The Olympic Legacy was to encourage participation in sport generally and there is no doubt that Sidmouth Sailing Club has seen an increase in the number of enquiries from people of all ages and abilities keen to learn to sail or to take up the sport again after time away from the water.

As all those who sail know, sailing is an excellent, fun sport that does not have to be expensive and, when living on the coast in such a beautiful area, where better to pursue the activity?

Sidmouth Sailing Club welcomes junior and adult members of any ability from complete novice and so if you fancy learning to sail this year the following information may be of interest to you.

The club is a Royal Yachting Association recognised training centre certified to teach dinghy sailing to adults to dinghy levels 1, 2 and 3 and children to Youth Sailing Scheme stages 1 to 4 and, in addition, the club is authorised to train power boat drivers in planing craft to both RYA Level 1 and 2 and also safety boat.

The dinghy courses are held over two full weekends and, depending on the individual students’ ability, should enable the trainee to sail safely and provide enough knowledge and experience to allow them to join a sailing club and develop their sailing skills.

Having a certificate showing the level or stage that the holder has reached also may allow them to hire sailing dinghies, for example when on holiday.

The club is presently taking bookings for the course that will be held on the 11/12 and 18/19 May 2013

The cost of the courses that Sidmouth Sailing Club offer are very competitively priced and, in most cases, considerably less than other training centres. Details of the costs can be found on our website at www.sidmouthsailing.org.uk on the training page.

Each year Sidmouth Sailing Club endeavours to provide basic sail training to youngsters aged 10 or over which are in the nature of taster sessions to see if the child enjoys the sport.

The sessions are held for six weeks on Friday nights starting on June 14. Each session lasts for about two hours with about an hour on the water. The training is in club-owned boats and provided by trained instructors. Buoyancy aids can be borrowed if required. Details of the cost and how to book can also be found on the website http://www.sidmouthsailing.org.uk.