No experience needed
Beginner
Working towards RYA Stage 1. Launching from the beach, steering and the basic controls. The instructor stays in the boat all week, with a maximum of three children per boat.
A proper RYA youth dinghy sailing course at Prestwick Sailing Club. Six weeks running across July and August 2026, with an RYA certificate at the end of every one. They'll come home wet, tired, and asking when the next week is.
Monday to Friday, 9:30 until 4:30. Your child sails with an RYA-qualified instructor following the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme. The same syllabus you'd find at any recognised training centre in the country, taught off our beach in Prestwick.
We run six weeks across the summer, all the same format. £299 covers the lot: boat, kit, all five days of instruction, the RYA stage certificate at the end of the week, and a year of PSC club membership as part of the same booking. Pick the week that suits your holidays and we'll handle the rest.
Every week runs Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 4:30, with the certificate presentation on the Friday afternoon. All four level groups run in parallel each week, so whatever stage your child is at, there's a place for them.
Earlier weeks tend to book up first. If you're looking late on, try weeks 5 and 6.
Drop-off at the club, buoyancy aids on, group briefing with the instructor. Then we get the dinghies out and rig them on the beach.
Beginners stay close to shore with the instructor in the boat with them. Stage 2 and 3 work further out as the week goes on. Advanced groups go further again.
Everyone breaks together. Bring a packed lunch and a refillable water bottle. There are refill taps on site.
Usually a second session on the water. If the wind or weather isn't playing ball, the instructor swaps in theory, ropework or shore-based skills instead.
Boats back in the shed and kit packed away. Pick up at the clubhouse.
Before the day finishes on Friday, every sailor who completed the week is presented with their RYA stage certificate. These sit on the national RYA Youth Sailing Scheme and are recognised across the UK, so they carry over wherever your child sails next.
Parents and guardians are warmly invited. It's the part of the week most families want to be there for, so do try and come along if you can.
Children are grouped on Monday morning by the RYA stage they've already completed, not the one they're working towards. The certificate they earn on the Friday is the next stage up. Most kids in the beginner group have never been in a boat before. They aren't out there on their own either, the instructor stays in the boat with them all week.
No experience needed
Working towards RYA Stage 1. Launching from the beach, steering and the basic controls. The instructor stays in the boat all week, with a maximum of three children per boat.
Already done Stage 1
Rigging the boat, points of sail, tacking, and some ropework and theory. This is also where sailors get their introduction to single-handed boats, sailing solo for the first time.
Already done Stage 2
Tidier tacking, an introduction to gybing, sailing on all points of sail, and more independent manoeuvres in single-handed boats.
Already done Stage 3
The RYA's post-Stage-3 modules: Stage 4 (more challenging conditions), Seamanship Skills (knots, navigation, weather) and Start Racing (rules, starts, tactics).
Please note. Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable. The one exception is if the wrong level was selected by mistake at booking, in which case the ticket can be refunded so you can re-book the correct one. There's also an online medical and consent form sent with your booking confirmation, which must be completed before day one.
We're pretty relaxed about kit. The dinghy, buoyancy aid and sailing kit are all provided, so a complete beginner can turn up with a packed lunch and basic personal kit and do the full week.
Prestwick Sailing Club is a recognised RYA Training Centre. The syllabus we teach and the certificates we award are part of the national RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, so they carry weight at any sailing club in the country.
Every instructor running a session holds a current RYA qualification. Safety boats are on the water any time sailors are.
When you book you'll get a confirmation email with a link to a short online medical and consent form. It must be completed before your child's first day. No completed form, no going on the water.
In the beginner group, one RYA-qualified instructor sits in the boat with a maximum of three children. From Stage 2 upwards, sailors move into single-handed boats and the instructor supervises from the water.
Yes, that's the norm. Most kids in the beginner group on Monday morning haven't been in a sailing dinghy before. The instructor stays in the boat with them all week, with a maximum of three children per boat. By Friday they're usually doing things on the water you wouldn't have predicted on Monday.
6 to 18. Sailors are grouped by previous experience rather than strictly by age, so younger and older children are placed where they'll learn best.
No, it's not required. The buoyancy aid and sailing kit we provide cover what they need to be safe and able to sail. If you already own a wetsuit, by all means bring it. Quite a few families do, especially on colder or windier days.
Bring a packed lunch and a refillable water bottle each day. There are refill taps on site. Lunch isn't included in the £299.
In the beginner group it's one RYA-qualified instructor with a maximum of three children, in the boat with them all week. From Stage 2 onwards, sailors move to single-handed boats and the instructor supervises from the water, with safety boats out alongside.
No. The ticket is a flat £299 per child, per week, at every level. There's no sibling or early-bird discount on the standard booking.
The Friday 4:15 certificate presentation is for parents and guardians, and it's the part of the week most families want to be there for. For day-to-day drop-off and pick-up, the beach is a working area, so we keep that bit quick.
Each week is self-contained, but the syllabus builds day by day, so sailors get the most out of it by being there all five days. Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable, so a missed day isn't refundable. If you're not sure your child can commit to a full week, get in touch before booking and we'll talk it through.
This is Ayrshire, so sunshine, wind and rain in the same morning isn't unusual, and most of what counts as "bad" weather is still sailing weather with the right kit. If conditions are genuinely unsafe the instructor will move the session ashore for theory, ropework and shore-based skills. If we ever need to cancel a session, we'll be in touch directly.
It's all done on the PSC website. The Summer School booking page lists the six weeks. Pick the week, pick the level that matches your child, and pay. A confirmation email then arrives with the link to the medical and consent form, which needs to be returned before day one.
Prestwick Sailing Club, Prestwick St. Cuthbert Golf Club, East Rd, Prestwick KA9 2SX. We're on the Ayrshire coast and the dinghies launch straight off the beach. There's parking on site, with drop-off and pick-up at the clubhouse.
Six weeks across July and August 2026, £299 per child per week. That covers the boat, the kit, the RYA-qualified instruction, the certificate, and a year of PSC membership, all in the one ticket.
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