NOTE: Saturday 19th October – CANCELLED due to Power Boat course
Apologies, I will have to cancel Junior club for this month (October) as there is a Power Boat course scheduled on that day and hence will be no safety cover.
If you have any questions please contact Mark Carver
Next Event: Scheduled for 16th November (Weather permitting)
Welcome to the Juniors page of the FOSSC website .. This page is everything we can offer our Junior members from complete novice to great sailors.
If you have any contributions for suggestions for this page please let us know
Mark Carver and Steve Brooks.
Junior Club
Junior Club happens once per month. During 2024 this will be on the 3rd Saturday of every month from 12:30 to 4:00. The aim of Junior club is to allow our Junior club members an opportunity to get out sailing in a safe environment, hopefully improve their sailing skills and knowledge and have a bit of fun along the way.
We have been taking a slightly different approach since Jan 2022. We will have more structured sessions which incorporate some learning through on water games and activity (weather permitting otherwise land based activity).
Parents can stay and chill, stay and help or drop and run! If you wish to do the drop and run you will have to follow some simple rules. (Contact form, sign in and sign out).
You are welcome to use your own boat and we will also make the club boats available on a first come first served basis. Parents will need to help to rig the boats and store away at the end.
Dates for next few months will be :-
- February 15 @ 12:30 pm
- March 15 @ 12:30 pm
- April 19 @ 12:30 pm
- May 17 @ 12:30 pm
- June 21 @ 12:30 pm
Other dates to be added but also likely to be 3rd Saturday of the month!
Junior Training
2024 Sail Training is now complete! 2025 Courses available to book from Jan 2025, these will start during late April / May
There is a structured programme of RYA sail training that FOSSC delivers. For juniors this falls into 2 categories; For the younger sailor 7 – 11, there is the Optimist training which runs from level 1 to 3 and for the 11+ sailors there is the Youth Sailing Scheme (YSS) which has levels 1 to 4.
Optimist Level 1 – 3
This is a great way for younger sailors to start and gain independence in a boat. The Optimist is a safe boat (especially at FOSSC) really hard to capsize. Once the initial skills have been learned the young sailor can progress through the grades.
Youth Sailing Scheme (YSS) 1 – 4
The YSS again provides a path for sailors wanting to start sailing and may only have limited exposure to sailing through the Optimist program. This sailing program progresses all the way through to sailing a two person boat with a spinnaker!
A link to our youth training page can be found here .. https://www.fossc.org.uk/wp/rya-youth-sailing-course-yss/
Junior Week
2025 Date TBA
A highlight in the FOSSC calendar for every club Junior in school years 6 – 13. This week normally happens the 2nd week into the summer holidays. It’s packed with lots of fun and games on the water, sometimes even sailing! It offers the opportunity to camp at the club, going to the midweek BBQ and basically have a great fun week. This week is run by Junior Instructors who have all enjoyed many Junior weeks!!
Junior Racing Series
For the more serious Junior there is also the opportunity to race in your own series. Whilst Juniors are more than welcome to enter any race at the club they are often put off by some competitive and sometimes grumpy adults. The Junior series which starts towards the end of the Junior training is an excellent opportunity to compete with other kids and even win some silverware.
Friday Night Social Sailing
Not exclusively for kids but very well attended by families, this is a great opportunity to sail and have some fun. During the summer we meet every Friday from about 5.00 … again lots of sailing and lots of fun, maybe even a BBQ.
D of E
The club has supported a few junior members in their endeavours to gain their Duke of Edinburgh award from that scheme. In the past the Junior has signed up to helping out with the Sailability mornings throughout the summer season. If you are interested in undertaking the volunteering aspect for your DofE award please contact us.
Beyond YSS-4 ..
Once you have completed your level 4 training you have the option to help with training aspects at the club. Helping with training may allow you to become an Assitant Instructor (AI). This award is given by the clubs Chief Instructor and is based on a minimum of 20 hours helping with training in the early part of a season along with a 1/2 days session later in the season to demonstrate your sailing ability up to YSS level 4. A short presentation on a sail training topic is also required.
Having gained the AI status you are free to help out with training at the club, under supervision of a trained Dinghy Instructor(DI). Once you achieve AI status you may be invited to undertake the RYA Dinghy Instructor program. This entails some pre-evaluation, a 5 day course, safety boat L2 and first Aid qualifications … Lots to do but a great qualification that you can then use at the club to train others and support the Junior week.