Three courses from your first knot to skippering a cruiser, taught by club skippers since 1994.
Three courses
Start at the bottom with no experience at all. Each course leads to the next, and the last one lets you take club boats out on your own.
Level 1
3 days · dinghy
From your first knot to your first solo hour, in a dinghy on Spa Creek.
$495
Next: Oct 23 to 25
Level 2
5 days · keelboat
Helm a 26-foot keelboat with crew: berthing, reefing, man overboard and a night sail.
$890
Next: Nov 2 to 6
Level 3
4 days · 30 ft cruiser
Plan and sail a passage across the Bay as skipper, and take club boats out without us.
$1,250
Next: Apr 20 to 23, 2027
How we teach
You learn in a dinghy first, because a small boat answers every mistake at once. Three students to a boat and an instructor alongside in the launch, so you are sailing within the first hour.
1 : 3
One instructor for every three students
94%
Of First Sail students sail solo by day three
32
Seasons of the school, since 1994
11
Instructors, every one a club skipper
Course dates
Places are held for 48 hours when you book; the school office confirms by phone.
Oct 23 to 25
First Sail
Fri to Sun
3 places left
Nov 2 to 6
Skipper Course
Mon to Fri
2 places left
Nov 6 to 8
First Sail
Fri to Sun
6 places left
Apr 17 to 19
First Sail
Sat to Mon
9 places left
Apr 20 to 23
Bareboat Ready
Tue to Fri
4 places left
May 1 to 3
First Sail
Sat to Mon
9 places left
May 10 to 14
Skipper Course
Mon to Fri
6 places left
Juniors
Ten Saturdays each spring and autumn, $320 a term with the boat and the kit. Children learn in the boat that fits them, and the best move up to Friday racing with the club.
Ages 8 to 11
Optimists
Saturday mornings, 9:00 to 12:00
Ages 12 to 15
Lasers and 420s
Saturday afternoons, 1:00 to 4:00
Ages 16 and up
Racing squad
Friday evenings with the club fleet
Before day one
Every student gets a length of line with the joining letter. Learn these six and the first morning is all sailing.
01
A loop that will not slip or jam: for mooring lines and rescues.
02
Makes a line fast to a cleat on the dock or the boat.
03
The stopper knot at the end of every sheet.
04
Hangs fenders from the rail; quick on, quick off.
05
Ties the boat to a post or a ring.
06
Joins two ends of the same line when you reef the sail.
Questions
You should be comfortable in the water. Everyone wears a buoyancy aid, and you will capsize on purpose on day two, in the creek, with an instructor beside you.
Light rain is part of sailing. In winds over 20 knots or thunder we move the day to the next course, free of charge.
Adult courses start at 16. Under 16, the junior program on Saturdays is the place to start.
Yes. Each course ends with a club certificate, and Bareboat Ready lets you take club boats out without a skipper.
Yes, from $140 an hour with an instructor in a dinghy or a keelboat, on the days that suit you.
First Sail students who join within a month get the first month free.
