Youth & Juniors

We run Junior sailing groups specifically for our young members (aged 8 – 18) through the summer months from April. 

The sessions are free if you have your own boat and just £5 to hire a club boat.

These sessions are not formal training courses and are not suitable for beginners with no sailing knowledge.  If you’re new to sailing, take a look at our courses first to learn the basics.

These sessions do require either full Club Membership or 3 Month Membership to take part.

Friday Race Training

Racing starts at 6:30pm with a series of fast and furious one lap races. This is all about having fun and practicing basic racing skills. A tight course and short start line compresses the action so there is plenty of opportunity to develop boat handling ability.

The final race of the evening is a longer affair for which we take times and results are scored on handicap for our annual series. Trophies are awarded to the top 3 places in the series.

Ashore, the BBQs are lit for you to cook your own food and the bar is open. A great way to start the weekend!

Sailors need a level of ability such that they can sail around a course on all points of sailing. Some on the water assistance is available for those new to racing.

Simply turn up, rig, launch and get yourself to the start line for 6:30pm to join in. A little bit late? No worries, just join in on the next start!

Follow the link below for the series race results:

Saturday Club

The mission of Saturday Club is to grow young sailors from perhaps having just done a RYA level 1 or 2 course, or learnt the basics of sailing with parents, to a position where they can confidently sail independently. This group is all about being out on the water, gaining confidence and building on the basic skills of sailing, all whilst having lots of fun and making new friends too!

Activities vary from week to week, depending upon numbers, coach availability, weather and other events on the water, but the basics remain the same…

  • Briefing at 10:30, followed immediately by launching. Be rigged and changed before then, so arrive in plenty of time.
  • We come off the water at around 12:30pm
  • Parents/guardians will need to be ready to help with launching and landing if your young sailor is not yet self-sufficient. This might mean getting your feet wet! Parents of under-14s must stay on site.
  • You are responsible for rigging your boat and putting it away afterwards. Not sure what to do? No problem, we are happy to show you how to rig/de-rig, but please allow a bit of extra time if you need help.
  • We may be able to pair up sailors who are not yet confident sailing on their own, but this is dependent upon the willingness of others to take a crew in their boat. We cannot guarantee that this can be arranged on the day, but rest assured, we will do everything we can to get kids out on the water.

Fleet Captain

Jon Hughes

Contact

Please use the form below to ask questions or send feedback to the Fleet Captain.

Youth & Junior Events

Every year we have a packed calendar of Youth & Junior events. Some of our key events include:

Northamptonshire Youth Series – a local series based around clubs within 45 minutes of our home club. There is coaching in the morning and racing in the afternoon. A very inclusive race series for all abilities with the emphasis on fun! Runs from April to September over 6 events

Soul Sailor Trophy – an action packed relay race for teams of young sailors, with the opportunity to camp overnight at the club after the sailing, held in June

Youth & Junior Championships – A day of racing held in September with 3 age categories. The winners are crowned our Youth & Junior Club Champions!

Upcoming events at Draycote

No event found!

Facebook Group

Join our Youth & Junior Facebook Group for more regular updates.

Helping Out

The more help we have, the more we can do for our young sailors. Draycote has at its core, a team of brilliant staff who keep the Club running every day of the year and keep you safe on the water. There is a lot of volunteer work done too by club members and it is mostly down to this work that Club racing and Youth & Junior events can take place. If you would like to help, we would love to hear from you. Although we would welcome additional coaches and instructors for Saturday Club, there is plenty to do on the shore too throughout the year. Please make yourself known if you want to get involved or have ideas for new events and activities you would like to share with us.

Contact us

Please complete the form below and a member of staff will get back in touch with you.

Check, Clean, Dry​

All visitors and Club members should follow the Check Clean Dry programme before bringing their craft to Draycote Water and when they take their craft away.