(c) Sailing Schools Challenge 2011

The Sailing Schools Challenge is a festival programme for sailing schools with some great racing thrown in.

Professional sailors race all year round, put on fantastic corporate events, take people across oceans and facilitate any form of fun on the water imaginable. With the Sailing Schools Challenge, we would like to celebrate the people and companies that were there at the beginning – the excellent schools that work very hard to produce generation after generation of great sailors, pass on the knowledge and make sure that our enjoyment continues to be safe and fun. Welcome to the Sailing Schools Challenge!

2011 saw the first ever Sailing Schools Challenge, organised by Capstan Sailing and The Island Sailing Club. The challenge attracted 9 entries, with the idea receiving excellent feedback and promises to return in 2012.

Island Sailing Club

Is it just racing? No. There are many fantastic regattas that do just that – brutal racing. Fantastic as it is, for most schools this is not, perhaps, the way forward, as most schools are not about racing. Sailing schools teach people how to sail safely, navigate carefully, follow safety and go steady. And that’s how it should be. However, it is a great shame to just leave it at that.

So the Sailing Schools Challenge provides a fun programme of events for schools, where racing is part of it but is not the ultimate aim.

Why should you take part as a school? Make new contacts, meet new people. Listen to interesting speakers, learn new techniques. Promote your school. See what other schools are up to. Race in a safe environment. Give your students a gentle introduction to the world of yacht racing.