RYA Cymru Wales on Facebook and Instagram.  You may also want to stay connected by joining our RYA CW WhatsApp community. As the season warms up, we look forward to seeing you on the water!